More employers are posting jobs with Work Force Solutions of West Central Texas, but a “gap” in the number of applicants still means hiring problems for some, said Bill Dean, its director of business services.
However, “if you’re able to work, work and are willing to work, positions are available,” Dean said. Some employers have had to offer incentives and increase benefits and pay scales “just to be competitive”.
According to the Texas Workforce Commission, weekly wages in the 19-county region that make up the Midwest Workforce Development Area increased in the second quarter of 2022 by an average of $74 per week, compared to the second quarter of 2021.
Weekly wages have reached an average of $950 per week in the region, compared to $876 a year ago.
That said, employers currently coming to job fairs “don’t see enough applicants to fill (open) positions,” Dean said.
This is of particular concern in the 19 wider counties that make up the Midwest Workforce Development Area, even as some businesses are considering expansions and large employers such as Great Lakes Cheese are looking to hire workers. workers.
“There are more job advertisements and vacancies than people looking for work,” he said, along with a low unemployment rate.
“The unemployment numbers that we were seeing, post-COVID, are definitely down,” Dean said. “There aren’t people reporting to the Texas Workforce Commission that they can’t find work. But the employers that we have on our board that come to our job fairs, they do not see a sufficient number of candidates to fill these positions.
Low unemployment rate persists
Since 2021, there has been a “drastic drop in the unemployment rate for this region,” consistently below state averages, Dean said.
But job postings and job demand remain high, a trend that is expected to continue, Dean said.
As of Nov. 28, the Abilene Metropolitan Service Area had an unemployment rate of 3.2%, lower than the state’s 4% rate.
“These are lower than pre-COVID numbers,” Dean said.
There are also fewer jobless claims, also registering a steady decline since the region entered a “post-pandemic period”, Dean said.
“It’s dropped drastically over the last two (or) three quarters,” he said.
Surplus jobs
Currently, the WorkInTexas.com job portal that serves both employers and job seekers has over 4,000 positions available in Abilene.
And at a job fair on Nov. 3, 150 people showed up to compete for jobs from 71 employers — and 1,138 vacancies.
“It’s region-wide, but most of these employers were from Abilene,” Dean said, noting that the group of employers at the event also included areas such as Sweetwater.
Education and health services account for about 30% of employment by industry in the region, followed by trade and transportation utilities, recreation facilities third, and manufacturing fourth.
The construction of the Great Lakes Cheese factory, along with the expansion of other businesses such as Tige Boats and Hartmann’s means the area is seeing an increase in manufacturing opportunities, while the downtown hotel and other Hospitality and restaurant sites on US Interstate 20 highlight other opportunities.
“We’re seeing pretty drastic demand for transportation and logistics,” said Dean, which accounts for about 21% of employment.
Some “underemployed”
Depending on where one searches the demographics, 23 to 25 percent of workers in the area are considered “underemployed,” Dean said, meaning they’re not looking for work.
“Either based on their childcare status or their perceived skill level, they’re in a lower-paying position than they’re likely eligible for,” he said. “But depending on different situations – availability of hours or transportation, different things – they stay in that position instead of looking elsewhere”
“What we’ve seen with some of our employers is that when they interview or offer people positions, they take them and don’t show up or take them because of a perceived barrier,” said Dean.
This could be a desire not to work weekends, or an obstacle such as not being able to find daycare for a night shift or transportation issues.
In fields of employment with long shifts, such as healthcare, the latter can be a problem, as public transport schedules do not match the needs of job seekers.
“We’ve encountered this with some of our businesses at (Five Points Business Park),” Dean said. “The buses don’t run in time for their shifts to start.”
Some may just choose to stick with a job they know, even if it’s not ideal, he said, in favor of learning a new culture or possibly finding themselves working harder. .
And while someone may be thrilled to take on a new job, they may find it just doesn’t work with their transportation or family needs, Dean said.
“If you’re starting from a six-hour shift or eight-hour shift or part-time hours, many of our mid-skill manufacturing positions are 12-hour shifts,” he said. “This can present several obstacles, especially if you have children in school.”
For retail and other positions, general salaries have increased over the past two or three quarters, likely due to incentives to attract applicants, he said.
Other trends
While the region’s workforce aged 55+ has shrunk and the workforce itself is generally older, the 18-25 year old “working population” is often in a place strange – neither fully employed, but not unemployed.
Some are likely enrolled in school but not attending full-time but also not considered full-time employees, Dean said.
“It’s been a phenomenon since the pandemic,” he said. “Usually when someone leaves, you know, leaves high school, they show up somewhere. And we see over 30% don’t show up anywhere. … They’re probably working part-time, or they’re working for money or working day laborers and going to school when it suits them.”
Perhaps also some figures are skewed by the fact that employers do not have to report workers if they do not remain employed, he said.
“We had an employer who was in manufacturing (who) had guys who worked for three or four weeks and then left and then came back in a few weeks,” he said. “They are working to fill a need. They are not looking to build their retirement or have any longevity.”
Homebuilders have also reported strong demand, he said — and an inability to fill all the positions they need, Dean said.
profit and loss
While unemployment rates are expected to remain low, supply chain issues could lead to layoffs in manufacturing areas, he said.
Some layoffs are “a bit typical for this time of year,” he said.
But supply chain issues can lead to temporary layoffs until manufacturing can restart, he said, with some companies having demand for products but unable to source supplies.
But in key areas, including “middle-skilled positions and in hospitality and healthcare,” these (show) these positions are going to be in demand for a while,” Dean said.
“And we’re working on our list of in-demand occupations right now and we’ll probably include construction coaching because of all the work that’s going on,” he said.
What are the fastest growing industries here?
As projected by the Midwest Workforce Development Zone, 2020-30:
- Mining support activities: 57.2%
- Building equipment contractors: 40%
- Production of fabricated metals: 34.7%
- Natural resources and mining: 29.8%
- Individual and family services: 26.3%
- Architectural, engineering and related services: 23.3%
- Construction: 20.7%
- Leisure and hospitality: 19.9%
- Professional and business services: 19.1%
- Oil and gas extraction: 17.7%– Source: Texas Labor Commission
