Wadley-Donovan Growth Tech, a leading national workforce and economic-development consulting firm, along with Workforce Alliance, a local Human Resource consulting firm, conducted the review.

The study uses information obtained through surveys of labor-related issues among employers and households in the three-parish region and; telephone interviews with firms providing miscellaneous contract services to the largest employers in the region; and a review of key statistical and other secondary-source information.

The employer survey gathered information from area employers concerning the availability, quality, and cost of labor; the quality and utilization of educational institutions and training resources; and the future demand for workers. The household survey results enabled researchers to quantify and profile the region’s regular labor force and its hidden labor resources.

Workforce Alliance’s assessment provided a comprehensive profile of the active applicant base currently seeking employment in the industrial sector in the River Region. Workforce Alliance’s assessment provides a snapshot of qualifications of the available workforce for employment in the industrial sector within the labor trade area. The data used in their analysis was compiled using general labor statistics, validated assessment tools, and focus-group sessions with large industry employers, middle market entities, and public organizations. Twenty-seven (27) employers participated in these focus groups. The sample data used by Workforce Alliance was provided directly by 11,470 motivated job seekers within the firm’s database.

Regional workforce assets include:

• The effective labor shed of area employers is larger than in other areas of the country. Employer-based data shows effective labor sheds of 45 to 60 minutes of travel time, compared to 30 minutes seen in most other locations. This translates into an effective labor force of 461,000 to 622,000. (A labor shed is the area within employers draw potential employees.)
  
  
• The region has a hidden workforce, consisting of the under-employed, non-employed who want to work, and out-commuters. Household survey shows that there are 14,133 residents within the region that fall into these categories (9,037 who are not employed but want to work, and 5,096 under-employed).
  
  
• Most residents of the region work within the region, and a significant portion of the region’s workforce commutes into the area from neighboring or nearby parishes. Household survey results show that 71.6 percent of the region’s residents work in the region (St. Charles 32.8 percent, St. John 26.5 percent, and St. James 13.2 percent). Only 28.4 percent of the area’s residents work outside the region (almost 11,000 residents), mostly in Jefferson Parish (15.5 percent or almost 6,200 of the region’s employed residents). Residents from outside the region who commute to jobs within the region more than balance this loss of residents to jobs outside the region. Jefferson Parish and Lafourche Parish are the leading sources of this in-bound labor force. Data from representative area companies shows that 63 percent of their labor force comes from within the region, which translates into an estimated 21,000 job holders commuting into the region.
  
  
• The region can support a large new office employer. One or more competitively paying office operations could potentially hire up to 1,173 qualified and screened workers during the first year of operation, depending on their facilities’ locations in the region.
  
  
• The region can support a large new manufacturing or distribution operation. One or more competitively paying manufacturing/distribution operations with a standard occupational profile requirement could potentially hire up to 1,161 qualified and screened workers, depending on their facilities’ locations in the region.
  
  
• Employers report satisfactory to good work ethic and productivity among their employees. Meanwhile, employee turnover and absenteeism are low and at parity with those seen in similar sized communities.
  

The River Region also has some labor-force-related challenges that adversely affect the region’s ability to provide the workforce necessary to support the expansion of existing employers and the attraction of new industries. Some of the challenges include:

• The River Region offers a modestly educated adult population. The educational levels in which the region exceeds the national norm is in “no high school diploma” and “high school diploma only,” but trails the U.S. average in the percent of residents with post-high-school education.
  
  
• Employers express some difficulty recruiting managers and professional talent from outside the area. Employers report below-average employment opportunities for “trailing” spouses and the cost of housing and homeowner’s insurance as major obstacles in recruiting personnel from outside the region. Another contributing factor is a concern about the quality of public schools. Employers report that competitor locations such as Houston offer more appealing quality-of-life opportunities to technical, professional, and managerial recruits.
  
  
• Impending Baby-Boomer retirement is an issue in the region. Employer survey data indicate that, on average, 12.9 percent of currently employed workers are presently eligible for retirement or will become eligible for retirement over the next five years. This equates to approximately 7,428 employees eligible to retire over the next five years, based on the region’s employment of 57,578 workers (2007 annual average). Employers are not confident or are unsure they will be able to fill retirement vacancies in 37 percent of the positions held by employees eligible to retire now or over the next five years.
  
  
• Comparing the current demand for workers against the current availability ratings indicates there are existing critical labor shortages for some occupations. These include teachers (secondary), electrical and electronic repairers, industrial machinery mechanics, maintenance workers (machinery), and unskilled laborers (manufacturing, repair). For these occupations, demand significantly exceeds availability. Also indicated is a general imbalance between labor demand and supply for engineers, mechanical engineers, engineering technicians (general), construction laborers, electricians, registered nurses, assemblers/fabricators, welders, and truck drivers (heavy, tractor trailer). For these occupations, demand exceeds availability. Additionally, there is a modest imbalance for the following occupations: electrical and electronic engineers, industrial engineers, computer software engineers, teachers (elementary), and customer service representatives. For these occupations, demand slightly exceeds availability.
  
  
• There is a concern among employers that their effective labor shed will be reduced as a result of increasing gas prices.