The pandemic and record inflation have not been kind to the salon professional and spa/wellness industries. With forced closures, childcare woes and lack of access to grants and credits, many hairstylists, barbers, estheticians, spa techs and nail pros, looked for work elsewhere, contributing to a labor shortage.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “overall employment of barbers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists is projected to grow 11 percent from 2021 to 2031, much faster than the average for all occupations.” What’s more, about 93,800 job openings are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings will result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or retire. Enter Unite as One (UAO) — a coalition of leading beauty and wellness associations that has come together to address the job crisis in the professional beauty and wellness industries.
In an act of unprecedented collaboration between the professional beauty and wellness industries, UAO is assembling at this year’s Beauty Changes Lives events during America’s Beauty Show — the show’s 100th! — with programming that will bring all sectors together. Beauty Changes Lives, of course, is the industry non-profit dedicated to making the beauty profession a first-choice career and its Change-Makers’ Gala honors the legends within our space.
UAO will roll out its first major initiative at this year’s Change-Makers’ Gala. You have to be there! Get your tickets at www.beautychangeslives.org/gala.
