During the TLMI Converter Meeting, The Workplace Advisors’ Claudia St. John addressed one of the main challenges facing the label and package printing industry – workforce. With an aging workforce and population growth slowing to a crawl, prioritizing the next generation of employees should be at the top of the agenda for our industry.

According to St. John, who presented on March 11, 2025, in San Antonio, TX, USA, growing the workforce will occur in tandem with a focus on automation and AI. Businesses will need to remain flexibile with their workers, and a hybrid work environment is not going away.

The most recent Labor Report also constituted a “mixed bag.” St. John noted that the country added 151,000 jobs as of mid-February, so the workforce is growing. However, that number did not meet the economic predictions of 160,000. The Report stated that unemployment rose to 4.1% – which is essentially full employment. Translation: everyone who wants a job has one. It’s worth noting that the projection was for 4.0% unemployment.

“Under-employment rose to 8%, as 460,000 workers have been hired into part-time jobs –but they want full-time work,” said St. John. Couldn’t find full time work they were seeking.

Meanwhile, the federal government cut 10,000 jobs at the time of the reporting (February 15); There have been 62,000 job cuts in total, but not all of the federal government jobs have been factored into the Report.

“These numbers add to the idea of uncertainty in the economy,” noted St. John. “Is the labor market really resilient? It is resilient.  I knew we were not going to have a recession in 2023, as not one person was planning on laying off employees because we have an aging workforce. This uncertainty is really testing that resilience, though.”

St. John noted that the job market is currently frozen because businesses are slowing down out of an abundance of caution. Additionally, employees are not quitting their jobs because of the uncertainty. Conversely, almost 40% of the workforce turned over in 2022 – a trend not currently happening. The unemployment rate isn’t changing, as everything in “a holding pattern.”

There are specific population trends impacting the workforce, too. In 2040, the US will experience more deaths than live births. Immigration is not going to continue a strong pace,  either, meaning the population projection is likely to subtract.

“Your workforce should be a priority because these trends are not going away,” emphasized St. John.

According to St. John, the Trump administration plans to eliminate or deport 20 million illegal or undocumented workers. Of those, there are two million with a criminal history being deported. There are also expected to be changes for people who have been here legally, along with those in the protected status program.

“We will miss 20 million people from the workforce,” said St. John. “We felt the loss of eight million workers during the pandemic.”

St. John also added businesses should prioritize their I9 audits to ensure they’re clean, since no businesses will be immune from scrutiny. Some 60,000 companies have been targeted in 2025 alone. The current administration is investing resources into investigating employment practices.

“I9 issues are almost never nefarious,” commented St. John. “in most cases, it’s just an I9 processor who didn’t process the forms correctly.”

The TLMI Workforce Committee will continue to serve as a resource for members seeking hiring help. The association is establishing Career Pathways, which will help outline goals, objectives, training, and more for employees looking to advance in this industry. TLMI also rolled out an I9 support program for TLMI members in early March.

“We’re excited about the new growth in career progression,” said St. John. “Your entire company is part of TLMI if you’re here at these events, so have your members join and let’s create and build this community.

“Prepare for baby boomers to leave the workforce,” added St. John. “Look to replace them now in case you need one or two years to train them. This is a time for upskilling. This is also a great time to be hiring. If you post a job, you well get more applicants than you have seen in years.”