Shelves in grocery stores are becoming barer and barer. When it comes to supply and demand, both are losing. When it comes to consumers – they are the losers! And the story remains the same Covid is the reason, the Omicron variant in particular. Stores cannot stock what they don’t receive and U.S. food producers cannot produce while short staffed. Many food producers have been short staffed for about a year now and Omicron is making it even harder to keep workers industry wide.

The highly contagious variant is playing havoc on many workers, in turn disrupting food supplies which is all but certain to lead to empty selves in more stores. If the current condition remains, and groceries shortages grow because of labor shortages, we could easily see a new level of problems.

With supermarkets showing empty selves and food in high demand, we are certain to see price surges for consumers like most of us have never seen. Grocery distributor’s throughout the country are reporting labor shortages due to employees calling in sick with the virus, causing many employees to work overtime to fill the gap. Making matters worse are food manufacturers who are stretched thin and can’t find laborers.

Meat companies aren’t reporting significant operations issues, but there are signs of declining productivity.

Omicron is involved in nearly all aspects of the food supply, including food inspection. This comes at a time when inspectors are already in short supply throughout the country. Inspectors are integral in meat plants, where they look at every processed animal by law. Without proper inspection we risk even more disease and sickness.

To make matters worse Hospital beds are again in short supply. Emergency rooms are crowded and doctors offices are full. It doesn’t look like this thing is going away anytime soon, so the best we can do is take every precaution to protect ourselves and our families. For most that means social distancing, limiting where you go, and who you are around. Avoid large gatherings, mask-up, get vaccinated, receive your booster and encourage your firends and family to do the same. Stay home if you’re sick and get tested if you have symptoms.

The steep uptick of cases is driving restaurant closures, large event cancellations and causing Americans to pull back on travel plans. Already schools are having difficulty providing lunches for the kids, as was reported at a local school board meeting recently. It’s inevitable that OMICRON will lead to a slowdown in consumer spending, the question is – by how much and how severe? The severity of the economic hit will likely depend on the degree of illness the new strain causes, something that is not yet well understood.

People are reporting positive at an alarming rate, causing labor shortages, like we have never experienced. In retail, the number of hours worked, as well as the number of employees, is down.

We’re seeing people being more cautious when it comes to travel, we’re hearing about businesses that have implemented a return-to-work policy reversing course, we’re hearing about schools closing, airlines are already slashing prices and offering discounts, those are all pretty strong signals affecting economic activity.

Unlike last year, a majority of Americans have been vaccinated against the coronavirus, meaning most of them will be protected from severe illness or hospitalization. But, in contrast with 2020, without the backup of financial support from the government people are facing much uncertainty when it comes to addressing price increases and shortages.

Last year we had a COVID relief package at the end of the year, a couple months later we had the American Rescue Plan. With rising prices across the board people are already feeling the pain with no relief in sight.

Are people going to be spending much more, or will they be more cautious in spending in an environment where there is much uncertainty? As new Covid cases continue to rise, please be safe and let’s continue to work to keep each other safe.