about talent 2025 · 2019-10-03 · about talent 2025 talent 2025 is a catalyst for an integrated...

About Talent 2025

Talent 2025 is a catalyst for an integrated talent development system for West Michigan. Composed of 100 CEOs from the region’s 13 counties, the organization strives to be a driving force for an ongoing supply of world-class talent by convening leaders and organizations who will help shape a thriving economy.

Talent Assessment and Outlook | 3

7 Introduction and Purpose

8 Notes for the Reader

9 Executive Summary

10 Population

11 Migration Patterns

12 Educational Attainment

13 Commuting Patterns

14 Labor Force and Employment

16 Industry Jobs

18 Sector Focus

20 Agriculture

22 Energy and Construction

24 Health Care

26 Information Technology and Media

28 Manufacturing

30 Professional Services

32 Retail and Hospitality Services

34 Focus Group Insights

37 Real-Time Demand

39 Occupational Outlook

41 Forecasting Competencies

42 Conclusion

44 Sources

45 Appendices

Table of Contents

4 | Talent Assessment and Outlook

A Note of Gratitude

We wish to express our sincere appreciation and thanks to all those who supported this project:

Partners Marcus Reason, DTMB, Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives Norm Brady & Jen Schottke, Associated Builders and Contractors-West Michigan Angela Huesman, Lakeshore Advantage Marlene Brostrom, West Michigan Works! Merri Bennett, Michigan Works! West Central Joe Thiry, West Michigan Works!/West Michigan Tech Talent Kristie Scarffe, West Michigan Works! Christine McWain, West Michigan Works! The 32 focus group participants

Talent Demand Working Group

Meredith Bronk OST Jay Dunwell Wolverine Coil Spring Co. Mark Lancaster Employment Group/EG Workforce Solutions Larry Murphy Varnum LLP Benjamin Wickstrom Erhardt Construction Michele Albright Ferris State University Kristine Anderson Muskegon Community College Doug Bagley Ottawa Area Intermediate School District Angie Barksdale West Michigan Works! Cindy Brown The Right Place Mark Champion Grand Rapids Community College Amanda Cooper Lakeshore Advantage Lisa Derr Grand Rapids Urban League Troy Farley Grand Valley State University Jim Fisher PADNOS Paul Griffith Michigan Works! West Central Bill Guest Metrics Reporting Cathy Kubiak Grand Rapids Community College Kathy Mullins Grand Rapids Community College Richard Mushing Kent Intermediate School District Kaushik Nag Amway Jennifer Owens Lakeshore Advantage Jason Palmer Bureau of Labor Market Information & Strategic Initiatives Julie Parks Grand Rapids Community College Scott Powell Bureau of Labor Market Information & Strategic Initiatives Karen Powell Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital David Riley The Right Place Dan Rinsema-Sybenga Muskegon Community College Angela Roman Ferris State University Karen Ruedinger Seidman Dean's Office, GVSU Dave Smith The Employers' Association Cary Stamas Kent Intermediate School District


Financial Supporters

Industry Sector Focus Groups


INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE

West Michigan community leader,

This is the sixth annual West Michigan Talent Assessment and Outlook report, the result of an ongoing collaboration between employers, educators, economic and workforce development, the State of Michigan, and civic, community, and nonprofit organizations across the West Michigan region.

The report is a crucial component of Talent 2025’s effort to catalyze and align the talent system in West Michigan. Reliable data and analysis on the current and forecasted talent needs of the regions’ employers is a foundational component of this goal.

Previous editions of the report have been embraced by stakeholders as a vital resource, used to inform investment decisions for training and development programs and to promote in-demand occupations. Each year we’ve made strides to bolster the data and analysis included in the report in an effort to illicit the greatest regional impact, with this sixth edition containing more robust real-time demand information thanks to support from the Talent Innovation Network of West Michigan and other local partners.

The current state of West Michigan’s labor market and the demands of employers looks dramatically different from the release of the inaugural report in 2014. Today, regional unemployment stands at historically low levels not observed since the turn of the century, at just over 3.3 percent, and well below that of the state. This extremely low regional unemployment has created a crisis for most employers finding talent for almost every education, skill, and experience level required.

Today, more than ever before, employers and education and training organizations need to work together to maximize the quality of the region’s talent to ensure the region’s businesses can remain and grow in West Michigan.

Local employers have responded to these emerging challenges in efforts to mitigate talent attraction and retention issues through increased wages, emphasis on company culture, investments in the training and development of new and incumbent employees, redefining job skill requirements, and developing talent pipelines in collaboration with education and workforce organizations. Education and workforce organizations have also made efforts to establish new training programs for semi-skilled and skilled labor, to promote in-demand jobs and career pathing information to middle and high school students, and more.

While this report evaluates a breadth of widely-used education, employment, and economic indicators from various publicly accessible data sources, it is important to note that there’s no perfect metric to capture the true demand or supply of the region’s talent. However, the feedback gathered from focus groups with employers validates that the region remains in a talent crisis.

We hope this report is beneficial to you and your organization, whether you are an employer, education or training institution, or community organization. We also hope it generates action on the part of every stakeholder across the region to work together to attract, retain, and develop the talent we need to make West Michigan a top region for talent.

Regards,

Kevin Stotts, President Talent 2025


Notes for The Reader

• All the data discussed, or illustrated in graphs and charts throughout the report, are available on the Talent 2025 website in a useable Excel document.

