WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND
By Scott Hennen
Co-owner - Flag Family Media,
Rapids Radio & Fieldstone Group
Ask any employer about their top concern these days, and inevitably you’ll get some form of this answer - “I can’t get enough people.” From energy to agriculture, manufacturing to healthcare, and many others, finding an adequate workforce is their most challenging priority.
Where has our workforce gone post-pandemic?
I finally heard a plausible answer, as the Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo (FMWF) Chamber hosted a “Fueling our Future” event Monday. Ted Abernathy, the Managing Partner of Economic Leadership LLC, a consultant working in more than a dozen states to develop economic and workforce strategies, had the data.
He said a majority of those who have left the workforce are women with children at home. It seems, with the high cost of daycare, it is more affordable to stay home and be with the kids.
Another large group that opted out of the workforce was 55-plus and eligible for early retirement.