Legislation soon to be introduced in the state Senate seeks to address Pennsylvania’s labor shortage.

The Small Business Workforce Tax Credit would incentivize hiring to pull more residents back into the workforce by reducing the amount of state taxes small businesses would owe. Sens. Ryan P. Aument (R-Lancaster County) and John T. Yudichak (I-Carbon and Luzerne counties) said they will introduce the bill and are seeking cosponsors.

To qualify for the credit, businesses would need to boost employment figures compared to the previous year. They also would need to have 50 or fewer employees as of Dec. 31, 2019, and experienced at least a 25 percent decrease in income tax gross receipts in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the second quarter of 2019.

According to the National Restaurant Association, the ability to recruit and retain employees is the top challenge this year for half of the operators of full-service, quick service, and fast-casual restaurants.

In addition, entrepreneurs testified at a recent Senate Community Economic & Recreational Development Committee hearing that the workforce shortage has not improved. Many business owners testified that the situation worsens with each new COVID-19 variant.

The lawmakers said they hope the bill will encourage employers to creatively address the workforce shortage.