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Surveys

Special Questions

Texas Business Outlook Surveys
April 25, 2022

Special Questions

For this month’s survey, Texas business executives were asked supplemental questions on labor market conditions and remote work. Results below include responses from participants of all three surveys: Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey, Texas Service Sector Outlook Survey and Texas Retail Outlook Survey.

Texas Business Outlook Surveys

Data were collected April 12–20, and 362 Texas business executives responded to the surveys.

1. Are you currently trying to hire or recall workers?
Apr. '21
(percent)
Jul. '21
(percent)
Oct. '21
(percent)
Jan. '22
(percent)
Apr. '22
(percent)
Yes 60.1 68.7 67.9 68.4 65.9
No 39.9 31.3 32.1 31.6 34.1

NOTE: 355 responses.

1a. Are there any impediments to hiring or recalling workers? Please select all that apply.
Apr. '21
(percent)
Jul. '21
(percent)
Oct. '21
(percent)
Jan. '22
(percent)
Apr. '22
(percent)
Lack of available applicants/no applicants 66.7 75.9 75.5 73.3 76.0
Workers looking for more pay than is offered 33.8 40.8 50.6 53.4 51.9
Lack of technical competencies (hard skills)   41.2 35.1 44.6 43.0 40.8
Lack of experience       38.4 32.2 36.1 32.7 38.6
Lack of workplace competencies (soft skills) 26.9 25.7 34.1 30.7 33.9
Inability to pass drug test and/or background check 19.9 22.9 22.1 17.5 16.3
Lack of child care, including school interruptions       11.6 11.4 9.2 15.9 7.7
Fear of COVID-19 infection          8.3 6.5 11.2 15.5 3.4
COVID-19 exposure or infection*                   13.5 1.3
Other 10.6 7.8 7.2 4.8 7.3
None 9.7 0.0 4.8 2.4 5.2

*This answer added to the survey in Jan. '22.
NOTES: 233 responses. This question was only posed to those currently trying to hire or recall workers.

1b. How has the availability of applicants changed over the past month?
Jul. '21
(percent)
Oct. '21
(percent)
Jan. '22
(percent)
Apr. '22
(percent)
Improved significantly 0.5 0.5 1.6 0.6
Improved slightly 24.9 18.2 12.5 20.5
No change 47.6 46.0 40.8 48.9
Worsened slightly 16.8 26.7 35.9 25.6
Worsened significantly 10.3 8.6 9.2 4.5

NOTES: 176 responses. This question was only posed to those noting a lack of available applicants/no applicants.

2. What share of your employees is currently working remotely, and what share do you expect will work remotely after the pandemic is no longer materially affecting your business decisions? Please provide shares for fully remote versus hybrid (combination of on-site and remote).
  Fully remote Hybrid
Current 15.6 23.6
Future (postpandemic) 14.5 21.6

NOTES: 303 responses. A similar question was asked in Aug. '20 and Feb. '21.

Survey respondents were given the opportunity to provide comments. These comments can be found on the individual survey Special Questions results pages, accessible by the tabs above.

Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey

Data were collected April 12–20, and 93 Texas manufacturers responded to the survey.

1. Are you currently trying to hire or recall workers?
Apr. '21
(percent)
Jul. '21
(percent)
Oct. '21
(percent)
Jan. '22
(percent)
Apr. '22
(percent)
Yes 70.7 80.2 78.0 83.0 73.9
No 29.3 19.8 22.0 17.0 26.1

NOTE: 92 responses.

1a. Are there any impediments to hiring or recalling workers? Please select all that apply.
Apr. '21
(percent)
Jul. '21
(percent)
Oct. '21
(percent)
Jan. '22
(percent)
Apr. '22
(percent)
Lack of available applicants/no applicants 75.7 84.4 82.1 71.8 83.8
Lack of technical competencies (hard skills)   51.4 40.3 52.6 52.6 60.3
Lack of workplace competencies (soft skills) 32.9 24.7 41.0 38.5 45.6
Workers looking for more pay than is offered 32.9 44.2 52.6 57.7 44.1
Lack of experience       42.9 37.7 42.3 32.1 44.1
Inability to pass drug test and/or background check 30.0 29.9 29.5 26.9 20.6
Lack of child care, including school interruptions       8.6 9.1 6.4 9.0 8.8
Fear of COVID-19 infection          2.9 3.9 7.7 14.1 2.9
COVID-19 exposure or infection*   10.3 2.9
Other 10.0 5.2 6.4 2.6 4.4
None 4.3 0.0 2.6 2.6 5.9

*This answer added to the survey in Jan. '22.
NOTES: 68 responses. This question was only posed to those currently trying to hire or recall workers.

