AP
Help Wanted Ads Go Unanswered in West
Saturday August 25, 8:26 am ET
By Matt Gouras, Associated Press Writer
Record Low Unemployment in West Creates Tough Working Conditions
for Business Owners
HELENA, Mont. (AP) -- The owner of a fast food joint in Montana's
booming oil patch found himself outsourcing the drive-thru window
to a Texas telemarketing firm, not because it's cheaper but because
he can't find workers.
Record low unemployment across parts of the West has created tough
working conditions for business owners, who in places are being
forced to boost wages or be creative to fill their jobs.
John Francis, who owns the McDonald's in Sidney, Mont., said he
tried advertising in the local newspaper and even offered up to $10
an hour to compete with higher-paying oil field jobs. Yet the only
calls were from other business owners upset they would have to
raise wages, too. Of course, Francis' current employees also wanted
a pay hike.
"I don't know what the answer is," Francis said. "There's just
nobody around that wants to work."
Unemployment rates have been as low as 2 percent this year in
places like Montana, and nearly as low in neighboring states.
Economists cite such factors as an aging work force and booming
tourism economies for the tight labor market.
For places like Montana, it has been a steady climb in the nearly
two decades since the timber and mining industry recession. The
state approached double-digit unemployment levels in the 1980s and
began the slow crawl back in the early 1990s.
"This is actually the biggest economic story of our time, and we
don't quite grasp it because it is 15 years in the making," said
economist Larry Swanson, director of the O'Connor Center for the
Rocky Mountain West at the University of Montana.
The U.S. Department of Labor reports the mountain West region --
covering eight states along the Rocky Mountains -- has the lowest
overall unemployment rate in the nation. The region hit an all-time
low of 3.4 percent in May.
The effects are everywhere. Logging equipment in Idaho sits idle as
companies have a tough time finding workers. A shortage of
lifeguards has forced Helena to shorten hours at children-only
pools. A local paper in Jackson, Wyo., has page after page of help
wanted ads.
In Jackson Hole, the Four Seasons Resort still had openings in late
July. The problem has created longer hours and tougher working
conditions for current employees.
For years, the resort has imported dozens of workers from Eastern
Europe who often come as much for the summer recreation opportunity
as the money. This year, however, that wasn't enough and so for the
first time the resort also sent recruiters to a high school job
fair, said spokeswoman Greer Terry. It only helped a little.
"It's been a struggle finding employees this summer," Terry
said.
Economists say there are a number of reasons why parts of the West
are feeling the labor pinch.
Established baby boomers, including retirees, have been moving into
Montana for the mountain views and recreation, bringing with them
money for new homes that fuel construction job growth, said
Swanson.
Along the way, younger people have moved away searching for bigger
paychecks as the state's wages still lag behind other areas and are
slowly increasing overall. Now, the aging work force is unable to
expand to meet the demands of the job market, Swanson said.
He said the problem is compounded by the fact that employers,
accustomed to paying relatively low wages, have been slow to
increase salaries. Montana wages have historically been among the
lowest in the country, and still rank near the bottom. The silver
lining for workers is that wages are now growing at the
third-fastest rate among U.S. states.
Now, workers with more options in some places are unwilling to take
$12-an-hour jobs.
The problem could get worse as more baby boomers retire, Swanson
said. By 2030, Montana and Wyoming are predicted to have among the
oldest populations in the U.S, with about 26 percent of residents
65 and older, Swanson said. That compares to 19.7 percent predicted
nationally.
"We thought the labor force crunch wouldn't come until 2012, but
it's already arrived in a lot of these fast-growth areas," Swanson
said. As a result, "you'll find older workers working longer,
people will sort of linger in the work force. The employers will
make it worth their time to."
Swanson added the phenomenon of quasi-retirement with older workers
cutting back on hours but still heading to the office will grow,
while international workers will be drawn to the region. Younger
workers who used to leave will find it worth their while to
stay.
"The squeeze is on. You get into these 2 percent and less
unemployment rates and you're moving into a seller's market with
the seller being the worker," Swanson said.
Officials worry the razor thin labor market could bind economic
growth, although there has been no indication of that yet.
"One of the reasons we are seeing the lower (unemployment) rates is
we are starting to see more investment in our economy. It's like
finding an undervalued stock," said Tyler Turner, Montana's
economic development chief.
In Helena, the pool of applicants has been shrinking even for jobs
on the police force. For professional jobs, such as department
managers, the city is considering hiring slightly underqualified
people that can be trained on the job.
"This is the tightest market I have ever seen," said Salty Payne,
who has worked in the Helena City human resource office for 15
years.
Payne in part blames the area's building boom, which is drawing
workers to construction trades that are offering higher
salaries.
Montana state lawmaker Art Noonan lives in the mining town of Butte
-- the epicenter of a big mining bust 20 years ago. Now, more
people are moving in to build second homes and high paying jobs are
coming back as copper prices go up.
"All of these things are sort of clicking at the same time," Noonan
said. "The only economic development we used to get was the
creation of more economic development offices."
In Utah -- where unemployment rates have been hovering around 2.5
percent -- amusement parks, trucking companies, telemarketing firms
and others have been paying bonuses of hundreds of dollars or more
to find workers.
"It boils down to the attractiveness of the (interior) West," said
Mark Knold, chief economist at the Utah Department of Workforce
Services. "It is a population magnet."
And workers have benefited. Utah workers saw a 5.4 percent average
wage increase in 2006, Knold said.
But questions remain about how long the West can weather the
problems that come with low unemployment.
"The hardest thing is to keep the economy growing at a strong rate
when you have a low unemployment rate," he said. "Take a company
that wants to expand. Where is the next worker going to come
from?"
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