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V. WORKFORCE AVAILABILITY
A. OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION
The primary purpose of America’s Heartland AHEP Workforce Availability Survey is to determine the total number of workers available for employers. The “available workforce” represents respondents who indicate that they are either looking for employment or would consider changing jobs for the right employment options. This information, along with labor quality and cost, is important to companies considering expansions or selecting new sites.
Workforce Availability is one of five components of this Workforce Study. The four other components are:
· Executive Summary
· Workforce Profile
· Workforce Quality
· Workforce Cost
The findings from this survey are based on a random telephone sample of 628 adults living in seven counties in South Central Missouri including Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. The survey was conducted in October 2005 using a Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) System. America’s Heartland Economic Partnership contracted with Growth Services to conduct the workforce study. A total 1716 households in the AHEP Area Labor Market were contacted. In 628 of these households an adult who is working, unemployed, retired or a homemaker agreed to do the interview. When all 628 respondents are included in the analysis, the survey findings have a margin of error of 5%+. The margin of error for subgroups is larger.
Growth Services, in cooperation with the Fort Leonard Wood RCGA and America’s Heartland Survey Committee, developed the survey instrument to secure information normally not available through traditional methods. This methodology provides a means to ask questions of respondents from the Civilian Labor Force (CLF) and other potential members of the labor force (retired, homemakers, etc.) concerning their availability for new employment. It measures the extent to which currently employed individuals possess skills, education, and experience which would qualify them for better jobs; determine interest in a new job; and quantifies the wage rates at which they would accept a new job.
This report presents data different from published government statistics which show wages and employment for the entire workforce, most of whom have no interest in changing jobs. This report includes data on people who might change jobs and would be potential candidates for a new employer. The wages are quantified by number of workers available for an employer in various wage ranges.
The presentation of this report will begin with a few statements about the general workforce and then the available workforce who are open to new and existing employers with the right employment options. The information and results are based on how the respondents answered the various questions and then were projected to the total workforce.
The section on “Increasing Workforce Availability” will include information about the population age 18 thru 64 and how the non-working population is represented in the age group. It also addresses students, spousal or gender employment differences and those residing in but working outside the Area Labor Market.
Further, the “Workforce Availability” has a category on “Working Students” to define the group that was segmented and identified in the “Available Workforce.” This group is represented by two different motivations: Those encouraged and normally paid for by their employers to improve their skills on the job and those interested and mostly paid by themselves for career enhancement and better jobs.
The reader should be aware that while the number of underemployed workers identified in this report is accurate (as are education, costs, etc.), all of those individuals would not be acceptable candidates for an employer. Their previous work records, stability, integrity, intelligence, appearance, and other factors could not be considered in this report.
This report also identifies workers who are commuting out of the seven county ALM and would be willing to work closer to home with the right employment opportunities.
LOCAL LABOR FORCE
Traditional methods of analyzing the local labor force have focused on two primary areas on what the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) calls the Civilian Labor Force (CLF) and the Census of Employment and Wages (ES 202). The CLF represents all civilians 16 years of age and over classified as employed or unemployed with unemployed civilians defined as civilians available for work and who had made specific efforts to find employment. The CLF for the seven county AHEP ALM is 95,569 workers (See Section II, Page 1). Since most employers in the Goods Producing Industry have age requirements for employment due to safety and other legal reasons, the survey only identified potential workers from 18 to 65 years of age. The ALM contains Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and reflects military personnel which are not counted in the CLF. This changes the dynamics of the Workforce some and needs to be considered when comparing with other Alms in other parts of the country.
The Census of Employment and Wages (ES 202) is another excellent tool for assessing the local workforce, however, counts jobs rather than individuals and only those on payrolls and not those self-employed.
A review of these statistics represents a good starting point for understanding the labor force in and around the Lebanon and Laclede County, Missouri. Other limitations associated with these statistics include individuals interested in employment but who do not meet the specific efforts in actively seeking employment during the last four weeks. These individuals may include full-time students who do not work, homemakers, the unemployed who are no longer seeking employment, military personnel who may be leaving military employment in the near future, and retired individuals who may be willing to work but have not been looking for work recently.
