Regional labor study outlines employment challenges

Labor availability continues to be a leading factor affecting economic development in the region. To better understand the current characteristics of the labor force in the Ozarks, a regional labor availability analysis was conducted on behalf of the Ozarks Regional Economic Partnership.

The analysis was commissioned as a marketing resource to assist both existing and new businesses in assessing their ability to tap into the current labor supply.

For the purpose of the analysis, adults 18 years and older residing within a 24- county area (21 counties in southwest Missouri and three in northwest Arkansas) were surveyed. The purpose of the study was to assess the "available labor pool" in this region.

The "available labor pool" represents those who indicate that they are either looking for employment or would consider changing their jobs for the right employment opportunity.

Because of the high growth rate in the Ozarks region, the analysis paints a more accurate picture of the current labor market than can be gleaned from official unemployment and prevailing wage levels, or from current census data.

The analysis indicates that 19,971 unemployed and 41,852 employed workers are seeking new employment, while an additional 203,524 would consider changing jobs for the right opportunity. This represents more than 47 percent of the region's civilian labor force.

Although the analysis shows that southwest Missouri has a quality work force in many ways, two characteristics stand out.

First, the Ozarks region has a high-quality available labor pool. Specifically, 93 percent of the labor pool has at least a high school diploma and an additional 60 percent has at least some college education.

When this high level of education is combined with our tremendous work ethic, the Ozarks labor pool is a tremendous economic development asset.

The second characteristic is that underemployment is a significant issue. More than 35 percent of those responding indicate they are underemployed. This means that more than one-third of the labor pool believes they possess skills and/or training that exceed their responsibilities in their current job.

These underemployed persons tend to be currently employed in areas of strong demand, such as customer service. More importantly, more than 63 percent of the underemployed have at least some college education.

The data support the region's economic development efforts to create higher paying, high-quality jobs that match the education and skill levels of area residents.

Underemployment is not unique to the Ozarks region. Many areas around the state and throughout the nation face this same challenge.

Our society has stressed the importance of education and training to improve the quality of the work force.

However, job creation has not kept pace with the growth of an educated work force.

This work force challenge is one that will take time to address. Through effective economic development efforts with existing employers as well as new businesses, we can create these job opportunities that will improve the quality of life for many Ozarkers.

The regional labor availability analysis was conducted by the Docking Institute of Public Affairs at Fort Hays State University, which has received national recognition for conducting a similar labor analysis in northwest Missouri.

The labor analysis was conducted with the aid of a regional marketing grant provided by the Missouri Department of Ec-onomic Development as well as local matching funds from member organizations.

The entire study, the regional report and the seven individual labor basins are available on the Partnership's Web site at www.ozarkspartnership.com.

The Ozarks Regional Economic Partnership is a program of the Spring-field Area Chamber of Commerce in association with Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. and partner members throughout the Ozarks region.

(Allen Kunkel is the manager of regional development with the Spring-field Area Chamber of Commerce.)