Challenge Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, employers across the country were experiencing severe labor market challenges, including low labor force participation rates and the aging out of the baby boom generation. With the onset of the pandemic, many of these challenges were accelerated. Workers across the country scrambled to figure […]
Challenge While the population and demand for services in rural Central Texas have continued to grow post-pandemic, regional employers have struggled to hire, and rural workers have struggled to access the training and support needed to thrive. Seeking to address this deepening disconnect, Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area (WSRCA) applied
Challenge Situated just north of Houston in Montgomery County, Texas, Conroe’s employment situation in the latter half of the 2010s mirrored national trends. The county’s unemployment levels reached historic levels—as low as 2.8 percent in May 2019—and job growth in the county was outpacing the growth of the local labor
Challenge Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (UP) benefits from a high quality of life with an abundance of natural resources. Yet despite its many assets, the 15-county region has experienced a steady decline in population for more than four decades, a trend that is expected to continue for the next 20 years.
Challenge Home to Fort Campbell, the nation’s third largest military installation, and a desirable mix of private-sector employment, the Clarksville-Montgomery County region has remained a magnet for population and employment growth, even during the national economic downturn. Maintaining the region’s quality of place and the employment opportunities that attracted this
Challenge Located just 30 minutes north of Dallas, one of the nation’s most dynamic metropolitan areas, Frisco, Texas, has all the ingredients for sustained economic growth. Along with competitive advantages in traditional site selection factors such as transportation access, available land, and a reliable water supply, the city offers an
Challenge Stretching along Interstate 77 (I-77) from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Columbia, South Carolina, the South Carolina I-77 Alliance region consistently outpaced the US during the first part of the decade. Led by employment gains in manufacturing, healthcare, and professional services, the region added nearly 30,000 jobs between 2011 and
Challenge Recognizing that talent is a key driver of regional competitiveness, the Tampa Bay Partnership assessed talent indicators for the region and measured these against 19 peer communities. This exercise revealed that the Tampa Bay talent pool lagged its peers, particularly in metrics related to the regional talent pipeline. In
Challenge The Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area has experienced unprecedented economic growth and prosperity for decades. However, much of the region’s population has not shared in that prosperity. The area has rapidly become less affordable for residents—including those with jobs—as housing costs have continued to outpace wage growth. At the same
Challenge The availability of skilled labor has been an increasingly important factor in site location decisions. For corporate decision-makers, it is no longer sufficient to understand the overall supply of workers; investment decisions often depend on the ability to demonstrate a likely pool of workers with specific skills. Response Nashville-based
