Regional labor study shows high underemployment

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Of the 262,346 members of the Ozark region's substantial available labor pool, more than a third are underemployed.|ret||ret||tab|

More than three-fourths would change their job if given the right opportunity.|ret||ret||tab|

Another 16 percent 41,852 are actively seeking new jobs with better pay as the motivating factor, retirement benefits second and, surprisingly, a desire for flexible hours as third. Health benefits came in fourth.|ret||ret||tab|

Those are just some of the findings in a labor analysis of the available labor pool released Sept. 12 by the Ozarks Regional Economic Partnership, which commissioned the study.|ret||ret||tab|

Only 3.3 percent 16,971 of the civilian labor force is unemployed, but because of the underemployment which the study termed "significant" and the willingness to leave jobs, the study called the available job pool "substantial." |ret||ret||tab|

Twenty-one counties in southwest Missouri and three northwest Arkansas counties were surveyed by telephone in the study, which was conducted by the Docking Institute of Public Affairs and the Univer-sity Center for Survey Research of Fort Hays State University in Fort Hays, Kan. The survey was conducted from May 14 to July 5.|ret||ret||tab|

Steve Vaught, chairman of the regional partnership, has seen the raw data of the study and said he believes that the information can broken down even more specifically. |ret||ret||tab|

The reason the study was commissioned, Vaught said, was because "work force is a priority in our region. We needed a way to look at the available pool and analyze it." |ret||ret||tab|

For a potential employer who wants to establish a business in the 10-county area of the partnership, "we can show (them) by this study that we do have the people at this level that can work for (them.)"|ret||ret||tab|

Brett Zollinger, PhD, the Docking Institute director, explained to partnership members gathered at the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce office, including area educators, that the "available labor pool," for purposes of the study, was defined as people looking for jobs or who would consider changing jobs if given the right opportunity.|ret||ret||tab|

The Ozarks region, with its 1 million plus inhabitants, has a civilian labor force of more than 520,000, but it's a restless labor force, the study indicated, partly because its well-educated members lack jobs that match their skills.|ret||ret||tab|

That's no surprise to Virginia Mee, director of the Manage-ment Development Institute at Southwest Missouri State Uni-versity, who in an earlier interview noted a lack of jobs for educated people. |ret||ret||tab|

"We have the worker groups, then we have the entrepreneurship group of owners, and professionals ... we don't have that middle layer (of jobs) here." |ret||ret||tab|

Mee added that highly educated women don't stay in Springfield.|ret||ret||tab|

The survey substantiated her concern that the highly educated fill the ranks of the underemployed, with 92.9 percent having at least a high school diploma. Another 59.4 percent have some college education. |ret||ret||tab|

Of that group, 1.9 percent have doctoral degrees, 9.1 percent hold master's degrees, 24.4 percent have bachelor's degrees and another 31.6 percent have associate's degrees.|ret||ret||tab|

About 40 percent of the underemployed work in customer-service-related occupations, 29 percent in general labor, 20 percent in professional jobs and 10 percent in skilled or semi-skilled positions.|ret||ret||tab|

Of the entire available labor pool, about 34.8 percent work in traditional so-called blue-collar jobs, with another 25.1 percent engaged in professional occupations. |ret||ret||tab|

Students, homemakers, the military and the unemployed make up the balance of the pool at about 6.9 percent. Retirees are included in the unemployed portion of the pool, coming in at about 1.9 percent, according to Zollinger. |ret||ret||tab|

Commissioned to determine how many inhabitants of the region were actually available to local employers, the study also accumulated other data. It found that wage demand of the available job pool is competitive. |ret||ret||tab|

Of those polled, 53.6 percent wanted an hourly wage of $14, yet 46 percent would settle for $12, and 32.9 percent would be interested in $10 per hour.|ret||ret||tab|

Distance to the job wasn't a huge factor, with more than 16 percent willing to drive more than an hour one way for a job and nearly 80 percent willing to drive more than 30 minutes one way. |ret||ret||tab|

For purposes of the study, the labor basin centers were determined to be Springfield, Bolivar, Branson, Buffalo, Cassville, Greenfield and Mt. Vernon. |ret||ret||tab|

The report, prepared by Zollinger and Trevor Steinert, a research scientist at Fort Hays State University, indicated that the traditional way of looking at the labor force by using census-based information creates an incomplete picture. |ret||ret||tab|

The census data could "stereotype a community that is dominated by manufacturing employment as one that would not support the labor needs of a service sector/ information based employer, even though the quantity and qualifications of workers who would likely apply for this type of employment may be sufficient to support the needs of this type of employer," the report stated.|ret||ret||tab|

The census data wouldn't reveal the size or quality of the labor pool which might be accessible for new job opportunities, the report added.|ret||ret||tab|

Characteristics of the available labor pool were assessed when participants gave information in three areas. First, would they seriously consider applying for a new jobs? If so, what do they consider when making such a decision pay, benefits, commuting distance? And finally, of those willing to take new jobs, what are their qualifications? |ret||ret||tab|

Other data from the survey of the available labor pool showed:|ret||ret||tab|

the average employee's age is 40|ret||ret||tab|

about 44 percent are female|ret||ret||tab|

occupations of the various potential employees by percent are: mechanic, welder, 4; factory worker, meat packer, 5.2; general labor, 23.8; governmental, business or other professional, 19; clerical, 5.2; educator or professor, 6.1; other white collar, 10.1; social service, such as health or baby-sitting, 6.9; sales, hotel, restaurant, food service, 12.6; military, 0.2; homemakers, retirees, 1.9; full or part-time student, 0.8; unemployed, 4.|ret||ret||tab|

more than 15 percent of the available labor pool is in Greene County.|ret||ret||tab|

Counties surveyed in southwest Missouri were Greene, St. Clair, Hickory, Dallas, Laclede, Douglas, Ozark, Polk, Webster, Cedar, Dade, Christian, Taney, Lawrence, Stone, Jasper, Newton, Barry, McDonald, Camden, Barton, and in Arkansas, Boone, Carroll and Benton.[[In-content Ad]]