SAN BERNARDINO � (INT) � With �Help Wanted� signs posted across the Inland Empire, there are indications the labor supply situation is getting worse.

The Institute of Applied Research (IAR) at Cal State San Bernardino said Monday that companies which contract with the federal government and therefore need to enforce a COVID-19 vaccine mandate by December 8th are especially concerned.

Eighty percent do not have a mandate and have no plans to implement one. Half of the companies which either currently have a mandate or plan to enforce a mandate in the future anticipate that they will lose (or have already lost) employees due to the mandate.

Meantime, there dozens of cargo ships off the Southern California coast waiting to dock, with an estimated $24 billion in goods on the ships to be unloaded (source: Goldman Sachs). Some point fingers at a trucker shortage causing the problem, others blame outdated infrastructure, importers with nowhere to store the containers, and dock help not keeping up with demand.

In its monthly report, IAR warns this is a serious situation for the entire supply chain coming just ahead of the holiday season and companies are hit with shortages and delays.

Story Date: December 22, 2021