MOUNT VERNON – Knox County has fewer people of working age compared with the United States at large, and a higher percentage of workers who are at or near retirement age.
Further, the county has fewer young workers who can replace the comparatively larger population of those between 55 and 64 years old as they prepare to retire.
Population growth in the county in recent years, and a projected increase in growth for years to come, could hedge this gap — if the county can keep people of working age employed within the county.
Thomas P. Miller & Associates recommends Knox County focus on three main areas to do this: expand ways of entry for workers by eliminating barriers to work, create more pathways to move up in a given field and, overall, improve job quality.
TPMA reached this conclusion using results from a workforce needs assessment it conducted over a roughly six-month period. OhioMeansJobs Knox County contracted with TPMA beginning in the fall of 2021 to conduct the assessment, which included a labor market information analysis and several stakeholder engagement sessions with employers, employees and educators.
The assessment did not reveal anything particularly shocking, Knox County’s workforce development administrator Brandy Booth said. Rather, it provided data that confirmed anecdotal accounts of workforce challenges seen in recent years, which Booth said will help in creating targeted strategies.
The first step: OMJ Knox County has begun forming action committees to implement TMPA’s recommendations. The committee assignments had yet to be decided, as of the end of May.
Main findings
Reports of the “great resignation” since the onset of the pandemic have often centered around workers reassessing their work priorities, which has meant wages, flexibility and more.
TMPA assessed these changes through seven input sessions.
The majority of the sessions, four, focused on workers, who also completed a survey.
Survey results showed respondents most often indicated that the job quality characteristics that mattered most to them included a living wage and a consistent schedule with advance notice.
Six of the top ten occupations in Knox County do not pay a living wage, as defined by the MIT Living Wage Calculator.
This calculation is based on the hourly rate a person in a Knox County household must earn to support the basic necessities needed to support themselves and their family. The calculations do not take into consideration other factors that contribute to cost of living such as retirement planning or entertainment.
“Six of the top ten occupations in Knox County do not pay a wage that could support even a single individual without children,” according to the assessment.
TMPA also asked workers in the survey, and engagement sessions, about any barriers to work opportunities they have faced.
More than half of respondents (51%) were at minimum somewhat impacted by transportation challenges, and more than two-thirds (70%) reported being at least somewhat impacted by a lack of childcare and/or school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Most respondents — two-thirds — were unwilling to return to their pre-pandemic employer because they wanted something new or different. Disaggregating survey responses by income further revealed that workers making the most money were least likely to be looking for something new or different for work.
Other barriers to considering work in Knox County worked voiced during engagement sessions included perceptions — regardless of age or experience level — that personal connections to key community and business leaders were needed to access high quality jobs in the county.
Further, both early career professionals and seasoned executives described the county’s available career services as valuable but said those services did not meet their needs. For early career professionals, they found online platforms easier to use and the preferred option over in-person services. For the executive-level professionals, they found a lack of targeted assistance and that most services are positioned to help early/mid-career workers.
Early career professionals also said they wanted to live and work in close proximity to
retail, restaurants and other cultural amenities, and they did not feel Knox County had the quality of employment opportunities that would outweigh being disconnected from these amenities.
TMPA also conducted one session with educators and those involved with workforce development, as well as two sessions with employers.
The educator sessions included discussion of programs participants felt were already working — such as the high school career navigator Sean McCutcheon, who works to connect high school students with employment and post-secondary education opportunities.
However, both assessment findings and in-person feedback provided at the May workforce development meeting concluded that while McCutcheon’s work has been helpful, the county needs more than one person doing this type of work.
Participants specifically said they see a need for more connection with what the assessment refers to as “opportunity youth” — young people who are disconnected from both work and school.
While many participants thought there are high-quality employment opportunities in Knox
County, they did not think much of the community was familiar with these employment opportunities or the resources available that can help workers get technical training or other certificates needed to access them.