Further, most new employers draw their employees from individuals who are presently employed, not those who are unemployed. Also Census-based and BLS data do not address the possibility of workers moving from one industry to another in search of other employment opportunities. For example, an ALM may be classified as primarily a goods producing sector and not be considered as a service providing area and therefore be stereotyped as providing only certain types of applicants to certain employers.
GENERAL COMMENTS
The “Available Workforce” represents respondents who indicate they are either looking for a job or would consider changing their jobs for the right employment options. The survey interview provides information on those working, unemployed, and potential members of the workforce (retirees and homemakers) who are outside the published government statistics.
This study combines the survey data with the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics data, which take into account the percentage of homemakers, retirees, and long-term unemployed who are seeking or would consider coming into the labor force. This report presents data different from published government statistics, which shows employment for the entire workforce, many of whom have no interest in changing jobs. As opposed to average wages, this report quantifies the number of those workers available for an employer in various wage ranges.
B. AVAILABLE WORKFORCE
TOTAL AVAILABLE WORKERS
The following table shows that there is an “Available Workforce” in the AHEP region of 60,224. It is estimated 6,870 unemployed and 17,756 employed workers are seeking new employment, while 35,598 workers would consider changing jobs for the right employment options.
OCCUPATION GROUPS
The occupation category table shows the professional/technical category represents approximately 16%, the blue collar manufacturing/production category 28%, and the service sector category 45%.
UNDEREMPLOYED
The primary source of good employees is the category of the UNDEREMPLOYED, those individuals who are now working but desire a better job and who possess the skills, education, and experience to qualify for better jobs. The AHEP region has 29,143 (48.48%) of the available workforce underemployed.
DESIRED WAGE
The desired wage of the “Available Workforce” includes all three categories of the available workforce: those seeking employment (not employed), those seeking other employment (employed), and those who would change with the right employment options. The pay rates they expect to achieve range from under $7.00 to over $30.00 per hour.
Nine percent of the “available workforce” would be interested in employment with a wage of up to $8.99. Forty-one percent would be interested in employment with a wage of up to $12.99.
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EDUCATION LEVEL
The education level of the “Available Workforce” shows 43.1% having at least some college education. A total of 90.6% have at least a high school diploma.
COMMUTING DISTANCES
The “available workforce” indicates it is open to commuting for the right employment option. The table shows 49,021 (81.4% of available workforce) would commute more than 15 minutes/miles, one way, for work. It also shows that 25,113 (40.0% of the available workforce) are willing to travel more than 30 minutes / miles and 5,902 (9.8%) will commute for more than 60 minutes/miles.
AGE / GENDER
The age and gender statistics of these 60,224 workers in the available workforce are listed in the tables below.
JOB CHANGE INDUCEMENT
Salary appears to be the top motivator for changing jobs with retirement benefits, flexible hours, and health benefits following.
CHANGING PRIMARY EMPLOYMENT FIELD
Changing jobs from one field to a different type of position may not be something many individuals are willing to do. If there are a large percentage of those unwilling to change their job positions, it could limit the type of employer who can enter the area labor market. In the AHEP region, 66% of the workers indicated a willingness to accept a position outside their primary field of employment (i.e., manufacturing to the service sector).
C. INCREASING WORKFORCE AVAILABILITY
WORKING STUDENTS
The AHEP available workforce has 5,424 adult student ages 18-64 enrolled in various courses (outside the work environment) for skill enhancement or career development. Along with their education requirements, they are working full or part-time jobs represented in almost all of the various occupations. This group may be participating as adult students in various ways: Academic Course Work, Skill Enhancement, or Career Development. Working students also have higher expectations in wage rates ($13.46 per hour or average) when making a job change. This compares with the professional/technical at $13.51, manufacturing/production at $11.89, and the service sector at $11.22. Another 2,948 adult students are enrolled in various courses and are not employed. The information and results are based on how the respondents answered the various questions and then were projected to the total available workforce.
