Southwest Missouri Labor Basin Workforce Assessment Survey University Center for Survey Research By Mike Walker, M.S. and Trevor Steinert, M.L.S.

Southwest Missouri Labor Basin Workforce Assessment Survey For: Southwest Missouri Development Alliance Sponsored By: City of Carl Junction City of Carthage City of Lamar City of Joplin City of Neosho City of Webb City The Village of Airport Drive The Empire District Electric Company The Harry S Truman Coordinating Council Southwest Missouri Development Alliance Workforce Investment Board of the Southwest Region

Workforce Survey Assessment Components Study of the socio-demographics of the working population in the southwest Missouri regional labor basin. Study of the socio-demographics of the working population in four major labor basins located within the southwest Missouri region. Study of skills and needs assessment of area employees by local employers. Focus today’s presentation: 1) Analysis of “Available Labor” 2) Analysis of Employer’s Assessment

Labor Availability Survey Objectives Determine background characteristics of the available labor force. Estimate the available labor pool in four major labor basin in the southwest Missouri region. Determine types of considerations (pay, benefits, commuting distance) that influence the available labor force’s decision-making. Assess extent of underemployment in the available labor force and background characteristics of underemployed.

Available Labor Pool Defined Those adults 18 and older in the study area who indicate that they would seriously consider a new employment opportunity at this time and would commute the necessary distance to a job in one of the four labor basins. INCLUDES: individuals who are employed, unemployed, homemaker, student, or retired Civilian Labor Force: Civilians 16 years or over who are employed and unemployed and have looked for work in past four weeks. Available Labor Pool = CLF + unemployed, homemakers, students, retired, military – those not available for new job.

Study Methods Used randomly generated phone numbers from study area phone prefixes; UCSR conducted interviews between January 15 and February 20, interviews completed out of 1,350 successful household contacts (response rate of 70%) Self administered mail survey of 343 of local employers from Alliance-compiled lists Three-wave mail survey resulted in 134 returned questionnaires (39% response rate)

Southwest Missouri 15 County Regional Labor Basin Pop: 473,417 CLF: 229,533 ALF: 110,100

Available Labor Pool The Looking unemployed constitute 2.4% of the basin’s civilian labor force. The Looking employed constitute 6.7% of the basin’s civilian labor force. “Right Opportunity” constitute 39% of the basin’s civilian labor force.

Available Labor Basin By County

Available Labor Occupational Distribution NumberPercent Mechanic,Welder3, Factory Worker,Meat Packer5, General Labor30, Governmental, Business, and other Professional21, Clerical4, Educator or Professor9, Other White Collar6, Social Service (e.g.health,babysitting)12, Sales, Hotel, Restaurant, Food Service10, Military Homemakers and Retirees2, Full or Part Time Student Unemployed2, Total110,

Available Labor Demographic Data Average Age 1960 Median Age 1961 Number Percent Female 49, Male 60, Total 110, Highest Level of Education Achieved Number Percent Doctoral Degree Masters Degree7, Bachelors Degree16, Associates Degree8, Some College27, High School Diploma Only42, Less HS Diploma6, Total110, Cum. Percent

Available Labor Willingness to Commute 0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000 70,000 80,000 90, , , Minutes

Available Labor Benefit Expectations Benefit Very Important In Decision to Change Employment Percent Responding "Yes" Salary97.1 Retirement82.1 Flexible Hours69.6 Health Benefits64.8 Educational Opportunities55.5 Closer to Home35.2 Different Community29.3 On-Site Childcare29.7

Available Labor Wage Expectations

Underutilization No: 76,838 Yes: 33,262 Highest Level of Education Achieved Among the Underutilized NumberPercentCum. Percent Doctoral Degree Masters Degree 1, Bachelors Degree 1, Associates Degree 3, Some College 9, High School Diploma Only 12, Less HS Diploma 3, Total33,262100

Summary of Findings The available labor pool consists of 110,100 members, including 30,590 general laborers and 21,183 government, business, and other professionals. 23% of the Available Labor Pool have at least a college degree and 55.6% have at least some college. 97% (106,930) would commute 15 minutes or less, one way, for employment. 79.7% (87,776) are willing to travel 30 minutes or less, one way, for an employment opportunity. 56% (61,617) of the Available Labor Pool would be interested in an employment opportunity with a wage of $14 an hour. At $12 an hour, 48% (53,775) of the available labor would be interested, while at $10 an hour 37% (14,554) would be interested.

Summary of Findings More than a quarter, or 33,262, of the available labor pool consider themselves underutilized. 11.2% (or 1,610) of the underutilized workers have at least a bachelor’s degree, 52.2% (9,732) have at least some college, and 90% (12,566) have at least a high school diploma. 28% (14,997) of the non-underutilized workers have at least a bachelor’s degree, 57% (17,701) have at least some college, and 95.9% (29,801) have at least a high school diploma.

