Primary Industries
Of the Laborshed
Industries in the
Mitchell County Laborshed area - employed
In order to provide consistency with other labor market information, the
industrial categories identified in this Laborshed analysis will follow a
similar format of the Standard Industrial Classification Manual (1987).
Survey respondents from the Mitchell County Laborshed area were asked to
identify the industry they are currently working. The following information
is based on the responses from those Laborshed respondents who are currently
employed (Chart 1).
Chart 1.
Where are the Employed Working?
Workforce STATISTICS
Essentially, when everything else is stripped away, it is the people that are
the key to a business’ success (Expansion Management, January 2003) and
in nearly all site location studies, labor constitutes one of the most – if
not the most – important criterion of the study (AreaDevelopment,
April/May 2006). Profiling the characteristics of a community’s Laborshed
reveals a very dynamic and diverse collection of skills, abilities, work
experience and preferences among residents. It is important to analyze each
grouping of respondents to identify and respect their uniqueness and
contributions to the Laborshed. The employed individuals who are “very
likely” or “somewhat likely” to change jobs within their company, or accept a
position with a different employer represent the primary pool of available
labor. Many factors must be taken into account when evaluating these workers,
such as employment experiences, unused skills, education, wages and benefits
desired and the distance individuals are willing to travel to work. Current
literature does not suggest standards by which to compare this Laborshed data,
however, results from previous Laborshed studies conducted by Iowa Workforce
Development (IWD) and the University of Northern Iowa’s Institute for Decision
Making (IDM) form a base of comparison for the study.
The
gender break down of those respondents, who are employed, is 55.1 percent
female and 44.9 percent male. The average age of the employed is 46 years
old. A small portion (5.0%) of the employed respondents speaks more than one
language in their household.
The
results of this Laborshed survey show that 84.7 percent of all the
respondents identified themselves as being employed at the time they were
contacted (Chart 2). The majority (74.2%) of the employed are working
in positions that are considered full-time (see Chart 3 on the next
page).
Chart 2.
Employment Status of Survey Respondents
Chart 3.
Type of Employment
Nearly one-tenth
(8.7%) of the employed respondents are self-employed. The types of businesses
they are operating include farming (20.0%), child care (10.0%), retail
(10.0%), restaurant (6.7%), consulting (6.7%), or construction/handyman
(6.7%). The self-employed have been operating their businesses for an average
of 25 years, ranging from one to 37 years.
Education & Training
Nearly three-fourths (72.6%) of the employed residents in the Laborshed area
have some level of education/training beyond high school, 4.1 percent are
trade certified, 4.4 percent have completed vocational training, 17.2 percent
have an associate degree, 16.1 percent have an undergraduate
degree, and 8.5 percent have a postgraduate/professional degree.
Table
2 provides an
overview of the educational fields of study of those who are currently
employed in the Laborshed area.
Table 2.
Educational Fields of Study
Occupations & Experiences
IWD
recodes the respondents’ actual occupations into one of the seven Occupational
Employment Statistics
(OES) categories. The occupational categories represent a variety of specific
occupations held by the respondents. (See OES Category Structure - Exhibit
D.) Classifying the employed by occupational group, Table 3 shows
that the largest concentration of the workforce are employed in the
professional, paraprofessional, or technical occupational category.
Agricultural occupations represent the smallest sector of workers who are
currently employed. The totals are based on the Total Adjusted Labor Force
estimates found in Table 1 and the percentage of employed in the
Laborshed area.
Table 3.
Estimated Workforce by Occupation
Table
4 provides a
comparison of the gender distribution within each occupational category.
Table 4.
Occupational Categories by Gender
Table
5, on the next
page, illustrates the percentage of respondents within each
occupational category by zone of residence. The table shows that occupational
experiences are generally spread across the survey zones. Although Zone 1 is
the primary node in the Laborshed area, the table illustrates the impact of
the other zones on the extent of available labor. Within most of the
occupational categories, the largest percentage of workers may often reside in
outlying zones.
