Two Jobs for Every Unemployed Person in Colorado (Denver: house, job market)

[otowi]

Two job openings for every unemployed person in Colorado - shows the problem is not just people not wanting to work, but literally not having enough people to take the jobs - birth rates, immigration barriers, and cost of living/available housing/infrastructure are all factors.

https://denvergazette.com/news/busin...536.1639683368

"There are, indeed, two jobs available for every unemployed individual in Colorado, as Gov. Jared Polis
said in his State of the State address last week — but it's unclear what level of quality and or what
industry these jobs are most likely in.

"Polis said there are “two available jobs for every unemployed person” in Colorado. With a low state
unemployment rate of 3.3%, according to the most recent report from the Colorado Department of
Labor and Employment, there are still technically two available jobs for every one unemployed person
based on November’s data.

"Ryan Gedney, principal economist for the state labor department, said they are looking at the data
based on the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS program, from the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics and comparing it to the number of unemployed individuals in a given month. In
November, there were 231,000 job openings and 113,622 unemployed individuals, equal to 2.03
openings per unemployed person, according to Gedney.

“Unfortunately we do not know the quality or pay of those job openings, as the JOLTS program does
not provide that information publicly,” Gedney said in an email. “Openings in Colorado and the U.S.
have been historically high for the past year and a half.”

"The Colorado Chamber of Commerce found in a recent survey that two-thirds of respondents claim to
have open positions that they are unable to fill. The survey also showed that manufacturing companies
are struggling more than other industries, as 83% of respondents are unable to fill open positions. The
lack of qualified labor is also an issue for manufacturing, according to Meghan Dollar, senior vice
president of governmental affairs and political operations at the Colorado Chamber.

“This issue isn’t necessarily in a vacuum,” Dollar said. “Because workforce sort of ties with the
workforce housing issues that we’re having in Colorado as well, so I think policies that boost that and
help the talent pipeline and workforce housing will really be helpful for Colorado’s businesses.”
Dollar said workforce and labor issues are a pressing concern for their organization. In the chamber’s
2023 legislative agenda, “building the workforce of the future” is one of the main goals of the
organization. This includes increasing funding for the Career Development Incentive Program and
growing apprenticeship programs.

“I think everybody is struggling generally because people don’t want to just hire somebody, they want
to hire the right person,” Dollar said.

"For the restaurant and hospitality business community, these numbers come as no surprise according
to Denise Mickelsen, communication director for the Colorado Restaurant Association.

“The restaurant industry has been feeling the effects of this labor shortage for years, and operators tell
us that it’s never been harder to hire and retain staff,” Mickelsen said in a statement. “In fact, in
November 2022, more than half of Colorado restaurants reported not having enough staff to fulfill
consumer demand. The local restaurant industry is still a long way from fully recovering from the
effects of the pandemic.”

[skeddy]

can't fill jobs in the service industry. Nobody wants to get their hands dirty. Tech industry is laying off thousands.

[Rakin]

All those Homeless people in Denver should be able to find a job then.

[bale002]

Most of the homeless are mentally ill.

Low-level service jobs have always sucked, more suitable for high-turnover young people than as career positions. Anyway, what is surprising about that?

What struck me the most is the part about shortage of qualified labor in manufacturing.

Perhaps a consequence of some 30 years of de-industrialization on US soil whose easy years have come to an end?

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by bale002

Most of the homeless are mentally ill. ...

As are many of those posting on this site.

[Melanzana92]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

As are many of those posting on this site.

LMAO ain't that the truth!

As for the topic on hand...I definitely believe it. No place has enough help. I heard the nationwide unemployment level is at something like a 50-year low.

I wonder if Boomers are helping this along by starting to finally retire in huge numbers? In theory it should help generations X, Y, and Z with continued wage growth.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by Melanzana92

LMAO ain't that the truth! As for the topic on hand...I definitely believe it. No place has enough help. I heard the nationwide unemployment level is at something like a 50-year low. I wonder if Boomers are helping this along by starting to finally retire in huge numbers? In theory it should help generations X, Y, and Z with continued wage growth.