SPOUSAL EMPLOYMENT
Much is said about opportunities for spousal employment in smaller labor markets. Spousal employment can be a concern for either gender depending on the career choices of the primary wage earner. Here, a review of the gender data is evaluated to determine if significant differences present themselves in areas such as Employment, Underemployment, Seeking New Opportunities, Type of Occupations, Wages and Length of Employment.
In the employment area, women present no significant differences, with only a slightly larger percentage of employment participation than men. In the military, there are more than three times as many men as women. The retired ranks show more than twice as many men as women. In the Homemaker area, there are more than eight times as many women as men. Women consider themselves slightly more underutilized than men and thus Underemployed.
The occupations tend also to differ significantly for the genders. Women are represented in the clerical, office, retail, hotel, restaurant, social services and health care at three times the rate of men. The reverse is true for general labor, construction, Plumber, and Mechanic with men represented about three times the rate of women. The rest of the occupations do not present any significant difference.
In the wage levels, there appear to be only minor differences with the entry level relatively the same and the mid and higher ranges more represented by men. The length of time on the job appears to be slightly greater for men than women.
Overall, women appear to be represented on the job in equal or greater percentages than men. They do, however, tend to have shorter tenure, lower wages and a greater feeling of underutilization than men. These gaps are relatively small, however, with a rather significant exception in retirement, which favors men over women. Seeking new and different jobs and new employment opportunities are similar for men as women. Schedule flexibility as a preferred benefit appeared to be higher for women than men along with shorter distances to work.
WORKING OUTSIDE THE LABOR MARKET
With commuting distance, cost and time becoming more of a factor, job opportunities closer to home can be important. Of those responding to the phone survey, 86.9% live and work within the AHEP ALM. A little over 13% who live within the seven county ALM work outside the area. At the county level Eighty-nine percent of the respondents live and work in Laclede County.
SOURCES FOR AVAILABLE WORKERS
The sources for increasing the “Available Workforce” come from both those employed and not working. Those employed represent 61.5% of the population in the Area Labor Market and includes 4.4% “Working Students” and 2.3% “Military.”
The 6,810 individuals in the AHEP ALM “Seeking Employment-Not Employed” are from the “not working group.” Those not working are represented by respondents from ages 18 to 64 in the AHEP ALM and Laclede County and provides another means for assessing the available Labor Market and increasing the Labor Pool. The range for those seeking or not seeking employment include: Retired 10.5%, Disabled 8.1%, Homemakers 7.5%, Lacking Skills 4.3%, Students 3.7%, Job Availability 2.7%, Child Care 1.1% and Transportation .3%. Those not represented in this sample study are those residing in local, state or federal correction or other types of institutions.
The goal is to increase the available labor market so employers can hire the most skilled and best qualified applicants at the most competitive costs. The goal of many communities and regions from a public policy perspective is to provide an expanded and qualified labor pool with the skills and work values for a competitive workforce. Several areas present opportunities for the AHEP in increasing the available labor force: The “Retired” at 10.9% of the 18 to 64 age group, the “Homemaker” at 7.5%, and those proclaiming themselves as “Lacking Skills” at 4.3%. The degree of withdrawal of this potential workforce group in actively seeking work is dependent on the right opportunity and the need for engagement and financial support. While the availability and motivation to work is important, the degree of accommodation for the Disabled -- one of the larger groups -- and Child Care and Transportation (not significant for the AHEP) may be important considerations at both the employer and community level. Another element that ranked high among the factors for evaluating new employment opportunities was “work schedule flexibility.” This ranked number three behind increase in salary and improved retirement and above improved Health Care benefits. Work Schedule Flexibility, while difficult in many jobs and industries, can be a way of increasing the Available Workforce.
Another area not measured here is the large number of applicants rejected due to behavior problems in the past such as criminal activity, etc. State statutes for safety reasons or otherwise prohibit many occupations and industries from hiring this growing segment of the population (otherwise available and sometimes qualified skill-wise) from employment. With increasing workforce shortages for the future from the demographic changes and an aging population, the question of a more proactive approach in increasing the labor pool with productive workers is critical. Weighing the social cost with the social benefits will be key in remaining competitive in a global economy.
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