Labor Availability and Hiring Needs Reports for Valentine and O’Neill are now available at NEworks.nebraska.gov. The reports cover responses from 10 counties, 197 businesses, and over 650 households on topics including hiring difficulty, barriers to employment, job openings, and important factors when seeking employment. The survey area population in total includes over 19,000 adults and an estimated total labor force of over 12,000.

Job Seeker Findings

• The surveys found an estimated 4,727 potential job seekers 18 and older in the survey areas. 

• Salary, along with company values, were the factors most important to potential job seekers when considering new employment.  Paid sick leave, job security and stability, paid vacation, and health insurance were also highly ranked. 

• Most employed potential job seekers listed job security and stability, use of existing skills, commute, and work schedule as the top factors that lead to job satisfaction. 

• Potential job seekers reported inadequate pay and benefits, lack of job opportunities in the area, and required relocation as obstacles to employment.

Employer Findings

• Survey respondents listed health care and social assistance, accommodation and food services, construction, retail trade, and manufacturing as the industries with the most difficulty hiring workers. 

• The percentage of frequently hired jobs reported as difficult to fill ranged from 87 percent in Valentine to 89 percent in the O'Neill area.

• By far the most common reason for hiring difficulty cited by employers was a lack of applicants (over 92%). Poor work history, wage demands, lack of work experience, and available housing were the next most common reasons employers cited across the survey areas.

• The most commonly listed skill where employers said employees needed additional training was critical thinking. Leadership, advanced computer skills, and working independently were also listed.

• Between 85 and 86 percent of businesses in both areas surveyed indicated that they increased pay to expand their candidate pool. Over half of responding businesses (51 to 55 percent) reported increasing benefits to address difficulty hiring.  Other measures taken by employers in the two survey areas included increasing hiring of interns/temporary workers and reducing work experience requirements, among others.

 

Published alongside the labor availability reports is a Sandhills skills gap report. Worker shortages exist primarily in occupations that have lower formal education and work experience requirements. They range across industries and occupations, including H3 (High wage, High skill, High demand) designated occupations.

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

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