• The Sector Focus and Real-time Demand components of this year’s report have been expanded, thanks to support from the Talent Innovation Network of West Michigan, and now include industry-specific demographic information, real-time demand trends by industry, and more information to follow in our subsequent industry deep-dive reports scheduled for release this fall.

o Industry-specific insights derived from focus groups are clearly marked within the respective industry cluster subsection of the Sector Focus component of this report and reflect the feedback gathered from those sessions with those specific employers. Thus, should not be interpreted as generalizations about all employers within a given industry.

• To better understand and benchmark our region in comparison to similar areas throughout the country, a callout box titled “Area Comparison” was incorporated three times within this report. Each identified peer community is comparable to West Michigan in terms of population and industry makeup, background data for these regions can be found in Appendix 1. These 11 Combined Statistical Areas (CSAs) are:

o Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL CSA o Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY CSA o Dayton-Springfield-Sidney, OH CSA o Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point, NC CSA o Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC CSA o Harrisburg-York-Lebanon, PA CSA o Hartford-West Hartford, CT CSA o Knoxville-Morristown-Sevierville, TN CSA o Louisville/Jefferson County-Elizabethtown-Madison, KY-IN CSA o Rochester-Batavia-Seneca Falls, NY CSA o Tulsa-Muskogee-Bartlesville, OK CSA

• Sector-level competency data was generated using the O*Net database and Talxcellenz©.

Importance and Level scores for the top occupations in the sector were averaged to create the given competencies. More on the methodology and the scores can be found in Appendix 3.

• If you have any additional questions on the data sourcing or methodology used throughout the report, please contact Alex Andrews at [email protected]. We would be happy to answer your questions.

Counties in the West Michigan region:

Allegan Montcalm Barry Muskegon Ionia Newaygo Kent Oceana Lake Osceola Mason Ottawa Mecosta

http://talent2025.org/

mailto:[email protected]


Executive Summary

• West Michigan experienced continued population growth over the year, adding almost 12,000 new residents to bring the population of the region to 1,607,914 — a 16.1 percent share of the statewide population — although this growth comes despite continued negative net migration to counties outside of the state of Michigan. Although the vibrant communities throughout West Michigan continued to attract residents from other parts of the state, West Michigan still saw a strong migration outflow to the southern states of Florida, North Carolina, and Texas. A trend expected to continue as the tail-end of the Baby Boomer generation reaches retirement-age, with these states serving as particularly popular destinations for our region’s retired residents.

• Educational attainment in West Michigan continued to move in a positive direction, with 59.4 percent of adults possessing some form of education beyond high school in 2017. Stakeholders throughout the region are working in collaboration to ensure that the labor force is prepared for the skills and credentials that West Michigan employers will need by 2025, as the region is still shy of its goal of 64.0 percent for this indicator (as projected by the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research). According to 2017 estimates, just below 10 percent of the adult population in West Michigan did not have a high school diploma or GED. These individuals face enormous barriers to gaining and sustaining employment, primarily resulting from a lack of hard technical skills and potential literacy shortcomings.

• Job growth in West Michigan continued to follow an upward trajectory from 2017 to 2018, adding over 11,000 new jobs over the year at a rate of 1.6 percent — a slight increase from the 1.3 percent growth observed for the region over the previous period. Proportionally, West Michigan remains the fastest of Michigan’s ten Prosperity Regions to rebound from its private sector employment counts of the Great Recession, driven by the region’s largest industry, Manufacturing. Private-sector Manufacturing gained over 3,500 jobs throughout the region from 2017 to 2018, reflecting a growth of 39.5 percent since the trough of the recession in 2009 — with almost 45,000 jobs added to the industry over the relevant period.

• It’s critical to mention that despite such promising measures, regional progress could be even greater according to the feedback gathered from business leaders across West Michigan. Hiring authorities throughout the thirteen counties referenced an insufficient supply of local talent to meet their employment demands in every focus group session across the seven industry clusters, despite notable improvements to measures of labor force participation and unemployment.

• Sector strategies continue to be a leading practice in workforce planning. The middle component of the report supports regional initiatives such as the West Michigan Health Careers Council, Discover Manufacturing, the Construction Workforce Development Alliance of West Michigan, and West Michigan Tech Talent. We also provide competency and occupation information for the Agriculture and Energy (as a subset of Construction and Energy) sectors, as well as two relatively recent industry sector additions: Professional Services and Retail and Hospitality Services.

• Four themes emerged from the industry sector focus groups that will play a pivotal role in the future of talent planning across the region: company culture and job benefits, soft skills, diversity and inclusion, and student competition.


Population In 2018 the residential population across the 13-county West Michigan region was 1,607,914. This represents an over-the-year increase of 11,949 from the size of the respective population in 2017, a growth rate of 0.7 percent and the ninth straight year of population growth observed for the region — which has gained almost 91,000 residents since the Great Recession ended in 2009.

With respect to the rest of Michigan, gradual population growth across the 70 remaining counties in the state contributed to a slight net increase (0.3 percent) in the statewide population from 2017 to 2018 — gaining 33,604 additional residents. Although this was the largest over-the-year population growth observed statewide since before 2001, the proportion of the population residing in the Talent 2025 region relative to the state has steadily increased over the past seven years and now stands at 16.1 percent. Since 2011, the share of the statewide population residing in our region has grown by 0.7 percent.

