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Vidmantas Janulevičius, president of the Lithuanian Industrial Confederation (LPK), points out that after the introduction of the second quarantine, the situation has worsened.
“The data for the third quarter is a bit late, because there was no second wave of COVID-19 at that time and everything was developing very fast (…). Today I believe that the need for workers has decreased because we have already entered the second wave of the pandemic, which is undoubtedly more difficult and complex. But there is still a lack of equipment operators, there is a lack of IT specialists in practically all sectors, (…) in addition to drivers, because the movement within the EU has intensified, ”he told Eltai.
According to V. Janulevičius, one of the factors why the unemployed registered with the Employment Service may not be employed is their low qualification.
“The need for extremely low-skilled workers is seasonal, (…) and when fall comes, when everyone wants to work in industry, there is a shortage of partially-skilled staff. The benefits also skew the statistics a bit, because with higher benefits, some employees work privately, not always legally, and they are not really looking for work, ”he said.
The president of LPK pointed out that in the third quarter of this year the number of orders in industrial companies grew, and due to the decrease in the number of employees from third countries, the sector began to run out of workforce.
“(In the third quarter – ELTA) the number of orders grew and the need for employees also increased. As the number of workers from third countries has drastically reduced, (…) there is a shortage of these workers and we don’t have as many workers local, ”he said.
However, it is unlikely that it will be possible to replace third-country workers with local industrial workers, Janulevičius said, because in such a case it would be necessary to increase wages, leading to a loss of competitiveness if labor productivity does not increase.
“Many Lithuanians are already spoiled with benefits and we will not solve this situation by increasing employee salaries. Of course, we all want to raise wages, but productivity must also rise (…).
However, if he doesn’t get up, he has no choice but to bring in employees from abroad, ”said V. Janulevičius.
“We have to be competitive throughout the European market (…), the very high cost of labor will take us out of exports and alter the positive trade balance, and we will all suffer. It is better for everyone to earn as much as possible, that is, to produce more, so that the wages of local workers can be increased to improve efficiency. But if we do not achieve this indicator, it will still be necessary to bring workers from third countries for some time, ”he continued.
According to V. Janulevičius, although some 8 thousand vacancies are drastically decreasing as a result of the pandemic.
“In the industrial sector, we have about 8 thousand. Vacancies (…) However, the number of vacancies is now drastically decreasing as companies, fearing a pandemic, have slowed their development and started to look cautiously at the possibility of exporting. If the quarantine is prolonged, demand for many industries and other commodities may decline, as well as orders. Therefore, it is no longer desirable to hire a large number of employees, as was the case in the second and third quarters, ”he said.
The COVID-19 pandemic also adjusted the expectations of growth of the industrial sector: according to the president of LPK, exports, which were expected to grow this year, will contract.
“There were growth expectations this year, because January and February were very good months, we expected total export growth to reach 3-4 percent. Now, due to the pandemic, it will be reduced compared to 2019, but hopefully a bit, ”he told Eltai.
V. Janulevičius also pointed out that currently some companies are still unable to work at full capacity.
“Currently, many companies are not working at full capacity due to the number of patients. The situation in the Vilnius and Panevėžys regions has stabilized and is improving, we see that companies are already working for about 90 percent. capacity, when two weeks ago all companies were working at a maximum of 80%. capacity. However, the situation is deteriorating in other regions, I mean the Kaunas and Klaipeda region, ”he said.
Without a pandemic, the need for construction workers would be even greater
Dalius Gedvilas, president of the Lithuanian Builders Association (LSA), says the shortage of skilled workers in the construction sector has been felt since mid-summer.
“There is a shortage of specialists in the construction sector who know their work, since there was a shortage in the middle of summer (…). First of all, there is a lack of field engineers and network installers, there is a lack of highly skilled concrete workers, specialists in facade insulation systems, and some finishes.
There is a shortage of people with different specializations, but it is convenient to analyze if they are not in the Employment Service. Maybe people make a profit and maybe they don’t think they should work, ”he said, adding that the construction market could employ around 2,000 people. Professionals.
According to the president of the LSA, the shortage of specialists is currently caused by the renewal of building permits after the first wave of the pandemic and the development of new real estate projects (RE).
“If we look at the number of building permits issued today, (…) we will see that their number increased significantly in the third quarter. Previously, construction work started in March-April, and after many projects were suspended during the first quarantine, building permits were renewed or real estate developers decided to withdraw them in the third quarter. This apparently leads to a shortage of specialists, “he told Eltai.
Jobs in the construction sector are seasonal and it is common for labor demand to increase in the third quarter, said D. Gedvilas.
“Construction in Lithuania is usually a seasonal business and we always had a great need for labor in the third quarter, lack of capacity, because before the winter season all builders generally want to fulfill their obligations, complete projects or prepare. for winter work, “he said.
According to D. Gedvilas, the need for workers would be even greater at this point if the country had not been affected by a pandemic.
“It is likely that in the absence of a pandemic, the need for construction workers will be even greater, because we see that a lot of new buildings are being designed, and if it weren’t for a pandemic, the construction industry would have a good time. However, we are currently seeing reduced needs than in previous years and we believe that some construction companies will end up with worse results overall, ”he told Eltai.
D. Gedvilas also noted that due to the crisis caused by the pandemic, some builders may have to complete projects at dumped prices.
“Competition is high enough at the moment, prices are unrealistically low and some builders who commit to low prices may not survive. It may be that in the spring labor costs will rise even more and builders will finish building at prices of dumping. Many may fail, many will suffer great losses, “he said.
At the end of the third quarter, there were 18.4 thousand. vacancies for employees – 6.3 percent. (1.1 thousand) more than in the second quarter.
According to the Department of Statistics, the majority – 0.9 thousand. – Vacancies in the industry have increased. There were 0.3 thousand of them in commercial companies. more, in companies of administrative and support services – 0.2 thousand, under construction – 0.1 thousand. more than in the second trimester.
The greatest decrease in vacancies was registered in transportation and storage companies: 0.6 thousand. less than in the second trimester.
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