Table 5.
Occupational Categories Across the Zones
Wage Requirements
Respondents are surveyed on either an hourly or salaried basis; hourly wages
are not converted to annual salaries. The Mitchell County Laborshed area has
a higher concentration of respondents who are currently receiving an hourly
wage (63.5%) versus those who are receiving an annual salary. The current
median wage of those who are employed is $14.00 per hour and the median salary
is $40,000 per year.
Table
6 provides the
current median wages and salaries by industry of the respondents in the
Laborshed area. This wage information is an overview of all employed within
the Laborshed area without regard to occupational categories or willingness to
change employment. If businesses are in need of wage rates within a defined
Laborshed area, the survey data can be queried by various attributes to
provide additional analysis of the available labor supply. The actual wage
levels required by prospective workers will vary between individuals,
occupational categories, industries, and economic cycles.
Table 6.
Median Wages & Salaries by Industry
Table 7
illustrates current wage rates of those who are currently employed within each
defined occupational category.
Table 7.
Median Wages & Salaries by Occupational
Category
The
current median hourly wage of employed females in the Laborshed area is $12.00
per hour and the current median hourly wage of employed males is $15.50 per
hour. This $3.50 per hour wage difference has females in the Mitchell County
Laborshed area receiving an hourly wage of 22.6 percent less than males. Women
who are receiving an annual salary also are faced with gender wage disparity
($2,000 per year). Currently women are making a median annual salary of
$40,000 per year while men are making a median salary of $42,000 a year. This
results in a 4.8 percent difference in annual salaries.
Employment Benefits
There is
a variety of benefit packages being offered to employees within the Mitchell
County Laborshed area in addition to wages. Current benefits include
health/medical insurance (89.3%), pension/retirement options (57.0%), paid
vacation (44.8%), dental coverage (37.4%), paid sick leave (21.9%), life
insurance (18.5%), vision coverage (17.8%), paid holidays (16.7%), disability
insurance (8.9%), prescription drug coverage (5.6%), stock options (2.2%),
flextime (1.9%), and tuition assistance/reimbursement (0.7%). Nearly
three-fourths (73.4%) of the employers and employees in the Laborshed area are
sharing in the premium costs of health/
medical
insurance, 15.9 percent of the employers are covering the entire cost of
insurance premiums while 10.7 percent of the employers/employees have made
other arrangements.
Commuting
Commuting data collected by the Laborshed survey assists developers and
employers in understanding how employed residents can/could commute within/out
of the area. Overall, individuals are commuting an average of 9 miles one way
for employment opportunities. Those who live in Zone 1 are commuting an
average of 11 miles one way, while residents in Zone 2 are commuting an
average of 5 miles one way, and Zone 3 residents are commuting an average of
10 miles one way for the right employment opportunity. Keep in mind that for
those residing in Zones 2 and 3 commuting distances of less than 20 miles one
way may or may not get them into the nodal community (Osage).
Analysis of those employed
willing to change employment
Analyzing the employed based on their willingness to change employment creates
a profile of individuals interested in changing from their current position.
The data shows that 25.9 percent of those who are currently employed
within the Laborshed area indicated they are either “very likely” or “somewhat
likely” to change employers or employment if presented with the right job
opportunity. Job satisfaction is the primary reason that those who are
currently employed are not willing to consider changing employment.
Age/near retirement, good working relationship with current employer,
benefits, length of service/seniority, flexibility of work hours, job
security, family reasons, and health issues are other reasons mentioned but
not as frequently.
Table
8 shows the
employed willing to change employment residing throughout the survey zones.
Respondents willing to change employment by zone are calculated using a
logistic regression model weighted by multiple variables such as education
level, gender, age, miles willing to travel, and wages. This model provides
an estimate for the total number of individuals “willing to change” by zone.
The totals are based on the Total Adjusted Labor Force estimates found in
Table 1.
Table 8.