Over the year, Ottawa and Newaygo Counties experienced the highest proportional population growth within West Michigan, with Ottawa gaining 4,111 residents (1.4 percent growth) and Newaygo adding 650 residents (1.3 percent growth). Another notable driver of population growth was Kent County, which added 5,192 residents (0.8 percent growth) in the period from 2017 to 2018, comprising nearly 44 percent of total population growth observed across the 13-county West Michigan region. This is the second consecutive year in which the annual growth rate in Barry County has surpassed Kent, and the fifth that Kent has experienced a decline in growth when compared to the rate of the previous year.

Population Change, Indexed to 2000

Percent Population Change, 2017 to 2018

Kent 0.9%

Allegan 1.3%

Ottawa 1.1%

Graph 1

Area Comparison Peers Overall 2nd of 12

53rd of 171

West Michigan’s 4.3 percent population growth over the last five years ranks second compared to our 11 identified peer communities. The top comparison region, Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, South Carolina, experienced a 5.9 percent rate of population growth from 2013 to 2018, well above the 3.5 percent growth observed for the nation as a whole. The Talent 2025 region would rank 53rd compared to all 171 Combined Statistical Areas nationwide.

Map 1


Migration Patterns West Michigan’s thirteen counties continued to experience a strong positive net gain over the course of 2017, with respect to the inflow and outflow of residents across the 70 remaining counties throughout the state. In comparison to migration flows across the nation, the region also experienced a strong positive net gain with more residents moving into West Michigan than those relocating to other states or other counties in Michigan.

The 5-year estimates available from the U.S. Census Bureau allow us to see that 90,813 residents of other counties in Michigan — and 49 other states, including Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico — moved to West Michigan in 2017, while 85,937 former residents relocated to other destinations across the U.S. over the same period. This equates to a net inflow of 4,876 new residents for the region in 2017, an increase of 1.8 percent from the previous year.

Of the total migrant population who moved to West Michigan in 2017, nearly 30,000 (32.8 percent) were former residents of Michigan’s 70 remaining counties. Although the thirteen-county region lost 24,818 former residents to other parts of the state, large inflows of new residents predominately from Oakland County, Kalamazoo County, Wayne County, and Ingham County balanced to a net gain of 4,965 migrants from other parts of Michigan. Among the top destinations in Michigan for those leaving the region were Kalamazoo County, Ingham County, Isabella County, and Oakland and Washtenaw Counties.

Excluding the remainder of Michigan, West Michigan experienced a net loss of 89 residents to 49 other states located across the nation (in addition to Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico). The top destinations for former West Michigan residents in 2017 included states in the South (Florida, Texas, North Carolina), Midwest (Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin), and West (California and Arizona). For those moving into the region, the largest net gains were attributed to previous residents of Illinois, Kentucky, Georgia, and Indiana. Adhering to last year’s trend, the greatest net loss of former West Michigan residents was observed for the states of Florida and North Carolina.

Coming to West Michigan

Leaving West Michigan

Area Movers Area Movers TOTAL 21,807 TOTAL 21,896 Illinois 2,795 Florida 3,196 Indiana 1,812 Illinois 1,794 Florida 1,683 Texas 1,601 Texas 1,462 Indiana 1,508 Ohio 1,409 California 1,364 California 1,065 Ohio 1,153

Georgia 890 North Carolina 1,065

Tennessee 886 Arizona 952 Wisconsin 721 Wisconsin 727 Arizona 704 Tennessee 652

Net Migration Across Michigan Counties, Annual Average, 2013-2017

Map 2

High Net Inflow

Net Inflow

Net Outflow

High Net Outflow

West Michigan States with High and Low Migration, West Michigan (2017)

Chart 1


Graph 3

Educational Attainment The educational attainment of the adult population (ages 25+) within a region serves as a leading indicator of the strength of the corresponding labor market. As jobs with low skill requirements become increasingly autonomous and new occupations emerge in our globalized economy, the foundational skills necessary to maintain employment become more stringent. According to estimates from the W.E. Upjohn Institute, 64 percent of the adult population in West Michigan will need some education beyond a high school diploma in order to satisfy the demands of the region’s employers by the year 2025.

Accounting for nearly 638,000 adults across the region in 2017, West Michigan stands at 59.4 percent for this indicator. This represents an increase of 0.8 percent from the estimate in 2016, which is slightly above growth observed both statewide (0.7 percent) and nationally (0.5 percent) over the same period. West Michigan currently trails the statewide average by 1.6 percent (inclusive of West Michigan, the state is at 61.0 percent) as well as the nation, where 60.0 percent of the adult population have some education beyond high school.

More specifically, 27.3 percent of adults in West Michigan possess a Bachelor’s, graduate, or professional degree, compared to 28.1 percent statewide. Both trail the national postsecondary attainment rate, however, at 30.9 percent in 2017.

Adult illiteracy affects an estimated one out of every five adults across the region, and still serves as a predominant barrier to employment among those who lack the foundational qualification of a high school education (9.9 percent). While this translates to over 106,000 adults throughout West Michigan, the regional rate is 2.7 percentage points lower than the national average of 12.6 percent, and slightly higher than the statewide average of 9.7 percent.

Educational Attainment West Michigan, 2017

Graph 2

Area Comparison

Peers 4th of 12

In comparison to our peer communities, West Michigan’s CSA ranks fourth with 60.5 percent of adults possessing some form of education beyond high school. The top comparison region, Hartford-West Hartford, Connecticut, boasts a 63.1 percent level of attainment for this metric, 2.6 percentage points above our own. Compared to all 171 Combined Statistical Areas nationwide, the Talent 2025 region would rank 69th. With respect to our peer regions, our rate is most similar to Buffalo-Cheektowaga, New York at 61.0 percent.