1b. How has the availability of applicants changed over the past month?
Jul. '21
(percent)
Oct. '21
(percent)
Jan. '22
(percent)
Apr. '22
(percent)
Improved significantly 1.5 0.0 1.8 1.8
Improved slightly 20.0 18.8 12.5 15.8
No change 50.8 43.8 44.6 45.6
Worsened slightly 15.4 26.6 28.6 35.1
Worsened significantly 12.3 10.9 12.5 1.8

NOTES: 57 responses. This question was only posed to those noting a lack of available applicants/no applicants.

2. What share of your employees is currently working remotely, and what share do you expect will work remotely after the pandemic is no longer materially affecting your business decisions? Please provide shares for fully remote versus hybrid (combination of on-site and remote).
  Fully remote Hybrid
Current 5.4 12.0
Future (postpandemic) 4.0 10.3

NOTES: 81 responses. A similar question was asked in Aug. '20 and Feb. '21.

Special Questions Comments

These comments have been edited for publication.

Machinery Manufacturing
  • We work better together than separately.
  • We are an essential business, and we never worked remotely during the pandemic.
Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing
  • Most people worked from the office prepandemic. Now, most people work remotely. We downsized and sublet our office space. We have a few dedicated spaces and have set up hybrid workspaces for those who want or need to come to the office infrequently.
  • We have not given any hard rules but have set the expectation that everyone should be returning to work when they can. We believe we are 75–80 percent returned, with lots of Monday/Friday working from home still, but believe that we will seek a lower/normal/flexible level over time.
Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
  • We are starting to experience wage pressure and turnover.
  • We are effectively “done” with the pandemic. No masks required, and we returned to “normal” shifts and work modes.
  • Due to customer-imposed security limitations, we are not able to “dial in” to our company network. Consequently, working from home is not practical.
Printing and Related Product Manufacturing
  • I believe the current status is postpandemic. We need to wean people back to the office. We lose effectiveness with office personnel at home. Manufacturing workers cannot obviously work remotely.

Texas Service Sector Outlook Survey

Data were collected April 12–20, and 253 Texas business executives responded to the survey.

1. Are you currently trying to hire or recall workers?
Apr. '21
(percent)
Jul. '21
(percent)
Oct. '21
(percent)
Jan. '22
(percent)
Apr. '22
(percent)
Yes 56.1 64.5 64.2 63.4 63.1
No 43.9 35.5 35.8 36.6 36.9

NOTE: 263 responses.

1a. Are there any impediments to hiring or recalling workers? Please select all that apply.
Apr. '21
(percent)
Jul. '21
(percent)
Oct. '21
(percent)
Jan. '22
(percent)
Apr. '22
(percent)
Lack of available applicants/no applicants 62.3 72.0 72.5 74.0 72.7
Workers looking for more pay than is offered 34.2 39.3 49.7 51.4 55.2
Lack of experience       36.3 29.8 33.3 32.9 36.4
Lack of technical competencies (hard skills)   36.3 32.7 40.9 38.7 32.7
Lack of workplace competencies (soft skills) 24.0 26.2 31.0 27.2 29.1
Inability to pass drug test and/or background check 15.1 19.6 18.7 13.3 14.5
Lack of child care, including school interruptions       13.0 12.5 10.5 19.1 7.3
Fear of COVID-19 infection          11.0 7.7 12.9 16.2 3.6
COVID-19 exposure or infection*    15.0 0.6
Other 11.0 8.9 7.6 5.8 8.5
None 12.3 0.0 5.8 2.3 4.8

*This answer added to the survey in Jan. '22.
NOTES: 165 responses. This question was only posed to those currently trying to hire or recall workers.

1b. How has the availability of applicants changed over the past month?
Jul. '21
(percent)
Oct. '21
(percent)
Jan. '22
(percent)
Apr. '22
(percent)
Improved significantly 0.0 0.8 1.6 0.0
Improved slightly 27.5 17.9 12.5 22.7
No change 45.8 47.2 39.1 50.4
Worsened slightly 17.5 26.8 39.1 21.0
Worsened significantly 9.2 7.3 7.8 5.9

NOTES: 119 responses. This question was only posed to those noting a lack of available applicants/no applicants.

