Going Back to the Workplace

Since the pandemic, we have seen the pendulum swing from the “Great Resignation” to the “Great Retention.” Now we are experiencing the “Great Return!”

There are two sides to every coin – the front and the back. The front side of the “inflation coin” is the most obvious side that everyone talks about, such as the high prices at the grocery store and the gas pump. However, the back side doesn’t get as much attention, but it’s just as important – inflation is driving workers back to the workplace, which is good for local economies!

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. economy added 315,000 jobs in August, with notable job gains in professional and business services, health care and retail trade. In a U.S. Department of Labor blog titled “Why It’s Good the Employment Rate Ticked Up,”  Joelle Gamble wrote, “In August, the labor force participation increased to 62.4% after stagnating for several months. This increase in participation led to a slight increase in the unemployment rate, now at 3.7%. This rise was a positive sign – Americans who were not employed and not looking for work began to look for work, becoming classified as unemployed. (Unemployed persons must be actively looking for work to be counted in the primary measure of the unemployment rate.)

Notably, the prime-age (25-54 years old) employment to population ratio recovered, particularly the employment-to-population ratio for prime-age women. And prime-age women’s labor force participation rate now exceeds its February 2020 point. This is one month of data that we hope will become a trend.”

The latest jobs report for Yavapai County shows an increase in total non-farm employment of 2,400 jobs in July – an increase of 3.7%. Still, our supply of workers does not equal the demand, which changes the economy, especially related to interest rates. We have seen national permanent job loss of 188,000 in August, while the long-term unemployed saw little change. The number of persons not in the labor force who currently want a job declined by 361,000 in August. In the metropolitan Prescott area, the labor force was approximately 67,600 in July, up 3.7% from last year, and the number of unemployed was 3,656, just 3.4% of the labor force – a decrease of 0.9% from one year ago.

Layoffs are at record lows, according to The Daily Independent. Layoff rate estimates for June 2022 by industry range from less than 0.5% in financial activities and state and local governments, to 1.7% in construction. Trade/transportation/utilities, leisure/hospitality and construction are at record low layoffs, although some are still behind pre-pandemic levels when it comes to employment, particularly in leisure/hospitality. The demand for travel and vacations in Northern Arizona is helping to drive job growth in these industries.

Job opportunities continue to rise, with the demand for skilled labor increasing more and more. The economy recovers well when business functions well within the community. Business functions well when people go back to work. The Yavapai County Workforce Development Board stands ready to provide skills training for job seekers to equip them for in-demand jobs in career occupations, fostering a sustainable economy and workforce retention. QCBN

By Teri Drew

Teri Drew is the executive director of the Yavapai County Workforce Development Board.