Employee shortages in Colorado (Boulder: house, employment, construction)

[Vision67]

Colorado employers stretched thin by tight labor markets
In a stretch of full employment unmatched since the dot-com boom, employers are making bold moves to attract and keep workers

https://www.denverpost.com/2018/07/2...ing-employers/

"“We are in a seller’s market for employees,” said Ryan Gedney, a senior labor economist with the state. “It is a true labor shortage, in a lot of areas.”

In May, Colorado’s unemployment rate was 3 percent or lower for the 19th consecutive month, surpassing the prior record of an 18-month run from October 1999 to March 2001.

May’s unemployment rate of 2.8 percent represents 85,095 people actively looking for work out of a labor force of 3.06 million. In October 2010, more than 243,000 unemployed people were actively looking.

Forecasts, including one in December from the University of Colorado Boulder, have warned that worker shortages could curtail job gains and limit overall growth in the state.

But after taking a breather following the crash in oil prices, job growth in Colorado, aided by federal tax cuts, has accelerated again, not slowed. The state is on track to add 70,000 new jobs this year, despite low unemployment, Gedney said."

Wonder why so many people are moving into Colorado?

[COcheesehead]

Our last two hires came from Georgia and Wisconsin. For certain skills Colorado is tapped out.

[NW Crow]

Labor tightness will get worse and worse with population growth slowing, immigration restrictions and aging, unless labor saving innovations offset.

Article indicates most jobs added will be in health care and most at lowest pay level for direct assistance. Probably need more attention to elder health education, by internet. Software assist with medication management. Construction assistance to live better, more independently. Probably going to have a hard time filling a million more health aides.

[jim9251]

Talking with several supervisors and managers around here, they have a hard time finding anyone who actually wants to work, will be on the job site at 6am, and can pass a drug test.

[brightdoglover]

^^^
I've heard that from other working people.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by jim9251

Talking with several supervisors and managers around here, they have a hard time finding anyone who actually wants to work, will be on the job site at 6am, and can pass a drug test.

yeah... last weekend, Safeway was out of many produce items, and they said it reflected the ability to find truckdrivers who could pass the required Drug tests. (I have been 'random' tested as may as 7x in one yr, and hire CDL drivers, so I realize this is true....)

A challenge for businesses / commerce and will push for driver-less trucks soon.

[jwiley]

The one result is that employers are going to have to increase wages, with the huge gains in cost of living especially along the front range low level employees cannot afford to live in the area anymore, so they are leaving which makes it hard for many companies to find anyone. Until the pay increases enough to offset some of that, companies will struggle to hire any one.

[AsFarSouthAsSouthGoes]

Originally Posted by jwiley

The one result is that employers are going to have to increase wages, with the huge gains in cost of living especially along the front range low level employees cannot afford to live in the area anymore, so they are leaving which makes it hard for many companies to find anyone. Until the pay increases enough to offset some of that, companies will struggle to hire any one.

^^^This! It is absolutely insane for employers to offer employees $10 per hour in a town where the median house value is $420,000.

[pikabike]

Originally Posted by jim9251

Talking with several supervisors and managers around here, they have a hard time finding anyone who actually wants to work, will be on the job site at 6am, and can pass a drug test.

I’ve heard that also, and deduced that from some ads seeking new hires.

[TCHP]

Entry level wages where I am at have gone up 20% over the past four years. We don't lack applicants for those positions. We do have a harder time finding skilled labor for specific roles and when we post to national boards, typically find our top applicants are not local.