Overall 69th of 171

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Percent of Adults with Education Beyond High School, 2017

Less than 9th grade, 3.5%

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diploma, 6.4%

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equivalency), 30.7%

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Associate's degree, 9.4%

Bachelor's degree, 18.1%

Graduate or professional degree, 9.2%

Graph 2


Commuting Patterns Commuting patterns serve as an effective method to identify labor sheds, both at the regional and sub-regional levels, which can help employers determine where to channel their recruitment efforts.

Data regarding West Michigan’s 2017 commuting patterns were updated on the U.S. Census Bureau’s OnTheMap online tool in August of 2019. These estimates were obtained from employers, covered by unemployment insurance, and from Census data provided by individuals in order to determine commuting patterns at various geographic levels.

Commuting Beyond West Michigan In 2017 there were 739,080 individuals employed across West Michigan, irrespective of their place of residence. Of this employed population, 602,757 individuals both lived and worked within the region, accounting for 81.6 percent of all employees in West Michigan. Thus, 136,323 West Michigan employees lived beyond the boundaries of the thirteen counties and made a commute into the region for employment in 2017. Conversely, a total of 732,003 individuals were considered residents of West Michigan during the relevant year. Approximately 17.7 percent, or 129,246 residents, were employed beyond the boundaries of the region and made a commute out of West Michigan for work.

Commuting Within West Michigan

Grand Rapids In 2017 there were 124,651 individuals employed in the City of Grand Rapids, with just under a quarter of the respective population also residing within the city’s boundaries (30,485 residential employees). As such, 75.5 percent of those employed within the city commuted from their place of residence beyond the city’s limits, leaving 94,166 individuals who commuted into Grand Rapids for work in 2017. The city’s 2017 residential population of 91,431 employed individuals consisted of 33.3 percent who remained within the city for work, while almost 67 percent of those living in Grand Rapids were employed somewhere outside of the city. The top destinations for commuters who lived in Grand Rapids at this time were Wyoming, Kentwood, Walker, and Forest Hills.

Holland According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 30,241 individuals employed in the City of Holland in 2017. The city’s workers predominately lived outside of the city, with over three-quarters (84.3 percent) of the employed population commuting into the city for work. The city’s residential population consisted of 16,608 employed individuals, yet only 4,758 residents (28.6 percent) remained within the city’s limits during their commute to work. Thus, 71.4 percent of those living in Holland travelled beyond the boundaries of the city during their commute to work in 2017. The top destinations for residents commuting out of Holland were Grand Rapids, Wyoming, Zeeland, Kentwood, and Walker.

Muskegon Compared to Grand Rapids or Holland, the City of Muskegon saw the lowest proportion of its employed population also living in the city during 2017 — accounting for 3,161 residents (22.5 percent) of the city’s 23,053 total employees. Of the 14,047 individuals who lived in the City of Muskegon during 2017, just 13.7 percent remained within the city for employment. Therefore, 77.5 percent of Muskegon residents (10,886 individuals) were employed outside of the city and made a regular commute beyond the city’s limits for work. The top destinations for these commuters were Norton Shores, Roosevelt Park, Grand Rapids, and Grand Haven.

https://onthemap.ces.census.gov/


Labor Force and Employment While they are often derived as a simplified look at the health of an economy, the unemployment rate and labor force participation rate of a region are among the most pervasive indicators of the economic prosperity and viability of a corresponding labor market. The unemployment rate in West Michigan has continued to follow a downward trajectory since 2009 — where unemployment peaked at 12.5 percent as the nation emerged from the Great Recession — and achieved a historically low rate of 3.4 percent in 2018, the lowest unemployment rate seen in West Michigan since the turn of the century. It is important to note that such progress has implications for the region’s employers, who are competing to attract and retain talent from a shrinking pool of available, qualified jobseekers. This is especially prominent among high-skilled and low-volume occupations, where nationwide recruiting has become commonplace.

The current unemployment rate in West Michigan, at 3.3 percent over the first half of 2019, reflects a drop of 0.6 percentage points from the rate observed in the first six months of 2018 (3.9 percent). In comparison to the size of the region’s labor force over the same period last year, an additional 2,000

participants have been added over the course of 2019 thus far — possibly resulting from the success of nationwide recruiting efforts when considering the progression of the unemployment rate.

The unemployment rate in West Michigan currently leads the statewide average by almost a full percentage point, while leading the national average by nearly half a percentage point. Unemployment for Michigan and the U.S over the first half of 2019 currently stand at 4.2 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively.

County-level unemployment rates capture a similar trend, with each of West Michigan’s 13 counties yielding a better rate over the first half of 2019 relative to the same period in 2018. Unemployment rates across West Michigan are still not uniformly lower than the state or the nation, however, despite rebounding from the recession as quickly as 2014. The largest counties within West Michigan — such as Ottawa, Kent, and Allegan Counties (2.7 percent, 2.8 percent, and 3.3 percent) — typically yield the lowest rates, which pull down the aggregated rate for the region. Although rates are particularly high for the region’s rural counties, Oceana and Lake (7.1 percent, 7.0 percent), they experienced the largest improvements to their unemployment rates relative to the remaining counties in West Michigan when compared to unemployment over the first half of 2018 (down 0.8 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively).