Pop: 221,830 CLF: 110,192 ALF: 51,608 Lamar Labor Basin by Zip Code

Lamar Available Labor Pool

Lamar Available Labor Occupational Distribution NumberPercent Mechanic,Welder1, Factory Worker,Meat Packer2, General Labor12, Governmental, Business, and other Professional9, Clerical1, Educator or Professor4, Other White Collar4, Social Service (e.g.health,babysitting)6, Sales, Hotel, Restaurant, Food Service4, Homemakers and Retirees1, Unemployed1, Total51,

Pop: 356,043 CLF: 173,520 ALF: 82,294 Neosho Labor Basin by Zip Code

Neosho Available Labor Pool

Neosho Available Labor Occupational Distribution

Pop: 400,507 CLF: 196,343 ALF: 93,668 Joplin Labor Basin by Zip Code

Joplin Available Labor Pool

Joplin Available Labor Occupational Distribution NumberPercent Mechanic,Welder3, Factory Worker,Meat Packer4, General Labor25, Governmental, Business, and other Professional19, Clerical2, Educator or Professor7, Other White Collar6, Social Service (e.g.health,babysitting)10, Sales, Hotel, Restaurant, Food Service7, Military Homemakers and Retirees2, Full or Part Time Student Unemployed2, Total93,

Pop: 400,507 CLF: 196,343 ALF: 95,064 Carthage Labor Basin by Zip Code

Carthage Available Labor Occupational Distribution

Employer’s Survey Skills of Employees Business Environment and Recruitment Education Wages and Benefits Barriers to Employee Productivity

Hiring Full-Time Skilled Employees Compared to 2 to 3 Years Ago About the same 33.3% Slightly less difficult 4.5% Slightly more difficult 35.1% Much less difficult 2.7% Much more difficult 24.3%

Needed Basic Skills Improvement 0%20%40%60%80%100% Reading Writing Computation Listening Oral Communication MostSomeNone

Needed Thinking Skills Improvement 0%20%40%60%80%100% Creative Thinking Decision Making Problem Solving Understanding Willingness to Learn MostSomeNone

Needed Personal Quality Skills Improvement 0%20%40%60%80%100% Interpersonal Relations Gender Relations Minority Relations Teamwork Goal-Setting/Motivation Leadership Adaptability/Flexibility Work Attitudes/Habits MostSomeNone

Needed Technical Skills Improvement 0%20%40%60%80%100% Typing/Keyboarding Technical Language Basic Use of Computer Software Competency Technical/Electrical Business/Management MostSomeNone

Needed Technical Skills Improvement (Cont.) 0%20%40%60%80%100% Machine Operations Skilled Trades/Crafts Sales Government Regs Compliance Other General Labor MostSomeNone

New Hires Meeting Needs of Organization 0%20%40%60%80%100% Clerical Managerial Professional Sales Technical Skilled Trades General Labor Not WellAdequateVery Well

Business Environment and Recruitment Labor Force as Strength of Business Environment Very much strength 15% Very much weakness 6% Somewhat weakness 32% Neither (neutral) 24% Somewhat strength 23%

Business Environment and Recruitment (Cont.) Frequencies of "Most Successful Recruitment Practices" Listed FirstListed SecondListed Third No Answer Total University Bulletin Boards/College Job Placement Job Service/Non-University Placement Centers Good Management (restructuring, comm.) Non-Applicable Referrals (from employees, other employers) Word of Mouth/Good Reputation/Networking Environment (pleasant work areas, flex hours) Recruitment Practices Advertising (newspapers, signs, internet) Benefits (401K, health ins., tuition/childcare dis.) Salary (regular increases, competitive wages)

Education Minimum Educational Requirements College degree 6% Technical training certification 2% Some technical training 19% High school degree 53% Less than high school degree 17% Some college 3% Public Education as Strength of Business Environment Somewhat strength 28% Neither (neutral) 19% Somewhat weakness 24% Very much weakness 10% Very much strength 19%

Wages & Benefits (Full-Timers)

Barriers to Employee Productivity 0%20%40%60%80%100% Availability of Child Care Transportation to Job Substance Abuse Access to Health Care Elderly Relative Care YesNo

Summary of Findings Major skill improvement needs include: Oral communication and Listening Decision-making and problem-solving Goal-setting/motivation and leadership Software competency and business- management

Summary of Findings 35% of employers find it “slightly more difficult” to find full-time skilled employees than it was 2 to 3 years ago, while 24% find it “much more difficult” to do so 38% of employers find the workforce a strength to the business environment, while 38% the workforce a weakness. Advertising, referrals, and work-of-mouth are some of the most preferred practices for recruiting good employees. 53% of employers require high school diplomas. 47% of employers find the public education system a strength to the business environment, while 34% find the workforce a weakness. The greatest barriers to employee productivity are “childcare availability” and “access to healthcare.”

Southwest Missouri Labor Basin Assessment Southwest Missouri Workforce Skills Assessment Survey Mike Walker Brett Zollinger