It's a combination of boomers retiring at the top of the employment food chain, and a lower birth rate that provides a smaller number of young people at the entry level of the employment food chain. This is why we see fast food paying ~$15/hour in some areas, they just can't get people in the door, or keep them. Lower immigration also helps tighten the job market, and I'm fine with that. I've said for years that the only way to get more people receiving a living wage is to lower the number of workers via birth control; supply and demand work in the labor market too.

I'm 75, an early boomer, born 1948, retired 20 years ago at age 55. The last year of the Baby Boom is said to be 1964, meaning those later dudes will be 59 this year, so yes, boomers will really be retiring in larger numbers in the upcoming years and it will roil the jobs and housing markets for sure. The birth control pill was created in 1957, by 1960 started to be widely adopted, and by 1964 the Baby Boom was essentially over.

Many states have under-funded education for many years, for many reasons, and IMO that's one reason jobs are going unfilled, especially manufacturing jobs, where key skills like tool and die makers go empty for lack of talent in the labor pool. High time that our education folks cranked up training for most of the trade skills.

For a serious discussion on population we have a thread in the Great Debates forum about The Shrinking Global Population. It has 800+ posts. That forum has very special rules for discussion towards assuring proper behavior and meaningful dialog.

[parfleche]

Where I live in the 4 corners the labor shortage is high housing costs.People get jobs look for housing and then decline the job.I could never even dream of living here if I did not buy my home decades ago.Its worth 5x what I paid for it but I need it to live in so I'm house rich and cash poor but very lucky and happy.

[Willy702]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

It's a combination of boomers retiring at the top of the employment food chain, and a lower birth rate that provides a smaller number of young people at the entry level of the employment food chain. This is why we see fast food paying ~$15/hour in some areas, they just can't get people in the door, or keep them. Lower immigration also helps tighten the job market, and I'm fine with that. I've said for years that the only way to get more people receiving a living wage is to lower the number of workers via birth control; supply and demand work in the labor market too.

I'm 75, an early boomer, born 1948, retired 20 years ago at age 55. The last year of the Baby Boom is said to be 1964, meaning those later dudes will be 59 this year, so yes, boomers will really be retiring in larger numbers in the upcoming years and it will roil the jobs and housing markets for sure. The birth control pill was created in 1957, by 1960 started to be widely adopted, and by 1964 the Baby Boom was essentially over.

Many states have under-funded education for many years, for many reasons, and IMO that's one reason jobs are going unfilled, especially manufacturing jobs, where key skills like tool and die makers go empty for lack of talent in the labor pool. High time that our education folks cranked up training for most of the trade skills.

For a serious discussion on population we have a thread in the Great Debates forum about The Shrinking Global Population. It has 800+ posts. That forum has very special rules for discussion towards assuring proper behavior and meaningful dialog.

Denver minimum wage is $17.29 and most entry level service jobs pay closer to $20. One can get $25 per hour at most retail stores unless they never worked in one before. The problem that isn't discussed is every office or business is struggling to find someone so they offer even more to get a worker. Then because of wage disclosure laws or people just talking all the coworkers find out and want the same wage or they leave. Businesses then have to decide if they raise everyone but then the business model is kinda broken if suddenly everyone is getting 20% raises. It's really a lot of layers of mess.

[COcheesehead]

Originally Posted by bale002

Most of the homeless are mentally ill.

Low-level service jobs have always sucked, more suitable for high-turnover young people than as career positions. Anyway, what is surprising about that?

What struck me the most is the part about shortage of qualified labor in manufacturing.

Perhaps a consequence of some 30 years of de-industrialization on US soil whose easy years have come to an end?

I had a manufacturing business in Denver and we regularly had to import folks from the Midwest. - the skill set pool did not exist in Colorado.
So as an employer try training and moving someone only to have them quit. We tried tiered incentives along with above market pay, benefits and all that. Some people truly do not want to work.