Totals by Zone
A
segment of those who are employed (16.9%), willing to change employment, are
working two or more jobs. This group would prefer to work full-time hours for
one employer versus working for multiple employers to accomplish full-time
employment. Those who are employed willing to change are currently working an
average of 41 hours per week. Nearly one-third (32.6%) would consider
employment offers that require them to work more hours. Further analysis
finds that 85.5 percent would prefer to work full-time positions (35+
hrs./week), while 14.5 percent prefer positions with less than full-time
hours. Temporary and seasonal employment opportunities do not appeal to the
majority of those who are currently employed and willing to change
employment. Seasonal and temporary employment would interest 25.8 percent.
When asked about their
interest in entrepreneurship opportunities, 21.3 percent of the employed, that
are willing to change employment, expressed an interest in starting a
business. The types of businesses they are primarily interested in starting
include restaurant (18.2%), retail (18.2%), farming (9.1%),
construction/handyman (4.5%), consulting (4.5%), and child care (4.5%).
However, the majority find access to capital/start-up funds is the primary
impediment of operating their own business venture followed by development of
a business plan, risk involved, insurance issues, finding prime business
location, and time involved.
AGE AND GENDER OF THE EMPLOYED
The gender break down
of those willing to change employment is distributed 53.9 percent female and
46.1 percent male. Table 9 compares the gender distribution among the
employed respondents willing to change employment in each zone. These
calculations are based on the Estimated Number of Employed Willing to Change
of 10,772 projections found in Table 8.
Table 9.
Estimated Totals by Zone & Gender
The average age of those willing to change employment is
46 years of age. Table 10 provides
a breakdown by age category of the employed respondents who are willing to
change employment. These calculations are based
on the Estimated Number of Employed Willing to Change of 10,772 projections
found in Table 8.
Table 10.
Age Range Distribution
Education & Training
The
survey results show that 70.8 percent of the respondents willing to change
employment have some level of education/training beyond high school, 14.6
percent have obtained an associate degree, 6.7 percent have completed
vocational training, 9.0 percent are trade certified, 11.2 percent have
an undergraduate degree, and 4.5 percent have a postgraduate/
professional degree. As with other segments of the Laborshed study, education
levels vary by industrial and occupational categories, gender and age groups.
Additional data can be provided for specific inquiries regarding education and
training by contacting the Mitchell County Economic Development Commission (MCEDC).
Table 11
provides an overview of the educational fields of study for those who are
employed and willing to change employment.
Table 11.
Educational Fields of Study
Education and training are
the keys to successful careers and employment opportunities.
Slightly over half (50.6%) of
the employed, willing to change employment, realize to make a successful
transition to new employment or be promoted within their current organization,
they will need additional education/training. Those respondents desire to
start/finish college degree (43.5%), attend computer courses (28.3%),
participate in on-the-job training (10.9%), take vocational training courses
(8.7%), or obtain continuing education units “CEU’s” (6.5%). The primary
areas of computer training which they want to take are in general computer
operations (keyboarding, etc.) (58.3%), software classes (Office, Word, etc.)
(25.0%), and programming (COBOL, JAVA, network administration, etc.) (16.7%).
Nearly one-third (31.1%) are
likely to seek additional training/education in their specified areas of study
within the next year. Lack of time (work scheduling conflicts), financing,
age, family care, and disability are the primary obstacles to obtaining their
educational/training needs.
Community and economic
developers, college/university professionals, and human resource professionals
may use this information as a guide for determining and enhancing their
workforce education and training programs. Additional issues influencing
education/training programs may include class time, cost, and location.
Occupations & Experiences
IWD recodes the respondents’ actual occupations into one
of the seven Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) categories. The
occupational categories represent a variety of specific occupations held by
the respondents. (See OES Category Structure - Exhibit D.) Classifying
the employed by current occupations and likeliness to change, Table 12
(on next page) shows that the largest
concentration of potential available labor is employed in production,
construction, or material handling occupations. Sales occupations represent
the smallest sector of workers willing to change employment. The calculations
for potential available labor are based on the Estimated Number of Employed
Willing to Change of 10,772 projections found in Table 8.