700,000720,000740,000760,000780,000800,000820,000840,000860,000

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*Labor Force(Right axis)

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Labor Force and Unemployment in West Michigan, 2000 to 2019*

Unemployment Rate, January – June 2019 Graph 4

Graph 5

*January – June 2019


Labor Force Participation Rate The labor force participation rate represents the fraction of the total non-institutional civilian population — adults who are not inmates in an institution and who are not in active duty in the Armed Forces — who are considered to be members of the labor force (either employed or actively seeking work). The most widely utilized labor force participation rate comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and consists of the adult (16+) population. Adhering to this definition, the labor force participation rate for adults in Michigan was 61.6 percent through the first six months of 2019, and 63.0 percent for the nation as a whole.

Talent 2025 has adopted what is referred to as the working-age labor force participation rate, which is calculated the same way as the aforementioned rate but banded to those between the ages of 25 and 54. The U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey provides the granular information necessary to calculate this measure on an annual basis, at any geographic level.

The working-age labor force participation rate in West Michigan was 82.4 percent in 2017, with 78.4 percent of the 25-54 population employed and 4.0 percent unemployed yet actively seeking work. This rate is 1.3 percentage points greater than the rate observed statewide (81.1 percent) and compares favorably to the national rate of 81.7 percent. Despite possessing a higher labor force participation rate than both the state and the nation, with respect to the “working-age” population, the rate for West Michigan has declined over the past seven years — both for the broad 25-54 age bracket, as well as each age group within the “working-age” population. Considering that the rate has steadily increased by 0.2 percent since 2015, West Michigan shows potential for a gradual recovery. An increase of 0.7 percent to the 2017 working-age labor force participation rate, reflecting the rate observed in 2010, would translate to 4,450 additional participants in the workforce across West Michigan.

83.1%

84.4%

83.2%83.7%

81.8%82.4%

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25 - 54 (Working-Age) 25 - 29 30 - 34 35 - 44 45 - 54

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Labor Force Participation Rate by Age Group, West Michigan, 2010 and 2017

Graph 6

Area Comparison

Peers 3rd of 12

The working-age labor force participation rate for West Michigan’s CSA was 82.9 percent in 2017, ranking third in comparison to our peer communities — a jump of 4 peer rankings from the rate of the previous year (82.2 percent). Our top comparison region, Hartford-West Hartford, Connecticut, saw a level of participation for this metric at 85.4 percent, a decline of 0.2 percent and placing 23rd in the nation as of 2017. The Talent 2025 region ranks 56th when compared to all 171 Combined Statistical Areas nationwide.

Overall 56th of 171


Industry Jobs

Growth in private-sector payroll jobs throughout West Michigan continued to follow a positive trend from 2017 to 2018, adding 11,070 new jobs over the year to achieve an annual growth rate of 1.6 percent. While this rate was slightly above the five-year low of 1.3 percent observed for the region over the previous year, growth in private payroll jobs from 2015 to 2016 (4.1 percent) was nearly 3 times the current rate. The growth rate just two years ago was the highest seen for the region since private payroll jobs grew by 4.6 percent over the period from 2010 to 2011.

In 2018 there were 683,245 private-sector payroll jobs in West Michigan, a regional growth of 29.5 percent from private employment counts documented during the recessionary trough in 2009. With respect to this indicator, West Michigan is proportionally the fastest growing region in Michigan compared to the other nine Prosperity Regions across the state. The region with the second highest growth rate, Southeast Michigan, saw private payroll jobs grow by just 20.7 percent since 2009.

Industry Overview Manufacturing continued to be the largest sector for employment in West Michigan in 2018, accounting for 23.2 percent of total payroll jobs. The next largest sector in the region, with respect to job counts, was Health Care and Social Assistance (14.0 percent), closely followed by Retail Trade (10.6 percent). The fourth largest industry, and the only other sector possessing more than a tenth of total payroll jobs, was Administrative and Support and Waste Management Services, which accounted for 10.5 percent of total employment across the region in 2018.

Manufacturing, the region’s largest industry, gained over 3,500 jobs from 2017 to 2018. Although this industry has grown by 39.5 percent since 2009, adding almost 45,000 jobs, employment has yet to bounce back to the proportion seen before the Great Recession (24.3%). Administrative and Support and Waste Management Services yields the highest post-recessionary growth rate of any industry in West Michigan (82.1 percent).

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Jobs by Industry - West Michigan, 2018 Graph 7

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Private Sector Payroll Jobs, West Michigan, 2001-2018

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Educational Services


Recession Recovery Despite experiencing a dramatic recovery in the number of total private-sector payroll jobs since the trough of the recession in 2009, job growth in West Michigan has been noticeably different across industry sectors. Of the 155,730 jobs gained throughout the region since 2009, 28.8 percent were attributed to Manufacturing — which has added 44,839 jobs — while Administrative and Support and Waste Management Services contributed 20.9 percent, adding 32,476 jobs to the region since 2009. Combined, these two industries account for nearly half of the job gains observed in West Michigan since 2009. Health Care and Social Assistance, expanding by 27.2 percent within the industry, was the third largest contributor to the regional payroll jobs economy as a whole with 20,483 jobs gained since 2009.

Proportionally, other industries in the region with substantial growth over this period include Construction (+8,998 jobs, +38.6 percent), Transportation and Warehousing (+2,765 jobs, +33.0 percent), and Wholesale Trade (+7,278 jobs, +28.0 percent). In contrast, employment in both Information and Utilities has yet to fully recover from the effects of the Great Recession, declining by 2.6 percent (-172 jobs) and 2.5 percent (-58 jobs), respectively, from the industry job counts in 2009.

