The Pulse of Local Business – Employment service executives assess Columbia job market

To get a broad view of Columbia’s job market, the CBT surveyed five employment service executives: Allen Jennings, district manager of Kelly Services; Anne Williams, president of JobFinders Employment Services; Caroline Gower, owner of Caroline & Company; Tyree Byndom, operations manager off Express Employment Professionals; and Byron Barnes, supervisor of the Missouri Career Center in Columbia, which is part of the Missouri Division of Workforce Development.
Although no one can know what future economic conditions will be, your profession provides an insider’s view of the area’s employment dynamics. Do you expect the majority of local companies will hire significantly more employees in the next six months, hire slightly more or maintain employment levels? Are there specific bright spots in the local job market where you expect significant hiring to take place?

Jennings: Based on current national trends, one might expect companies to begin hiring more full-time help, with a percentage of those being positions with benefits. The reality, however, seems to be that companies are still rightfully cautious, especially going into the fourth quarter.
The end of the year always sees companies looking at ways to make their annual budget or realize additional cost savings. Conversely, the first of the year might see some additional hiring as new budgets are generated and cash flow is freed up. This hiring might be in the form of temporary staffing, which saves companies advertising, training, scheduling, administration cost, workers compensation and, most importantly, time. Manufacturing will continue to generate additional hiring that took place in 2010.

Williams: JobFinders has seen an increase in companies hiring since September. Most of the positions have been temporary in nature, though about 75 percent of our temporary staffers have the opportunity to go into direct-hire positions with the client. We hope, like everyone else, that we continue to grow or at least maintain the steady growth.
As for the bright spots, we see hiring increasing in many areas, but employers are being cautious and often utilizing temporary/contract staff (from administrative and light industrial staff to engineering and accounting staff) to keep costs down. In our professional recruiting area, we are seeing some increase in the need for manufacturing mid-level management.

Byndom: We think the majority of local companies will maintain the same employment levels during the next six months. National trends and statistics show that companies are utilizing flexible and temporary staffing options to provide relief for their core staff and to continue lulls and highs in production. The core staff members are working more hours, making slightly higher pay and under more stressful conditions, so it is up to companies to think of creative ways to keep morale high, which in turn affects productivity.
Barnes: I see a general trend for employers to maintain the dependable staff they have and a very probable increase in some areas to support the local economic growth. We have several bright spots still developing in the LeMone industrial park area with IBM on the technical side and Linen King on the industrial side. The recent news that 3M is looking to increase production and the University Hospital’s growth at the women’s health center create a very positive outlook for our community.
The Columbia metro area unemployment rate this summer and fall has been slightly higher than 6 percent, which looks OK compared with the rate of close to 7 percent last year at this time but not when compared with the 4 to 5 percent jobless rate two years ago before we felt the recession’s full impact. In your experience, does the current rate indicate the true employment situation in this area?
Jennings: The unemployment rate only reflects reported unemployment and is not a true indicator of the job market. Underemployed is difficult to quantify, but is a real problem everywhere including Columbia. Having to rely on part-time or low-paying positions is often not a good alternative for job seekers, especially when unemployment benefits are available.
There are many job seekers who have given up the search for full-time positions after a frustrating year. The availability of extended unemployment benefits has both helped and hindered the motivated job seeker. Taking a job less than the desired salary or skill level of an individual risked interrupting those benefits and was not a good incentive but keeps individuals and families from starving.
Williams: Personally I do not watch the numbers on unemployment; I know they are a lot lower than the 1980s recession when the country saw 10 to 12 percent unemployment. We do know there are still many underemployed people and people who are not working by choice. My advice is to get out and get a job. Relying on unemployment is unproductive, and most people are bored to tears. The job does not have to be in your field. Try something new; it will make you feel better by reducing stress, giving you back a sense of pride and helping you feel productive.

Gower: It is very difficult to measure unemployment given our current economic state. We have the unemployed, the underemployed, along with those who have run out of benefits and those who are not eligible. So, how do we accurately track the unemployed?
Byndom: These statistics are probably accurate, even though if you were to ask the average American to guess the unemployment rate, they would all guess higher numbers. There are a few aspects that statisticians don’t consider, which we should be aware of.
Among the local factors to be considered: Columbia houses the only mall in a 25-mile radius, and we lost about 20 factories in surrounding towns that were the main source of employment in a lot of these small towns. So people come to Columbia seeking employment, and that makes it very difficult to get an accurate reading of unemployment in towns with similar demographics or designated as College Town, USA.
Then there is the desperation factor. People with Ph.D.s are working in factories and in security jobs until something changes, and the alarming thing is that no one whom I am talking with on a daily basis understands the dynamics of underemployment.
Barnes: Although I’m concerned there are people out there who might have given up looking for work, the clients we see in the Career Center are actively looking for suitable employment. The economic conditions throughout the state have created a demand that the Workforce Investment Board, in collaboration with the Division of Workforce Development, responded to by offering no-cost, on-site, basic information sessions on Computer Training, Resume Development, Intro to the Internet and E-mail as well as a Funding your Education information sessions.
The number of small businesses offering health insurance to workers is expected to rise sharply this year, according to data cited in the Wall Street Journal on Nov. 2, and researchers attribute the shift to a tax credit in the new health care law. However, small-business owners, still hurting from double-digit premium increases, remain worried and uncertain about the impact and fate of the changes called for in the law. Are uncertainty about health insurance and other future costs having an effect on hiring?
Jennings: These are some of the biggest worries, especially for small companies. Not being able to absorb any more cost than they already do will directly determine what their staffing levels will be in the future. They cannot afford to hire anyone, much less salaried, benefited employees. It is our belief at Kelly that the staffing industry plays a vital role in businesses being able to meet their company’s objectives and meet deadlines, etc. for their customers. Using a temporary or possibly temp-to-hire scenario allows the business to maintain productivity without long-term fixed cost.
Williams: We have not seen that in our business, though I do think many smaller companies are utilizing JobFinder’s temporary staffing division to get away from the high cost of employee overhead. JobFinders has benefits available, and all employees are eligible for our 401(k). I think every small business is afraid of the new health care laws and truly does not understand the effects on the future.
Gower: Absolutely, uncertainty is causing concern. Some small businesses are going to stay less than the magic number of 25 employees until they know exactly what their costs will be. For a small business today, even with a tax credit, the additional cost of health insurance premiums could have a huge impact on a company’s survival.
Byndom: We offer health insurance from day one for all of our associates, but less than 5 percent of my employees actually choose to purchase the benefits. We even give them 30 days to change their minds, and it is rarely utilized. All of the people like having that option and would love to have benefits if they were affordable. Recently, I choose to cancel my personal insurance because it was doubling in price. I think everyone is seeking different options right now. I think it will affect the quality of your prospective employees, and that will, in turn, affect everything about your company’s ability to reach its vision and mission.