LINCOLN – NDOL has compiled survey data from households and businesses to produce Labor Availability and Hiring Needs Reports for Crete, Seward, and York.  The reports cover responses from portions of Butler, Gage, Fillmore, Lancaster, Polk, Saline, Seward, and York counties. The survey area populations in total include nearly 45,000 adults and an estimated total labor force of 30,880, with 355 businesses and 714 households responding. Reports on the survey findings are available at NEworks.nebraska.gov. 

Job Seeker Findings

• The surveys found an estimated 13,749 potential job seekers 18 and older in the survey areas. 
• Salary, along with job security and stability, were the factors most important to potential job seekers when considering new employment.
• Most employed potential job seekers listed security and stability, work schedule, and using their existing skills as factors that lead to job satisfaction.
• Potential job seekers reported inadequate pay and benefits offered at local area employers, lack of job opportunities in the area, and work schedule flexibility as obstacles to employment.

Employer Findings

• Survey respondents listed construction, accommodation and food service, wholesale trade, retail trade, health care and social assistance, and transportation and warehousing as the industries with the most difficulty hiring workers.
• The percental of frequently hired jobs reported as difficult to fill ranged from around 83 percent in the York survey area, to 86 percent in the Seward and Crete areas.
• Employers’ most cited reasons for difficulty finding workers were a lack of applicants, wage demands being too high, poor work history of applicants, lack of work experience, and lack of occupation-specific skills.
• The most commonly listed skills that employers said employees needed additional training in were leadership, advanced computer skills, customer service, problem solving, and critical thinking.
• The percentage of businesses that increased pay to increase their candidate pool ranged from 68 percent in Create to 82 percent in York and 83 percent in Seward. Over half of responding employers in York and Seward said they had increased benefits.  In Crete, 45% of employers reduced work experience requirements, a higher percentage than the other two survey areas.

Questions about the survey findings may be directed to lmi_ne@nebraska.gov.

NDOL press releases are accessible at dol.nebraska.gov.