October 15, 2024 | Category: News, Unemployment, What's Hot in HR

Recent government jobs data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics supports what many employers have felt over the last several years in the labor market – there is a shortage of workers in the labor force to fill available jobs. So, if your organization has been attempting to fill positions without success for months, it’s not your imagination and you’re not alone. How can employers begin to address America’s labor shortage?

Why is There a Worker Shortage?

There is not just one reason that has contributed to the recent worker shortage, but a mixture of several different factors. In general, some factors include demographic changes (i.e. an aging population means a higher rate of retirement), the impact of the pandemic, skills mismatch, and inadequate workplace conditions.

According to the US Chamber of Commerce, the labor force participation rate is currently 62.7%, which is down from 63.3% before the pandemic, and down from 67.2% approximately 20 years ago. How does that percentage break down?

In August there were 8.2 million job openings across the United States, but only 7.2 million unemployed workers. That means that even if every one of those unemployed workers had a job, there would still not be enough workers for the current open positions as there would still be approximately 1 million open jobs that needed to be filled.

The states with the worst worker shortages include North Dakota (42 workers per 100 jobs), South Dakota (44 workers per 100 jobs), Mississippi (46 workers per 100 jobs), Vermont (46 workers per 100 jobs), and Virginia (47 workers per 100 jobs).

Where does Nevada stand on the Worker Shortage Issue?

Good news! Nevada is one of the states seeing the least impact from the worker shortage. In fact, Nevada has a worker surplus. As of August, data shows that Nevada has 132 workers per 100 jobs and an unemployment rate of 5.5%.

But, if Nevada has a surplus of workers, then why has filling vacant positions been such a struggle for many employers? You could chalk it up to “nobody wants to work anymore,” but that is a shallow interpretation of this mismatch. The overall factors are much more nuanced than that.

For example, not every unemployed worker is going to be a fit for every available position. If you are attempting to fill an accounting position from a group of 30 engineers, nurses, and plumbers, you’re going to have a challenging time filling those positions. Additionally, just like real estate, it’s all about location, location, location. Some positions may be in locations where there isn’t a bounty of qualified workers. Employers must be more creative in recruiting for those positions as well as have more patience as they may take more time to fill.

Factors Contributing to the Worker Shortage

Many workers got comfortable working remotely during the pandemic. As such, many workers are seeking jobs that provide some type of remote work option. In a survey of unemployed workers conducted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, nearly half of workers indicated an unwillingness to take a job that does not offer the opportunity for remote work. With many employers, including Amazon, Dell, and Boeing, announcing return-to-office mandates, there may be a mismatch between what employees want and what employers are offering.

Positions that may have historically been easier to fill – hospitality, food service, and retail – may no longer be appealing for workers experiencing a drastic increase in the cost of living. According to recent data from MIT, the living wage for a single adult with no children in Nevada is approximately $46,700 per year (or $3,893 per month or $22.46 per hour). If you are having trouble filling positions on the lower end of the pay scale, that may be one of the reasons why.

Solutions to Combat the Labor Shortage

Employers in Nevada who are struggling despite the surplus of workers should look at their compensation and benefits offerings, review their job descriptions and recruitment strategy, and lean into the professional development of current staff. Great news – NAE can assist with all three.

Compensation & Benefits

Employers should continually review their compensation structure to ensure that it remains competitive. This is important not only in recruiting new hires but also in retaining current employees. NAE has partnered with Payscale to assist members in accessing up-to-date employer-reported compensation data for more than 5,000 jobs across more than 100 industries via its Peer platform. The platform is updated daily with the most current compensation information available from the 3,000 (and growing) employer participants. By leveraging the Peer platform, NAE members can gain a significant competitive advantage and create a more attractive and rewarding workplace for their employees.

Employers should also stay informed on the latest trends with employee benefits to ensure, in addition to potentially offering higher wages to ensure competitive compensation, that they are offering what employees want and need. With older generations postponing retirement and younger generations coming in, benefits that have traditionally been offered may no longer be sufficient.

Each year, NAE conducts a survey of Nevada employers regarding their benefits offerings and personnel practices. This survey covers 24 categories, including health coverage, work schedules, drug & alcohol testing, paid time off (PTO), flexible benefits, severance, and more. This survey is a great opportunity to benchmark your offerings and identify areas of opportunity for improvement.

Recruitment & Onboarding

If your compensation and benefits offerings are competitive and you are still having difficulty finding and hiring qualified candidates, you may want to look at your recruitment strategy to see if there are gaps in your process or areas for improvement. It can be hard to recognize areas of improvement when you are involved in the day-to-day operations. That’s why it can be helpful to have a third party do an audit and provide some suggestions.

NAE has a team of experienced HR professionals that can help your company identify gaps in current processes and manage potential liabilities by recommending improvements. Perhaps the company has grown exponentially in the last year and your policies and procedures no longer serve an organization of your size. We can conduct an audit, do a needs assessment, and advise.

Maybe your HR needs are more complex, or you need more hands-on support for more demanding tasks, our team of experienced HR professionals can assist with that as well. Whether you need assistance with a particularly difficult recruitment or more long-term HR support to update your processes, we have a team of HR professionals that can assist.

Promoting Professional Development

When employees feel like the company is invested in their professional growth, they are more likely to be engaged and are more likely to stick around long term. Providing employees with professional development opportunities means you have employees acquiring new skills, which leads to better performance and productivity. Additionally, encouraging employees to learn new skills helps foster innovation and creativity, which benefits the company as well.

Being able to retain skilled and knowledgeable employees means you do not have to spend the time and resources to recruit and fill those positions. If anything, professional development allows you to fill those positions from within and recruit for positions that may be easier to fill. That allows the company to ride out the ebb and flow of available workers.

NAE provides professional development opportunities for HR professionals, leadership, and front-line employees alike. If you have new supervisors or those who you would like to promote into a supervisory role, you will find our Supervisory Skills: The Fundamentals series to provide the foundation for further growth in their supervisor role. If you have managers that are seeking out opportunities to become more effective leaders, they would benefit from our Elevate Your Expertise: An Upskilling Training Series, which equips your leaders with the tools and knowledge needed to conquer any challenge that comes their way.

Become a Member of Nevada Association of Employers to Navigate the Challenges of the Job Market

Taking a strategic approach to the worker shortage – a problem many employers across the country are facing – will help you navigate what may feel like uncertain waters. NAE stands ready to partner with employers in implementing these strategies through its comprehensive HR resources and expertise.

Join Today!