Concentration of Industries A Location Quotient (LQ) refers to the relative concentration of employment in a local industry as compared to a larger area (in this case, the nation as a whole). An LQ greater than 1.0 indicates that there is a higher concentration of employment within a local industry when compared to the same industry over a broad area, and vice versa (while an LQ of 1.0 signifies that the two areas have the same employment concentration).

In 2018, the top eight sub-industries in West Michigan with the highest LQ levels (and employment above 1,000) all fell within three major industries: Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services, Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting, and Manufacturing. Yielding an industry-wide LQ of 1.8, the share of jobs associated with Agriculture in West Michigan was nearly double the share seen nationwide. This was driven, in part, by the proportionally large number of jobs concentrated in Animal Production and Aquaculture (3.2) and Crop Production, with an LQ of 2.3.

Manufacturing, with an LQ of 2.5, was the most concentrated major industry in the region last year, driven predominately by employment in Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing (8.6). Simply put, the share of total private employment associated with this sub-industry in 2018 was over eight times the share seen nationwide. This highly concentrated Manufacturing sub-industry was closely followed by Primary Metal Manufacturing (3.7), and Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing (3.4).

High Employment Concentration Industries LQ* Employment Manufacturing 2.5 158,397

Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing 8.6 16,842 Primary Metal Manufacturing 3.7 7,001

Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing 3.4 12,215 Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting 1.8 12,806 Animal Production and Aquaculture 3.2 4,229

Crop Production 2.3 6,321 Adm and Support and Waste Management 1.6 72,054 Administrative and Support Services 1.6 70,370 Education Services 1.2 23,246

Chart 2

Location Quotient by Sub-Industry, West Michigan, 2018


Sector Focus


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Employment Change, 2017-2018

Sector Overview • Sector strategies serve as one testament to the collaborative nature of the West Michigan talent

system, where various stakeholders within a particular industry sector join forces to help establish and maintain efficient talent pipelines and the transparent, regular sending of signals between the supply and demand sides of the labor market. Employers, community organizations, workforce development organizations, two- and four-year postsecondary institutions, and other training institutions regularly meet to discuss talent issues and identify potential solutions in forums like the West Michigan Health Careers Council, Discover Manufacturing, the Construction Workforce Development Alliance of West Michigan, and West Michigan Tech Talent.

• To establish the datasets here, 19 private-sector industries (by 2-digit North American Industry Classification System, or NAICS, codes) were divided into nine industry clusters based on the commonalities of occupations within the industries (see Appendix 2). In this component of the report, we take a more comprehensive look at trends within seven of our nine industry sectors.

• Included within each sector is:

o Demographic, employment, and compensation information for the entire cluster, o Output from the industry focus group(s), o Competency data reflective of the competencies needed for top occupations, ordered by

Importance score (see Appendix 3), o Top Occupations by several growth and wage measures. These occupations have been

presented to the sector focus group(s) and are discussed in the focus group output.

• Following the Retail and Hospitality Services section, we have synthesized four topics that were distinct commonalities across a majority of sector focus groups, which are:

o Company culture and benefits o Diversity and inclusion o Soft skills o Student Competition

Sector Comparison, West Michigan (Bubble size = 2018 employment)

Agriculture

Retail & Hospitality Services

Energy & Construction

Health Care

IT & Media

Manufacturing

Professional Services


Gender Distribution, West Michigan (2018)

Agriculture 2018 Employment Trend Average Earnings Total Wages

12,806

▼ (-2.7%)

$39,177 Annual, 2018

$502 million in 2018

The Agriculture and Food Processing industry cluster is an important component of the West Michigan economy, accounting for almost $502 million in wages paid across the region in 2018. Employers operating within this sector can be found throughout the region, from the populous counties of Kent and Ottawa to the more rural counties found in the northern half of West Michigan. Agricultural employment across the region declined by 2.7 percent over-the-year, with approximately 1,654 individuals unemployed in this industry in 2018.

Industry Demographics As of 2018, there were 8,417 individuals employed within the Agriculture industry across West Michigan who identified as male, while 4,389 identified as female. Individuals who identified as White composed 65.7 percent of industry employment (8,629 workers), while those identifying as either Black or African American or Asian each composed 3.5 percent of employment (444 and 443 individuals, respectively). There were an additional 101 employees who fell into the Two or More Races category (0.8 percent), which exceeds representation from both the American Indian or Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander communities, respectively at 0.3 and 0.2 percent of total industry employment. Regardless of racial identity, 24.4 percent of those employed within this industry were of Hispanic or Latino descent in 2018 (3,122 workers).

With respect to age, 56.0 percent (7,168 adults) of Agricultural employment throughout the region was composed of the working-age population — ages 25 to 54 — while 16.9 percent were under the age of 25 and 27.1 percent were over the age of 54. The most populous age cohort was associated with adults between 25 and 34 years of age (19.3 percent), closely trailed by those between the ages of 35 and 44 (18.4 percent).

Top Sector Competencies with Importance and Level scores (on a scale of 0 to 100) Knowledge Skills

Customer and Personal Service 59, 50 Active Listening 58, 44 English Language 58, 45 Speaking 58, 43

Administration and Management 48, 41 Critical Thinking 56, 44 Abilities Work Activities

Oral Comprehension 61, 51 Getting Information 71, 49 Problem Sensitivity 60, 45 Communicating with Supervisors… 69, 55

Near Vision 60, 48 Making Decisions/Solving Problems 66, 53

Age Distribution, West Michigan (2018)


Top Occupations in the Agriculture Sector

These occupations were chosen by a combination of the sum of percent ranks over four variables of interest: the projected 10-year growth rate, median hourly earnings, the projected number of annual growth openings, and the projected number of labor force exits. They are listed here alphabetically. Data provided by the Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiative’s Long-Term Occupational forecasts for the West Michigan Region.