2. What share of your employees is currently working remotely, and what share do you expect will work remotely after the pandemic is no longer materially affecting your business decisions? Please provide shares for fully remote versus hybrid (combination of on-site and remote).
  Fully remote Hybrid
Current 19.4 27.7
Future (postpandemic) 18.3 25.4

NOTES: 222 responses. A similar question was asked in Aug. '20 and Feb. '21.

Special Questions Comments

These comments have been edited for publication.

Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
  • We are starting to experience wage pressure and turnover.
Warehousing and Storage
  • We have not embraced a long-term work-from-home model at this point, though we are evaluating the need for such in the face of competition for those workers [coming] from companies that will offer those accommodations.
Data Processing, Hosting and Related Services
  • So far in the second quarter, about 20 percent of employees come to the office Monday–Friday now. Postpandemic, we expect about 30 percent to do so.
Credit Intermediation and Related Activities
  • If "pandemic" refers to lockdown time, "current" is postpandemic. Beyond that, we were prepared for some distributed work before the pandemic hit. Since, we have upgraded our phones and document imaging to better accommodate remote work. Everyone has a work-specific laptop. With war everywhere, we are improving our DR [depositary receipts].
  • Our institutions’ staff are all working on-site at this time.
  • The COVID pandemic has not really impacted our workplace organization and work structure to this point.
Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities
  • We are moving back to two days a week in the office. There is considerable employee reluctance to return to the office.
Insurance Carriers and Related Activities
  • Pandemic is no longer a significant issue in work location decisions.
  • Some knew working from home was part time. Many had a choice but wanted to return to an office environment.
Real Estate
  • Since our essential, front-line employees have been required to show up daily throughout the pandemic, we asked our corporate staff to do the same, and they have all willingly done so. We believe truly effective teams require face-to-face interaction.
  • We are a real estate brokerage company. The pandemic simply accelerated the trend for agents and brokers to work remotely.
  • Prepandemic, we had limited capability and use of remote working. We ramped it up considerably during the pandemic and now have requested all employees be in the office except for limited remote working.
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
  • Prior to the pandemic, everyone was in the office full time. Now, we are only in office Monday and Wednesday. All other days are optional. This works well.
  • The current situation is easy. The "postpandemic" scheme is entirely unknown, but I do not see the hybrid model "genie" ever going back in the bottle in our industry or our firm.
  • We moved to a hybrid environment when we returned due to strong employee requests. It works well, and employees are responsible with their time. 
  • We are still wrestling with the appropriate combination of remote and in-office work.
  • We have already settled into the remote and hybrid work arrangements, so no changes are expected going forward.
  • Because of labor shortages, we've had to accept remote work to accommodate experienced staff who live out of town. Our preference is to have in-office staff.
  • The hybrid model has been mine for virtually the last three to four years anyway. I expect to continue in that mode for any future work. I am flexible and will do whatever my client desires (on-site, offsite or a mix).
  • About 20 percent of our staff work in the office all the time.
  • CPAs [certified public accountants] were considered essential workers during the pandemic so I was not subject to any lockdown orders.
  • The expectation is that most will be hybrid with some dedicated time in office (60 percent of the time). A large group of administrators who were not required to be in the office are now fully remote.   
Management of Companies and Enterprises
  • Entry-level positions, both full time and part time, are very difficult to fill. Starting salaries have migrated upward from pre-COVID/pre-stimulus pay at $11.50–$13 per hour to now at $15–$18.50 per hour with competition for prospective hires for these entry-level positions substantially increased. Balancing costs to provide services with increasing labor costs has outpaced revenue increases due to extreme inflation—all related to the labor force's cost of living.
Administrative and Support Services
  • Our business is a mobile service. All techs are in the field. Only the call center and admin staff are on-site.
  • We had a significant number of employees who worked remotely prior to the pandemic, so we had policies and technology in place. Due to the pandemic, we had more employees determine that they could be productive using a hybrid approach. All staff have the capability to work remotely and do so on a regular basis with only about 10 percent rarely working remotely.
  • All of our employees work in-house and in the field.
  • [We have] always worked 100 percent remotely.
  • We are a client-facing service business. Working from home/remote is now part of the overall benefit package workers are bargaining for. It is not a reality of the market other than we have learned we are more efficient, and younger staff benefit from being in the office. As long as professional employees continue to have bargaining power, we'll continue to see some employees negotiate for remote options. Long-term remote is not in either the employees’ or employer’s interest.
  • The hiring has been difficult. No-experience workers want too much money. The workers with resumes that I really liked were hired by other firms before I could get interviews.
Ambulatory Health Care Services
  • Finding employees is a task. A lot of opportunities are out there for the employees, and they have the option to choose.
  • The employees transitioned to working from home will likely remain at home unless productivity is adversely affected.
Educational Services
  • Demand for hybrid/remote work remains high, and we have to offer it to hire and retain, but it is causing some inefficiencies and dysfunction.
Accommodation
  • As a hotel, spa and restaurant, the vast majority of our associates need to be physically on-site to service our guests.
Food Services and Drinking Places
  • We are a restaurant so remote work is not applicable.
Personal and Laundry Services
  • I am currently offering: $1,000 sign-on bonus, $1,000 employee referral bonus, $25 per hour wage guarantee for 90 days, health insurance plan with company contributions and a retirement plan with 100 percent company match on the first 3 percent of contribution. And still very few applicants. When managers schedule interviews, less than 10 percent of applicants show up for the interview.

