Low unemployment creates tough market for employers

ROGERS -- Northwest Arkansas' low unemployment and high job growth rates are squeezing local employers.

"It's an employee's market," said Sara Staley, branch manager for Staffmark, during the Northwest Arkansas Fall Job Fair on Wednesday. The annual Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce event attracted 53 employers and more than 700 job seekers.

Kathy Deck, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas, said increased competition for qualified workers should push wages higher, but that is not always the case locally or nationally.

One reason wages aren't rising as quickly as expected is employers are spending more money on benefits such as higher health insurance premiums, she said.

"I don't think that's the whole story," Deck said. "I think workers remain insecure, and even a low unemployment rate is not increasing their bargaining power."

Employees don't want to be unemployed or to hold out for the right offer, she said. Wage growth is barely keeping up with inflation, she said.

The area's unemployment rate of 3.6 percent in August is the lowest it's been since falling to 3.4 percent in November 2007, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employers have added between 4,000 and 10,000 jobs annually since 2011. Northwest Arkansas rates are for the metropolitan statistical area that includes Benton, Washington and Madison counties and McDonald County, Mo.

Deck said it's important to look at the two numbers together.

"If the labor force stops growing for whatever reason, and unemployment stays low, it's not as impressive," she said, adding that has not been the case locally. "The labor force in Northwest Arkansas continues to grow faster than the national rate. We are well into a recovery mode."

The national employment growth rate was 2.1 percent between March 2014 and March 2015. It was 3.7 percent in Benton County and 3.8 percent in Washington County.

Patsy Griffith of Garfield was hoping to find a new career at the job fair. She spent years working in retail, including a stint at Wal-Mart until 2007 and most recently as a manager at Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores. Her children are grown and out of the house, and she decided it was a good time for a change.

"I just got to that point where I wanted to do something for me," she said.

She obtained a bachelor's degree in health care management from Bryan University in February. She said she had four good leads to follow up on from the job fair, including two in the medical field.

TEC Staffing Services places people in management, professional and clerical positions, and manager Becky Gore said she sometimes lacks applicants.

"People are out there, you just have to work harder to find them," she said. "You are only as good as the last person you placed."

Gore said she has placed people in all types of jobs, paying from $10 an hour to $100,000 annual salaries. She said she has not seen wages rise much.

Job and wage opportunities in Northwest Arkansas were high enough to prompt Ed Nicholson to move to the area from Pine Bluff in December. He said he was looking for a full-time job with benefits to replace some temporary jobs he's held since Advanced Auto Parts in Fayetteville closed earlier this year.

"I'm not pigeon-holed into one type of job," he said. "There are a lot of businesses and a lot of opportunities here."

Benton County had the highest percentage of average wage growth at 9.9 percent among the nation's 339 largest counties between 2013 and 2014. The national rate was 3.5 percent. Benton County's largest wage gain was for workers in professional and business service jobs, growing 16.2 percent.

Deck said it's the numbers behind the percentages that tell the story. Despite the large percentage increase, the county's average weekly wage of $996 ranked 128th, behind the national average of $1,035.

Washington County wages grew 4.3 percent between 2013 and 2014, and the average weekly wage was $896.

"I think sometimes folks are surprised at how below the national averages we are," Deck said.

Staley said Staffmark is helping fill warehouse jobs with slightly higher wages, up from $9.80 per hour last year to $10.10 per hour today. She said warehouse jobs are always in high demand this time of year with the holiday season around the corner.

Not all jobs require specific skill sets, she said.

"Sometimes you just need quality people who want to work," Staley said.

She said they are not seeing wage increases in administrative jobs.

Hayden Cain, office manager for Penmac Staffing, said his firm deals mostly with industrial jobs, and some positions have increased by as much as $2 an hour.

"It is harder to find quality workers," he said.

Eighteen-year-old Ethan McDaniel of Garfield is hoping to sign on with a local manufacturer such as Glad Manufacturing. He spent his summer working at Lost Bridge Marina in Garfield and is looking for a full-time, permanent job where he can work his way up.

"I'm looking for my first real job," he said.

Junior Woods, operations manager for Glad Manufacturing in Rogers, was talking to potential employees at Wednesday's job fair. He said about half the factory's 650 employees work on the floor, and they typically have four to five openings a month as people retire. He said turnover is very low so the company hasn't felt pressure to increase wages.

Glad's entry level wage is $16.01 per hour with a 75-cent shift differential. Woods said it is not unusual to have 75 applicants but only 10 or 11 qualified candidates.

Jessica Leach, hiring manager for AT&T, said she is looking for 12 to 14 full-time salespeople to work in the company's Northwest Arkansas stores. Workers have the potential to make from $45,000 to $56,000 annually in salary and commission, she said.

"Applicants have to pass an online situational test, and Springdale workers must speak Spanish," she said. "We've had some really good candidates today."

Steve Cox, Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce's vice president of economic development, said the job fair's 700 attendees nearly doubled the number from a spring event. The fair was at the Frisco Station Mall on Walnut Street. In the past it was at the John Q. Hammons Center.

"This was a nice central location with a bus stop out front," he said.

The Arkansas Department of Workforce Services also has an office in the mall, so many job seekers are familiar with the site, Cox said.

"When you look around and see all the help wanted signs you know people are hiring. We want to connect people to opportunities."

NW News on 10/12/2015