* Wage data is reflective of the occupations specifically within the industry sector, rather than the wages for the occupation throughout the economy. The top 10 occupations are listed here, though the comprehensive list can be found in our data supplement.

Focus Group Insights Note: Focus group insights are derived from the feedback of Agriculture and Food Processing employers. For quantitative data, Food Processing is a sub-industry located within the Manufacturing sector.

Agriculture and Food Processing is a complex, seasonally dependent industry cluster. Although some employers have experienced steady work year-round, others have increased or scaled-down production in accordance with seasonal cycles. While part-time employment was prominent in this sector following the effects of the Great Recession, the consensus of focus group participants indicates an increasing demand for full-time workers across all skill levels — in an effort to provide staffing for lengthening production schedules. Attracting new talent, identifying new talent pools, and increasing diversity were identified as the key struggles for a majority of employers. These challenges are amplified when attempting to source talent for undesirable weekend or night shifts, particularly in rural areas where the talent pool has been exhausted, which many attributed to younger workers’ reluctance to work outside of the traditional business hours of 9am to 5pm.

Career ladders were another frequent topic of conversation for most employers interviewed, particularly in determining between internal or external applicants for positions that require some form of postsecondary education or training. These hiring decisions have increased in frequency, as many have observed a spike in the demand for specialized roles and a shrinking supply of suitable talent within the region. With a majority of entry-level candidates lacking the required combination of technical and soft skills to fill positions stipulating training beyond high school, especially in rural areas, employers must compare the costs of retraining or upskilling current employees with the challenges of filling vacant positions resulting from these internal promotions. These challenges are further exacerbated by the hyper-competitive local market for talent across all skill and experience levels.

Title Median Hourly Growth Annual Openings Due to

Earnings 10-Year Labor Force Exits Growth Accountants and Auditors $29.94 12.3% 165 65 Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers $34.62 7.2% 545 65

General and Operations Managers $47.66 10.5% 200 95

Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers $20.65 10.6% 595 140

Helpers--Production Workers $11.74 29.3% 345 165

Industrial Machinery Mechanics $22.40 18.6% 145 75 Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners $11.71 14.3% 965 200

Managers, All Other $39.36 11.5% 85 35 Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders $14.87 16.1% 285 90

Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products

$30.26 8.8% 390 100



Energy and Construction

2018 Employment Trend Average Earnings Total Wages

34,937

▲ (4.8%)

$75,290 Annual, 2018

$2.6 billion in 2018

The Energy and Construction industries are taken together as one industry cluster — considering the broad overlap in occupations between the industries — and consists of three interdependent industries when it comes to talent: Construction; Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction; and Utilities. While the latter industry experienced a slight decline in employment over-the-year, a combined 4.8 percent growth to employment in both Construction and Mining buoyed this $2.6 billion industry in 2018.

Industry Demographics The Energy and Construction sector in West Michigan employed 30,259 individuals who identified as male in 2018, while just 4,678 females were employed throughout the industry. Individuals who identified as White composed 91.4 percent of industry employment (31,935 workers), while those identifying as Black or African American contributed 2.5 percent to employment within this sector (739 individuals). There were an additional 288 employees who fell into the Two or More Races category (0.8 percent), which exceeds representation from the Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander communities, respectively at 0.5, 0.3 and 0.0 percent of total industry employment. Regardless of racial identity, 4.9 percent of those employed within this industry were of Hispanic or Latino descent in 2018 (1,698 workers).

With respect to age, 68.4 percent (23,870 adults) of total employment in the Energy and Construction sector was composed of the working-age population — ages 25 to 54 — while 12.4 percent were under the age of 25 and 19.4 percent were over the age of 54. The most populous age cohort was associated with adults between 35 and 44 years of age (23.8 percent), closely trailed by those between the ages of 25 and 34 (23.8 percent).

Top Sector Competencies with Importance and Level scores (on a scale of 0 to 100)

Knowledge Skills English Language 67, 52 Active Listening 66, 51

Administration and Management 60, 53 Critical Thinking 64, 51 Customer and Personal Service 60, 57 Speaking 63, 50

Abilities Work Activities Oral Comprehension 68, 56 Getting Information 79, 66

Written Comprehension 66, 54 Communicating with Supervisors… 79, 66 Oral Expression 66, 55 Making Decisions/Solving Problems 75, 63



Top Occupations in the Energy and Construction Sector



Focus Group Insights Construction is traditionally regarded as a seasonal industry, which cultivates barriers to hiring when considering that local manufacturers are typically in competition over the same talent pool — with the widespread perception that manufacturers often provide a higher volume of hours with greater stability, considering their year-round production schedules, when compared to Agricultural employers. An ever-present challenge experienced by employers within this sector appears to lie in the stigma surrounding skilled trades occupations, resulting in difficulty attracting and retaining talent even for some entry-level positions which can provide lucrative employment opportunities further along their career paths. The experience of industry practitioners would suggest that younger generations misperceive the potential value associated with skilled trades occupations, as opposed to careers that require a traditional four-year degree. This could have serious implications when considering the increasing number of retirements expected to transpire across the industry, correlated with the aging of the Baby Boomer generation — a concern for a majority of employers interviewed. While this stigma may permeate the younger generation of workers, several employers also noted difficulty in recruiting for late-in-career, specialized positions.

