The dire need for a skilled workforce was readily evident at the Mackinac Policy Conference last week when Michigan’s Director of Talent & Economic Development Roger Curtis said, “We’re getting to a critical juncture.” He was addressing the fact that the economic growth in some areas of Michigan is being impacted to the degree that some employers are turning away work, because they can’t fill key jobs. Curtis told the conference that some companies that have expansion opportunities, “are reluctant to take (those opportunities to expand) because they don’t know if they can fulfill the obligations,” due to so many openings and unfilled jobs.
In Michigan’s Great Southwest, the team of change agents at Kinexus of Benton Harbor are working diligently to keep such situations from happening in the tri-county area of Berrien, Cass and Van Buren Counties. They remain laser focused on the four, in-demand, high growth industries that drive the local economy. Those key focal points are Manufacturing, Healthcare, Hospitality, and Agriculture.
I asked the Kinexus team to assemble a list of the hot jobs in the region both over the past year and for 2017, based on the occupational roles and projected growth in each of them from now through 2022.
They report that jobs in the hospitality sector increased by 2-percent, adding 218 jobs for a current total of 11,046 as compared to the national increase of 2.2-percent. Employment in the manufacturing industry, the largest sector in the tri-county region, increased by 0.8-percent, adding 147 jobs for a total of 18,030 over the past year. The healthcare sector showed a 1.5-percent increase in employment to date adding 160 jobs for a total of 10,824, while the agricultural sector showed a 1.1-percent increase adding 64 jobs for a total of 5,769 jobs.
The good news is that growth is expected for all four of those high-demand industries across the region in 2018, with hospitality projected to increase by 1.5-percent, adding 170 jobs…healthcare projected to add 142 new jobs for a 1.3-percent growth rate, manufacturing is pegged at roughly 85 new jobs for a half-percent increase and even the ag industry is projected to grow by 0.8-percent by adding 46 new jobs to the workforce.
The team at Kinexus says that overall employment is expected to grow by 0.7-percent, adding 716 jobs to the tri-county area in 2018, while the statewide forecast calls for an overall 1.2-percent increase in employment for the current year. For Michigan, job growth is expected across the board with an increase expected in manufacturing jobs of 1-percent, along with job growth in the service sectors including hospitality, construction and trade transportation.
Essentially what happens each month when unemployment numbers are released, the team at Kinexus compares the local unemployment rate to the state and national figures, reviews historical data for that month from a one-to-five-year period, and looks for long term trends in the high growth, high demand industries. Those factors could suggest shifts within various industries, as well as the overall labor market.
Dramatic changes in unemployment rates from one month to the next can often time indicate season factors, rather than a change in the tri-county economy, so they watch things very closely. By way of example, unemployment rates are higher in January and February due to winter layoffs in the construction and hospitality industries.
So, what are the hot jobs for the local market over the next five years? In the world of Manufacturing, nearly 375 Team Assemblers will be needed at a median hourly wage of just shy of $12 per hour. Sales Reps for wholesale and manufacturing firms will need another 130 people at more than twice that wage with a median hourly earnings rate of $25.48 per hour. All of those jobs can be accomplished by those with a high school diploma or the equivalent.
Mechanical Engineers are also in the hot job column with a projected need for more than 100 new workers in that role between now and 2022 in the tri-county region alone at a median hourly wage rate topping $43.85 per hour. Across the board, manufacturing is projected to add 935 jobs in the next five years locally.
The Healthcare industry is facing a huge hurdle over the next five years with projected job openings of more than 1,000 opportunities ranging from 7 new medical and health services managers to the nearly 425 new home health aides and 260+ personal care aides. While the service managers will need bachelors degrees, all current needs in the aide line up require no formal educational credentials.
As tourism continues to heat up, so will the job market for hospitality workers with five year projections showcasing more than 1,500 new jobs according to the Kinexus Hot Jobs List for 2017. Far and away the majority of those jobs also require no formal educational credentials, as they fall into the food preparation and service line up, restaurant cooks, and waiters and waitresses. Even hotel, motel and resort desk clerks will have wide-ranging opportunities with more than 100 new jobs in the five year run.
The agriculture industry including farming and food production accounts for more than 5,700 jobs and north of $226-million in gross regional product for Berrien, Cass and Van Buren Counties, however many of the high-demand occupations within agriculture overlap other industries, so there are no specific job growth charts to the ag industry at the moment.
Click this link for the data that Kinexus assembled for this story on Moody on the Market.com to see where the jobs are projected to be, how many of each, what the hourly earnings are like and what type of education or certification is required in each case: Hot-Jobs