Table 12.
Estimated Workforce by Occupation
Table
13 provides a
comparison of those willing to change employment by gender. The Mitchell
County Laborshed area has a higher percentage of women who are employed
willing to change than men (53.9% and 46.1% respectively). It can be expected
that there would be a higher concentration of females in certain occupational
categories such as clerical, while males will have higher concentrations of
potential available labor in other occupational categories such as
construction. Employers within the Laborshed area looking to fill positions
can utilize this information to more efficiently focus their recruitment
efforts in the occupational categories from which they plan to hire.
Table 13.
Occupational Categories by Gender
The
occupational categories encompass a wide variety of individual occupations in
which workers in the Laborshed area are employed. In some cases, workers
willing to change positions may be employed in jobs that do not maximize all
of their available skills and work experiences. Employees may possess talents
that go unutilized or unrecognized by their current employer. Employers
tapping into this resource may be effective in attracting employees to
different positions or increasing their value to the company. For a list of
current or previous occupational titles and experiences in the Mitchell County
Laborshed area, contact the Mitchell County Economic Development Commission (MCEDC).
Employers may be aided in their recruiting efforts by being able to identify
the respondents by their occupation and area of residence. Table 14,
on the next page, illustrates the percentage of respondents in each
occupational category within each Laborshed zone. The table shows that the
occupational experiences are generally spread across the survey zones, but the
outlying zones have a substantial effect on a community’s in-commute, thus
affecting many
economic
factors. For the most part, employers looking to fill positions within these
occupational categories may want to expand their recruitment efforts to
include communities surrounding Mitchell County.
Table 14.
Occupational Categories Across the Zones
Table 15
details the occupational categories the residents would consider seeking
employment by survey zone of residence. This information can provide
businesses, community developers and leaders a “snapshot” for future community
growth.
Table 15.
Desired Occupational Category Within the
Zones
As
Table 15 notes, those who are employed within the Mitchell County
Laborshed area who are willing to change employment are looking for a wide
variety of employment opportunities. However, the majority of those who
reside in Zone 1 (Osage) are looking for positions in professional,
paraprofessional, or technical occupations (approximately 437 people). Those
who reside in Zone 2 are primarily looking for positions in clerical
occupations (approximately 3,365 people). Zone 3 residents are primarily
looking for positions in professional, paraprofessional, or technical
occupations (approximately 471 people). Projections are based on zone totals
obtained from Table 8.
Wage Requirements
Table
16 provides data
concerning the employed respondents’ current median wages and salaries, by
their likeliness to change employment. Additional data from the survey can be
analyzed to provide businesses a benchmark for determining wage rates in the
Laborshed area. The actual wage levels required by prospective workers will
vary between individuals, occupational categories, industries, and economic
cycles. More than three-fourths (77.5%) are hourly wage earners.
Table 16.
Comparison of Current Wage Data
As
Table 16 shows there is a disparity between the median hourly wages of
respondents likely to change employment and those content with their current
position ($2.40/hr or $7,500/yr). Those who changed jobs in the past year
cited better wages (32.3%), employer layoff/relocation (19.4%), respondent
moved from area (6.5%), career change (6.5%), and family reasons (6.5%) as the
primary reasons for change.
The wage
threshold of employed residents who are “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to
change employment is estimated to be $14.00 to
$15.00 per hour regardless of industry. Salaried employees willing to
change employment have a threshold of $49,610 to $55,250 per year.
Table 17
reflects those who are currently employed willing to change and the estimated
wage range required to attract 66 percent to 75 percent of the most qualified
hourly wage applicants by industry.
Table 17.
Wage Threshold by Industry
Another comparison to consider is the employed respondents’ lowest wages
considered based on gender. Table 18 provides the lowest wages
considered between the genders.
Table 18.