Misconceptions about the manufacturing and healthcare jobs were brought up in the educator session as well, with participants specifically stating Knox County residents think manufacturing work is “dark and dingy” and that healthcare work is solely for doctors and nurses.
Systemic challenges cited by educators were similar to those cited by workers — notably accessible and unaffordable childcare as well as a lack of readily available public transit. Educator participants also noted the “benefits cliff” as a barrier, which is when a wage increase as the result of a career advancement does not outpace the public benefits that are lost as a result of the wage gain.
The employer sessions included employers from the healthcare, manufacturing and skilled labor industries from small to large companies in Knox County.
The extent to which employers were feeling challenged by attraction, retention, and advancement of talent varied from employer to employer, but most cited retention as one of their most significant challenges.
Specifically, employers find it more difficult to attract students who leave the region and have experiences in Columbus, or other metro areas, back to Knox County.
Intel’s announcement to build two plants in nearby Licking County could provide a new draw, however. Education institutions in Knox County have begun to create programs to train students to work for Intel.
Local data
When workforce challenges started to arise in Knox County following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, not much local data had been available. Local data gaps remain, but TPMA’s “regionalizing” of national estimates provides some added insight.
Overall, Knox County’s labor market remains tight.
As unemployment drops, the labor force participation rate remains below pre-pandemic levels — a finding Knox Pages documented in a series the summer of 2021.
The assessment provided deeper insight of the living and working conditions in the county, however, by looking at worker commutes.
Data from 2019 shows around 8,600 workers commute into Knox County for work, whereas about 11,900 commute out of the region for work — a net loss of 3,250. With more outgoing than inbound workers, the region likely has a perception of fewer or less desirable job opportunities.
Roughly half of Knox County residents live and work within the county, but the second most common county workers travel to is Franklin County (10.5%), followed by Licking County (8.1%).
The most common occupation looking to hire in Knox County was heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (2,604 postings), and the second most common was registered nurses (1,210 postings), for the timeline the study assessed from September 2020 through October 2021.
The study did not provide local data on remote work in Knox County, but Ohio has seen increases in teleworking households in recent years.
Recommendations
TPMA recommends Knox County focus on expanding ways of entry for workers by eliminating barriers to work, creating more pathways to move up in a given field and, overall, improving job quality.
When it comes to eliminating barriers to work, childcare and transportation were key factors of concern among respondents.
Earlier this year, Knox County’s Area Development Foundation distributed surveys to the county’s top 25 employers. The survey found the county needs to create need to create 1,822 new child care spots. Currently, there are 986.
Another way barriers can be eliminated is by creating on-ramps for new talent, according to the TPMA recommendations.
This includes youth, but also late career professionals and people with criminal backgrounds. An example of the latter is Hot Chicken Takeover, a second-chance employer in Westerville.
When it comes to creating employment pathways, the survey indicated that while top industries, such as manufacturing and healthcare, have pathways to family sustaining wages, six of the top ten occupations in the county pay below $15 per hour.
TPMA concluded that workers are stagnated in historically vulnerable industries with limited advancement opportunities, but Knox County can build upon existing assets to deliver high quality skills and development services that prevent workers from getting stuck in low-wage work. Examples include formalizing and expanding partnerships between schools and employers, like the Central Ohio Manufacturing Partnership.
When it comes to job quality, the definition of a ‘quality job’ varies. Knox County stakeholders in the assessment identified three main elements: living wages, consistent, fair scheduling practices that meet personal life demands, and career advancement opportunities.
“Woven throughout all of the collected worker feedback was a unified desire to be heard,” the assessment concluded.
TPMA recommended tools Knox County employers can use to ensure workers’ voices are heard, including the Aspen Institute’s Centering Worker Voice in Employer Engagement and Program Design: A Tool for Conducting Worker Surveys for Workforce Organizations.
Beyond seeking out feedback, TPMA also recommends employers hand over some decision-making power to employees.
An example of this would be having workers serve as workforce development board members, or as a part of ad hoc board committees, through which they can review programs or lead events.