Texas Retail Outlook Survey

Data were collected April 12–20, and 46 Texas retailers responded to the survey.

1. Are you currently trying to hire or recall workers?
Apr. '21
(percent)
Jul. '21
(percent)
Oct. '21
(percent)
Jan. '22
(percent)
Apr. '22
(percent)
Yes 56.5 71.1 69.6 68.2 68.9
No 43.5 28.9 30.4 31.8 31.1

NOTE: 45 responses.

1a. Are there any impediments to hiring or recalling workers? Please select all that apply.
Apr. '21
(percent)
Jul. '21
(percent)
Oct. '21
(percent)
Jan. '22
(percent)
Apr. '22
(percent)
Lack of available applicants/no applicants 80.0 84.4 75.0 80.0 77.4
Workers looking for more pay than is offered 24.0 43.8 43.8 40.0 45.2
Lack of technical competencies (hard skills)   56.0 40.6 53.1 50.0 41.9
Lack of experience       32.0 31.3 28.1 36.7 29.0
Lack of workplace competencies (soft skills) 24.0 31.3 34.4 40.0 25.8
Inability to pass drug test and/or background check 32.0 40.6 34.4 30.0 16.1
Lack of child care, including school interruptions       12.0 12.5 6.3 13.3 3.2
Fear of COVID-19 infection          4.0 9.4 9.4 16.7 3.2
COVID-19 exposure or infection*                 20.0 0.0
Other 4.0 9.4 3.1 0.0 3.2
None 0.0 0.0 6.3 0.0 6.5

*This answer added to the survey in Jan. '22.
NOTES: 31 responses. This question was only posed to those currently trying to hire or recall workers.

1b. How has the availability of applicants changed over the past month?
Jul. '21
(percent)
Oct. '21
(percent)
Jan. '22
(percent)
Apr. '22
(percent)
Improved significantly 0.0 0.0 8.3 0.0
Improved slightly 37.0 4.2 16.7 16.7
No change 40.7 50.0 37.5 75.0
Worsened slightly 18.5 37.5 37.5 8.3
Worsened significantly 3.7 8.3 0.0 0.0

NOTES: 24 responses. This question was only posed to those noting a lack of available applicants/no applicants.

2. What share of your employees is currently working remotely, and what share do you expect will work remotely after the pandemic is no longer materially affecting your business decisions? Please provide shares for fully remote versus hybrid (combination of on-site and remote).
  Fully remote Hybrid
Current 17.7 10.9
Future (postpandemic) 16.6 14.9

NOTES: 38 responses. A similar question was asked in Aug. '20 and Feb. '21.

Special Questions Comments

Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods
  • We have had a remote work option in place for about eight years. For our business, it works very well, but we have all agreed (people that work remotely and office staff), that esprit de corps and morale improve when staff interact face to face. Productivity has not been impacted by working remotely, but it also takes the right role and person to achieve good results. Therefore, we strongly encourage a hybrid option for everyone (versus working 100 percent from offsite).
Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers
  • Difficulty in securing a qualified worker is driving the workforce to place additional demands on the employer as it relates to schedule flexibility, time off and pay. Large financial gains in sales of their existing homes is encouraging risk taking with regard to livelihoods and extended time off from working.
  • We have no remote workers.
  • We have no employees working remotely.
Building Material and Garden Equipment and Supplies Dealers
  • No COVID problems.
Food and Beverage Stores
  • As a retailer, we don't have many positions that qualify for remote work.

Questions regarding the Texas Business Outlook Surveys can be addressed to Emily Kerr at emily.kerr@dal.frb.org.

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