Comparison of Desired Wages by Gender
In many
Laborshed areas, there is a discrepancy between the lowest wages considered of
males and females. This falls true in the Mitchell County Laborshed area when
looking at hourly wage rates of those who are willing to change employment
without regard to specific industry. The lowest median hourly wage that women
would consider is 16.7 percent less than that of men. However, the median
salary men would consider is 19.2 percent less than that of women. Some of
the disparity may be explained by the differences in the occupational and
industrial categories of the respondents, nevertheless discrepancies still
exist.
Employment Benefits
The
survey provides the respondents an opportunity to identify employment benefits
that would influence their decision to change employment. Desired benefits
include health/medical insurance (88.3%), pension/retirement options (19.5%),
paid vacation (15.6%), dental coverage (7.8%), paid sick leave (5.2%), life
insurance (3.9%), and vision coverage (2.6%). For some respondents, benefits
offered in lieu of higher wages can be the driving force to change
employment. Some respondents assume that particular benefits, such as
health/medical insurance, would be incorporated into most standard employment
packages; therefore, they did not select health/medical as an influential
benefit option.
In
order to change employment, over one-third (38.2%) of those surveyed would
prefer to look for offers where the employer covers all the premium costs of
health/medical insurance while the majority (58.8%) would be willing to cost
share the premium for health/medical insurance with their employer. When
looking at cost sharing of current benefits, most (80.4%) of the employers and
employees in the Laborshed area are sharing in the premium costs of
health/medical insurance and 8.9 percent of the employers are covering the
entire cost of health/medical insurance premiums. When it comes to
considering influential benefit options to employment offers, there is a
difference between those who currently share in the costs of medical insurance
premiums to that of those who desire cost sharing of medical insurance
premiums. This leads to the belief that cost sharing versus employer paid
would influence the employed to change positions or companies.
Flexibility & Adaptability
in the Workplace
The
Laborshed area residents are very receptive to various work environments.
Most respondents (76.4%) would prefer to work in team environments, groups of
individuals coming together to accomplish a common goal; 73.0 percent are
willing to work in an environment that offers cross-training opportunities,
training to do more than one job; and slightly over one-third (33.7%) would
consider job sharing work arrangements, involving two or more individuals
splitting one full-time job. As such arrangements become more common in the
workplace; more and more employees are expressing greater interest.
Employment opportunities that require a variety of work schedules
(combinations of 2nd, 3rd or split shifts) would peak
the interest of 25.8 percent of the employed that are willing to change
employment.
Job Search Techniques
Employers who have a
clear understanding of the job search resources used by workers will improve
their ability to maximize their effectiveness and efficiency in attracting
qualified applicants. Residents living in the Mitchell County Laborshed area
are undoubtedly exposed to numerous sources by which employers communicate job
openings and new hiring. Therefore, it is important to understand what
sources potential workers rely on when looking for jobs. The most frequently
identified job search resources are the Internet (61.4%), local newspapers
(51.1%), networking (27.3%), local Iowa Workforce Development Centers (26.1%),
and regional newspapers (12.5%). Television, radio, private employment
services, job/career fairs, trade publications and walk-in (door-to-door)
solicitation were also mentioned but less frequently as utilized sources for
employment opportunities.
Those utilizing the local newspaper tend to seek employment
opportunities by searching in their hometown news publication. The most
popular local/regional newspaper sources include the Globe-Gazette –
Mason City,
Mitchell County Press-News, and The Des Moines Register. The Internet is host
to many sources for employment opportunities, the most commonly used sites to
look for employment opportunities in the Mitchell County Laborshed are
www.iowaworkforce.org and
www.monster.com.
The type of industry the individual is seeking to be employed may
determine the sources used. Businesses wanting more detailed advertising
sources may contact the Mitchell County Economic Development Commission (MCEDC).
Understanding and utilizing traditional and non-traditional advertising
mediums will provide employers a more focused and effective recruitment tool.
