Last week, Emily gave an overview of What’s Impacting the Labor Force Participation Rate. This week I’m going to take a deeper dive into one of the areas she touched on; the benefits cliff. When analyzing the labor participation rate, you have to look at the poverty rate and public assistance participation rate. The current poverty rate in Alabama is 14.9%, which’s places us #7 in the nation for highest poverty rate. Given the high poverty rate, it’s important to look at the living wage and average wage rates paid. A living wage varies based on circumstances. For example, a
Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to serve on a panel discussing workforce and skills challenges created by the automotive industry’s shift to electric vehicles (EVs). I’m no expert on EVs. I’m no expert on cars. But I drive one. And it broke down at the end of last week. I got off the interstate from a work trip, headed into my hometown on a highway connecting the interstate to my neighborhood. When I went to accelerate on the highway, the RPMs jumped way up, and it did not want to shift gears for me to accelerate effectively. Luckily,
As you can tell from our previous post on all the hiring incentives that are out there now, it is a job-seekers market. A recent LinkedIn update titled “Power shifts in a tight job market” summarizes what employers are doing to lure people to their open positions: Employers eager to fill positions are offering more to attract talent — and they aren’t just upping pay or showing more flexibility — they’re also training workers and taking more chances on people who don’t meet traditional qualifications. “No experience necessary” roles have spiked by two-thirds compared to 2019, and posts offering starting
Your top employee or best manager just walked into your office holding that dreaded piece of paper. You know, the one with the words “thank you for this great opportunity, I respectfully resign my position” typed neatly on it. As you read it, your mind starts brainstorming “what can I do to get them to stay?!” You can’t lose them, they’re the best of the best. You’ll never be able to find someone with their skill set and knowledge of the organization. You’ll spend months training their replacement just to get them up to speed. You’ve invested so much into