WCPO: Small businesses face challenges
UC economics professor says companies have had to reorient how they serve customers
As businesses are squeezed by inflation, staffing shortages and supply chain issues, companies are having to adjust, a University of Cincinnati economics professor told WCPO.
Michael Jones, PhD, associate professor of economics at the University of Cincinnati Carl H. Lindner College of Business.
"We're seeing companies having to reorient how they serve customers," said Michael Jones, the Kautz-Uible Professor of Economics in UC’s Carl H. Lindner College of Business. "Many restaurants are no longer open for lunch or they're just open for the drive-thru. That has been a characteristic of (the COVID-19 pandemic). I think that's going to continue."
During the pandemic, 1 million people left the American workforce, many of them opting for early retirement. Some companies have tried to lure back workers by offering work-from-home options and other incentives.
"That will cause some of those workers to come back," Jones said. "Although, I do think we've lost permanently several hundred thousand, even a million workers due to early retirement."
Featured image: Interior view of the Lindner College of Business. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Creative + Brand
Related Stories
Tips to avoid headaches this holiday season
December 15, 2025
A University of Cincinnati migraine expert offered a list of potential headache triggers around the holidays, and how you can try to avoid them, to 91.7 WVXU News. "There are a number of different factors that make this a very headache provocative time," said Vincent Martin, MD, professor of clinical medicine at the University of Cincinnati's College of Medicine and director of the Headache and Facial Pain Center at the Gardner Neuroscience Institute.
Local couple uses royalties from children's books to give gifts to kids in need
December 15, 2025
A local couple has found a unique way to give back to those in need this holiday season. Vic and Laura Troha wrote two children's books together, and this year, they are using the proceeds to buy Christmas gifts for Hamilton County foster kids. The couple are both graduates of the University of Cincinnati's College of Allied Health Sciences and met the day they graduated.
The hottest toys this holiday season
December 15, 2025
Local 12 turned to Lindner College of Business associate professor-educator of marketing Roseann Hassey to explain what’s got the trendiest items flying off the shelves.