Commuting
Commuting data
collected by the Laborshed survey assists developers and employers in
understanding how employed residents that are willing to change employment
can/could commute within/out of the area. Overall, the employed willing to
change would commute an average of 24 miles one way for employment
opportunities. Those who live in Zone 1 are willing to commute an average of
26 miles one way, while residents in Zone 2 are willing to commute an average
of 19 miles one way and Zone 3 residents are willing to commute an average of
25 miles one way for the right employment opportunity. To provide a
comparison, those employed willing to change are currently commuting 11 miles
one way, and those currently employed but not willing to change,
commute an average of 8 miles one way to work.
Where
individuals live within the Laborshed will influence their desire to commute
to the node community. The node community may be the largest economic center
for many of the smaller communities in the area. Individuals from the
surrounding communities seeking job opportunities and competitive
wages/benefits may be resigned to the fact that they will have to commute some
distance to a new employer. In these cases, the willingness of the Zone 2 and
3 respondents to commute a substantial distance increases the likelihood that
they may be interested in commuting (or interested in continuing to commute)
to the node community. However, the willingness of Zone 1 residents to
commute represents a potential out commute from the node community. This
point illustrates the influence of surrounding labor on the individual
Laborsheds - potentially drawing workers out of the node (see Labor Market
Areas in Region map).
Out Commuters
The
out commute of a community represents the percentage of residents living in
the node community (Osage), but working for employers located in other
communities. The out commute for Osage is estimated at 26.1 percent –
approximately 509 people living in Mitchell County who work in other
communities. Most of those who are out commuting are working in Mason City,
St. Ansgar, or Charles City. Of those who are commuting to other communities
for employment opportunities, 23.3 percent are willing to change employment
(approximately 119 people) if presented with the right employment offer. The
calculations for potential available labor are based on adjusted labor force
zone totals obtained from Table 8.
As a
group, they are primarily employed in professional, paraprofessional,
technical, production, construction, material handling, or service occupations
within the health care/social services, manufacturing, education, or
agricultural industries.
For those who out
commute, 83.3 percent have education/technical training beyond high school,
13.3 percent have an associate degree, 3.3 percent are trade certified, 3.3
percent have completed vocational training, 20.0 percent have an undergraduate
degree, and 20.0 percent have a postgraduate/professional degree.
Two-thirds (66.7%) of
those who are commuting out of Osage
for employment are hourly wage employees, their current median wage is $15.25
per hour. Salaried employees (33.3%) have a median income of $42,000 per
year.
Out
commuters are currently commuting an average of 33 miles one way to work, and
are willing to commute an average of 30 miles for a “new opportunity”. Over
two-thirds (70.0%) of out commuters are women. The average age of out
commuters is 42; however, nearly one-third (30.0%) are between the ages of 25
and 34.
Estimated Underemployed
Underemployment is a
recent point of interest in popular literature, but has actually been an issue
studied and addressed by economists for nearly 20 years. While there is no
one widely accepted definition of underemployment for the purpose of this
Laborshed study, underemployment is defined in the following three ways:
1.
Inadequate
hours worked -- individuals working less than 35 hours per week and desiring
more hours.
2.
Mismatch of
skills -- workers are denoted as “mismatched” if their completed years of
education are above the number needed for their current occupational group,
they have significant technical skills beyond those currently being utilized,
or if they have held previous jobs with a higher wage or salary.
3.
Low income --
individuals working full-time but at wages insufficient enough to keep them
above the poverty level.
Each of
these categories of underemployment can be very difficult to estimate;
however, it appears as though elements of each of these categories exist in
this Laborshed area.
Underemployed Due to Inadequate Hours Worked
In order
to assess the impact of underemployment by inadequate hours worked in the
Laborshed area, we refer to tabulations of the employed willing to change
employment working 34 hours or less from the survey responses. The survey
data shows that underemployment due to inadequate hours is estimated to be 3.5
percent within the Laborshed area (Table 19).
Table 19.
Underemployed Due to Inadequate Hours Worked
The
calculation for estimated underemployed desiring more hours is based on the
Estimated Number of Employed Willing to Change 10,772 projections found in
Table 8.
