April 26, 2021
The results of Advantage Capital’s portfolio company survey are in and job growth remains strong. While the U.S. economy has still only recovered 55% of jobs that were lost last year, our portfolio companies reported supporting nearly 16,000 jobs and expect to hire 4,391 more through 2021–an indication of their resilience throughout the pandemic. In fact, just 7% of staff were laid off by portfolio companies at the height of the COVID crisis when unemployment reached 14.8% nationally.
Companies like Ohio-based manufacturer, E-Pak plan to add an additional 20 jobs in the next 12 months on top of its already 121-person strong workforce. Throughout its three decades in business, E-Pak has been a solid employer and a leader in the region’s manufacturing economy—an industry that is still 640K jobs short of pre-COVID employment. There are growth stories all across our portfolio, and we are impressed with the strength and determination of each of them during a year that has brought economic challenges to business across the country.
Not only do the companies in our portfolio continue to create jobs, but job quality remains high as well. In businesses with 50 employees or less, 78% of these jobs offer health benefits to employees. In comparison, just 35% of U.S. firms with fewer than 50 employees offer health benefits. And while just 10% of businesses with fewer than 99 employees offer 401(K), 70% of our portfolio companies offer retirement plans or other wealth accumulation opportunities.
When we take a deeper look at some of the overall numbers, the impact is clear:
– 86% of jobs are accessible to those without a college degree
– 79% of employees receive training
– 11% of companies indicated that new employees hired within the last six months were able to replace reliance upon one or more public assistance programs
– 71% of companies replaced Medicaid with private health insurance—relieving one of the largest strains on state budgets.
Impact metrics show that our portfolio companies are providing quality jobs that afford their employees financial stability—a significant help during a year rattled by economic turmoil.
Want to dive deeper into what these numbers mean for our portfolio companies, their employees and their communities? Download our 2020-2021 Impact Report here.
