Business owners say worker shortage hampering recovery in southwest Pennsylvania | State

(The Center Square) – Business owners in southwestern Pennsylvania told lawmakers Thursday that an ongoing labor shortage holds back the region’s economic recovery.

From trucking to manufacturing to restaurants and bars, owners from multiple industries said they can’t find enough workers – and they all blame, in large part, extended unemployment benefits. 

“We must stop incentivizing people to stay home,” said Andy Bradigan, treasurer and secretary at Bradigan’s Inc., a fuel delivery service in Kittanning. “Although it made sense to do so early on in the pandemic … this has created a tremendous strain in the hiring environment.”

Bradigan told the House Majority Policy Committee that his company routinely turns down work because there’s not enough CDL drivers to keep up with demand.

It’s a similar story for Scott McDowell, president of BelleFlex Technologies in Ford City. The company manufactures…

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