Over
three-fourths (78.6%) of those who are considered to be underemployed due to
low hours in the Mitchell County Laborshed area are women. The average age of
those who are underemployed due to low hours is 47 years old.
Additionally, those who are underemployed due to inadequate hours are
currently employed in clerical, service, professional, paraprofessional,
technical, production, construction, material handling, or agricultural
occupations and are currently seeking employment opportunities in
professional, paraprofessional, technical, production, construction, material
handling, clerical, service, or agricultural occupations. This group is
willing to commute an average of 29 miles one way for the right employment
opportunity. Nearly three-fourths of the respondents (71.4%) who are
underemployed due to inadequate hours have an education beyond high school.
Businesses may want to look inside their own organizations for potential
candidates when looking to fill openings requiring full-time employment
status.
Underemployed Due to
Mismatch of Skills
Underemployment may also be calculated by examining individuals that are
employed in positions that do not maximize their previous experience, skills
and education, or that do not adequately compensate them based on their
qualifications. IWD’s Laborshed survey of the region attempts to provide the
best estimate of this “mismatch” of skills by asking respondents if they
believe that they are underemployed and if so, why. Respondents first answer
the question, “Are you qualified for a better job?” Individuals answering
“yes” are then asked to classify why they are qualified based on categories
relating to previously held jobs that required more skill and education,
acquiring additional job training and education at their current job, current
job does not require their level of training or education and greater pay at a
previous job. Respondents selected all descriptors that applied to their
situation.
The
choices provided on the survey are not an exhaustive list of explanations of
why the respondent is overqualified, but a collection of the most likely
responses based on prior surveys and research. The respondents’ results are
then applied to the entire Laborshed area to analyze why underemployment by
mismatch of skills exists. IWD then conducts a second method of validating
whether or not underemployment by mismatch of skills actually exists. Each
time a respondent lists a reason for why he or she is qualified for a better
job, other survey questions are analyzed to estimate whether the person is
truly underemployed, or simply overstating their skills and education or
underestimating the requirements of the labor market. For example, if a
respondent states that they are underemployed because they previously held a
job that required more skill and education, IWD evaluates the person’s current
employer type, occupation type, skills unused at their current position, age,
employment status, education, years in current position, and the type of job
they would consider to see if they are consistent with the person’s
underemployment.
Table
20 shows that 3.0
percent are underemployed due to mismatch of skills. If a respondent is
determined to be underemployed due to mismatch of skills for more than one of
the four reasons, that individual is only counted once for the Estimated
Underemployed and for the Potential Total figures. The calculation
for Potential Total in Laborshed figure is based on the
Estimated Number of Employed Willing to Change of 10,772 projections found in
Table 8. Additionally, all employed respondents are filtered to
include only those that identified that they are “very or somewhat likely” to
accept employment when calculating underemployment. This filtering reflects
the belief that a respondent is not accurately representing himself or herself
as underemployed when they are unwilling to accept new employment
opportunities that could improve their status.
Table 20.
Underemployed Due to Mismatch of Skills
Zone 1 contains 25.0
percent of those who are underemployed due to mismatch of skills,
Zone 2 contains 41.7
percent, and Zone 3 contains 33.3 percent in the Mitchell County Laborshed
area. In many rural areas, mismatch of skills tends to be higher because of
the desire to maintain a certain level of quality of life issues. The
education level obtained compared to occupation previously held provides the
greatest discrepancy when looking at mismatch of skills. Slightly over
two-fifths (41.7%) have an associate degree and 16.7 percent have a
postgraduate/professional degree. They are willing to commute an average of 26
miles one way for employment opportunities in professional, paraprofessional,
technical, service, or managerial occupations.
Underemployed Due to Low
Income
Measuring underemployment by low income is accomplished by determining how
many households in the Laborshed area fall below the poverty level.
