The Kosciusko-Attala Partnership hosted a presentation last Thursday of the Central Mississippi Workforce Analysis, intended to arm Attala, Leake, Winston, and Neshoba counties with the kind of actionable information to better develop their workforces and draw new business to the areas.
The local presentation, which drew city and county officials as well as business leaders, focused on Attala County-specific data collected and analyzed by Younger & Associates.
“There has been a huge change and a huge impact on the local workforce since the last workforce study,” said Sharon Younger, principal of the firm, noting that the last study is now 10 years old.
The study, she said, is intended to provide a snapshot of the current labor market in the area, the untapped potential in the existing workforce, and the means to match that information with what employers are looking for in workforce in order to locate their businesses.
Younger said locals need to consider the entire workforce labor shed of 240,000 rather than focusing on the 19,000 potential workers in Attala County in order to draw development to the area.
“It is kind of scary to talk about a labor pool of under 19,000. In rural counties all over the United States, we’re seeing a trend of declining populations. A declining population has negative implications,” Younger said.
“But you’re in a growth area if you look at the entire labor shed,” she added.
Paramount to keeping and drawing new, skilled people to move to the area - which in turn draws development - is having a highly-rated educational system, she noted.
Another challenge to keeping and drawing an educated workforce to Attala County and the greater labor shed is low wages.
“The wages paid here are 27-38% below the national average. You’re below the state average, too,” Younger noted. “This is creating a turnover and that will only get more intense as the national labor rate increases.”
The overall current labor pool in the area, she said, is lacking in technological skills.
“Most people have high school and GED or less education. They need some additional skills training,” she said in order to have business choose to move here.
“Employers have ramped up what they need in employees,” meaning most aren’t prepared to be hired.
Younger also noted that there are plenty of educated people coming out of the Mississippi educational pipeline within 90 miles of Attala County.
“Per year, there are 25,700 completions from community colleges, welding programs and the like. You need to do a better job of keeping this talent in the region,” she said.
Younger then delved into some negative detail on the available workforce in the area.
“Almost 74% of the people employed in the area are willing to change jobs for as little as 50 cents more per hour, she said, leading to expensive and high turnover rates.
On the positive side, she said local workers have a great work ethic.
“Many have second jobs. That is a testament to the work ethic, though it is partially due to the low wages in the area,” she said.
Only 52% of county residents are actively engaged in the workforce, with an additional 10,000 people are not counted in the unemployment rate who have simply given up on seeking work.
“88.5% of those 10,000 people are willing to be trained, and will work for as little as $10.29 per hour,” Younger noted in closing her remarks.
KAP Executive Director Daren Milner closed the session telling those in attendance that the issues will not be addressed without input from all sectors.
“Everybody in this room today will need to be part of this,” he said.
You can read the 21-page study summary here: cdn.flipsnack.com/widget/v2/widget.html?hash=fd13q1ch4&bgcolor=EEEEEE&t=1523512897
