Hawaii’s economic recovery continues to pose challenges for employers who say they can’t find workers to fill open positions, the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii reported.

The Chamber is collaborating with organizations like the Hawaii Workforce Development Council to address the issue. In the meantime, a Chamber survey of nearly 400 member companies found over 80% were struggling to find workers to fill open positions, more than 70% said the openings are putting pressure on existing employees and more than 60% said they’ve had adjust overtime and shift schedules to deal with shortages.

According to the Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, there were more than 139,000 unemployed workers and 17,800 open positions in May 2020, or 7.8 unemployed workers per job opening. As of April, the number of unemployed workers had dropped to 53,000 and the job openings had risen to about 27,400, or 1.9 workers per opening.

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