A total of 1.0 percent of the respondents
answering the household income question fall below the 2007 federal poverty
thresholds based on their household income and number of members living in the
household (i.e. based on a family of four, the annual household income
guideline is $20,650). Table 21 provides an overview of the survey
respondents who fall below the 2007 federal poverty level and the potential
number affected in the Laborshed area that are underemployed due to low
income.
Table 21.
Underemployed Due to Low Income
The
calculation for potential underemployment due to low income is based on the
Estimated Number of Employed Willing to Change of 10,772 employment
projections found in Table 8.
Total Estimated
Underemployed
All
three measures of underemployment result in an estimated total underemployment
rate of 5.9 percent in the Laborshed area (Table 22). It is important
to emphasize that these underemployment percentages are only estimates;
however, IWD has filtered the data to eliminate double counting of respondents
within and between the three categories. A person underemployed due to
inadequate hours and mismatch of skills is only counted once.
Table 22.
Total Estimated Underemployed
The wage threshold for
the underemployed is $10.00 to $13.50 per hour with a lowest median considered
wage of $9.35 per hour. When looking for employment opportunities the
underemployed use local newspapers (54.2%); the Internet (50.0%); local Iowa
Workforce Development Centers (20.8%); networking through friends, family,
and/or acquaintances (20.8%); regional newspapers (4.2%); or walk-in
(door-to-door) solicitation (4.2%) as the preferred job search mediums
Willingness of Those Not Currently
Employed to Accept Employment
The BLS defines
unemployed persons as individuals who are currently not employed but that are
actively seeking employment. Using only this definition overlooks sources of
potential labor, specifically homemakers who are not employed and retirees
who, though currently not employed, would consider entering or re-entering the
workforce if the right opportunity arose. IWD uses an alternative definition
“not employed” for its Laborshed studies which includes the unemployed,
homemakers/not employed, and retirees as subsets of the category. The survey
asks the respondents to identify whether they are unemployed, a homemaker/not
employed or retired. It is useful to look at the specific characteristics of
each of these subsets of “not employed” persons.
The
inclusion of these subset groups into the analysis provides a more accurate
assessment of the potential labor force in the Laborshed area. Of the
respondents surveyed, 15.3 percent reported that they are “not employed”. By
questioning these respondents about their willingness to re-enter or accept a
job offer, the survey identified 29.0 percent who stated they are “very
likely” or “somewhat likely” to accept employment. Aggregated totals for the
“not employed” may be achieved by combining the data from any or all of
Tables 23, 24, and 25.
Each
of the “not employed” subsets has their own unique characteristics that define
their contribution to the Laborshed area. Recognizing and understanding these
factors will aid in efforts to target and tap into this often unrecognized and
underutilized labor resource. The following sections provide a profile of the
unemployed, not employed homemakers, and retired respondents.
Unemployed
Of those
who responded to being unemployed, 45.5 percent are “very likely” or “somewhat
likely” to accept employment if the right opportunity arose. Table 23
shows that the unemployed reside across all three zones of the Laborshed
area. Respondents willing to accept employment by zone are calculated using a
logistic regression model weighted by multiple variables such as education
level, gender, age, miles willing to travel, and wages. This model provides
an estimate for the total number of individuals “willing to change” by zone.
The totals are based on the Total Adjusted Labor Force estimates found in
Table 1 (approximately 900 unemployed persons).
Table 23.
Unemployed - Willing to Accept Employment
The current methods to
determine the unemployment rate exclude those who have been unemployed longer
than six months, those who did not register with the unemployment office and
students who are seeking employment. The Laborshed unemployed percent
includes anyone who stated they were unemployed then incorporates all counties
within the Laborshed area, where as the unemployment rate only takes into
consideration individual counties.
demographics of the Unemployed
The average age of
this group is 42 years old. The unemployed respondents are distributed
amongst all the age range groups, 18 to 24 (20.0%), 25 to 34 (10.0%), 35 to 44
(20.0%), 45 to 54 (30.0%), and 55 to 64 (20.0%). The gender breakdown of
those unemployed is 60.0 percent male and 40.0 percent female.
Mitchell County Economic Development Commission
