January 11, 2022 – COVID-19 absenteeism threatens to deepen problems of supply chain and transportation bottlenecks and delayed deliveries, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal. Idling production isn’t an option for manufacturing executives due to demand booming for manufactured goods from medical equipment to automobiles. But the sector added 26,000 jobs last month, the slowest growth in six months, as the companies continue to struggle hiring workers.
The decreasing severity of the Omicron variant is providing some hope the number of cases will lighten in coming weeks. But some workers are quarantining at home as a precaution.