OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Omaha’s low unemployment rate of 2.9 percent presents what could be costly challenges to the area’s employers.
Omaha is among the 10 cities of the country’s 50 largest with unemployment rates less than 3 percent, the Omaha World-Herald reported . The national rate is 3.8 percent.
It’s part of a national trend as the economy has recovered from the Great Recession that began December 2007 and ended June 2009. There were nearly seven unemployed individuals for every one job opening in the United States in July 2009, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. There was a 1-to-1 ratio of jobs to job seekers as of March.
“There are challenges when you get unemployment that low,” said Todd Dawson, a managing partner at WorldBridge Partners, a recruiting company.
Some Omaha employers have to pay higher wages to attract workers to a new position or give raises to ensure employees stay.
Several Omaha businesses are offering extra paid vacation days, paid day care, car allowances, bonuses and other benefits, Dawson said. It’s a turnaround from a few years ago when some employers were cutting back on benefits, he said.
Technology-centered jobs are the most difficult to fill, according to Clark Lauritzen, president of the First National Bank of Omaha.
Steep wage increases over the past few years could indicate that Omaha is succeeding at luring more technology jobs and higher-wage occupations, said Eric Thompson, director of the Bureau of Business Research and a professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
The Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce has prioritized attracting quality workers in its five-year strategic initiative in 2019, said Dee Baird, the chamber’s vice president of economic development.
The initiative calls for 10,000 new or newly trained technology workers by 2024. It also aims to attract or develop 250 new startups in the area.
Baird said the goal is to present Omaha as “a top-of-mind place for career opportunity and a place that’s cool to build your life.”
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Information from: Omaha World-Herald, http://www.omaha.com
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