Career pathing not only serves as one means to mitigate these recruitment challenges, but they’re also a source of pride for a majority of West Michigan’s energy and construction companies. Several focus group participants discuss potential career paths with job applicants and candidates during their interview processes — signaling their importance and value with new hires, while enabling organizations to prepare internal candidates to fill anticipated vacancies for their most undersupplied and specialized late-in-career positions. Apprenticeship or mentorship programs are also prevalent among the region’s construction employers, providing an opportunity for entry-level talent to work alongside experienced crew members while ensuring cultural assimilation and promoting learning through face-to-face communication. A crucial social skill relevant for any occupation, which many have seen lacking in candidates over recent years.


Earnings 10-Year Labor Force Exits Growth Accountants and Auditors $29.94 12.3% 165 65

Financial Managers $52.27 21.5% 60 50 First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers $28.07 12.4% 75 30


Industrial Machinery Mechanics $22.40 18.6% 145 75

Managers, All Other $39.36 11.5% 85 35 Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists $27.11 25.2% 70 60

Mechanical Engineers $34.50 11.3% 75 40

Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters $25.09 16.5% 85 35 Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products

$30.26 8.8% 390 100



Health Care


95,346

▲ (2.0%)

$61,878 Annual, 2018


Health Care continued to illustrate the positive impact of collaboration within an industry, with an over-the-year employment growth of 2.0 percent. The West Michigan Health Careers Council partnered with local employers, training institutions, and workforce development professionals to establish a year-long Medical Assistant Registered Apprenticeship program in 2017, addressing a shortage for one of the industry’s most critical occupations. The group relied upon employer feedback to develop a standardized curriculum, ensuring that program graduates possess the skills required of Medical Assistants across the region, with programs currently in place at Grand Rapids, Muskegon, and Montcalm community colleges. Industry Demographics As of 2018, there were 77,392 individuals employed within the Health Care industry across West Michigan who identified as female, while just 17,955 identified as male. Individuals who identified as White composed 83.2 percent of industry employment (79,298 workers), while those identifying as Black or African American contributed 8.2 percent to employment in this sector (7,798 individuals). There were an additional 1,953 employees who identified as Asian (2.0 percent), exceeding representation from those identifying as Two or More Races, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, respectively at 1.3, 0.3 and 0.0 percent of total industry employment. Regardless of racial identity, 4.9 percent of those employed within this industry were of Hispanic or Latino descent in 2018 (4,707 workers).

With respect to age, 66.9 percent (63,778 adults) of total employment in the Health Care sector was composed of the working-age population — ages 25 to 54 — while 12.2 percent were under the age of 25 and 20.9 percent were over the age of 54. The most populous age cohort was associated with adults between 25 and 34 years of age (26.6 percent), trailed by those between the ages of 35 and 44 (21.3 percent).



Psychology 66, 62 Critical Thinking 68, 55 Abilities Work Activities

Oral Comprehension 77, 62 Getting Information 88, 64 Oral Expression 76, 60 Documenting/Recording Information 86, 63

Problem Sensitivity 72, 57 Communicating with Supervisors… 84, 67



Top Occupations in the Health Care Sector



Focus Group Insights The highly fractional, part-time labor force attributed to the Health Care sector imposes its own unique challenges upon West Michigan employers. Considering that it’s not uncommon for health care employees to work for multiple companies over the course of the year, wage information gets around quickly — meaning that a sizeable portion of the workforce will generally forsake company loyalty in order to acquire additional hours with whichever company is paying a more competitive rate at the time. Despite frequent references regarding the challenges of attracting highly-skilled, specialized talent — for which recruitment occurs nationwide and establishing relationships with candidates via LinkedIn or Facebook has become an industry best practice — a majority of employers indicated that they felt no retention challenges with these highly-specialized positions, especially when compared to the retention challenges associated with middle- and low-skill occupations.

Although employers are typically recruiting talent across the spectrum of skill requirements — for part-time, full-time, and various levels of employment in between — the predominant barrier encountered by local health care employers appears to lie in the hyper-competitive environment fostered among low-skill and low-experience occupations, those which do not require extensive education, training, or prior experience. While competition is traditionally perceived to occur among employers operating within the same sector, feedback from health care employers suggests increasing demands for health care occupations in other industry sectors. For several nutritional assistant positions, in addition to other roles that do not require a certification or credential, West Michigan employers identified companies from other sectors as tough competition when it comes to attracting and retaining quality talent. These challenges are amplified when attempting to source talent for undesirable weekend or night shifts. Which some attributed to younger workers’ reluctance to work beyond traditional business hours, while others credit the highly fractional, part-time labor force associated with the industry.



Child, Family, and School Social Workers $23.23 17.7% 90 40

Financial Managers $52.27 21.5% 60 50 Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists $27.11 25.2% 70 60

Medical and Health Services Managers $45.14 18.1% 55 35

Medical Assistants $16.49 23.5% 155 75

Occupational Therapists $33.36 21.6% 25 20

Physical Therapists $40.83 24.4% 35 40

Physician Assistants $51.41 33.9% 20 30

Registered Nurses $31.44 14.8% 450 215



Information Technology and Media 2018 Employment Trend Average Earnings Total Wages

6,464

▲ (2.6%)

$66,170 Annual, 2018

$428 million in 2018

Information Technology and Media is a modestly sized, yet vitally important industry of employment in West Michigan. Regional collaborative initiatives, like West Michigan Tech Talent, help to increase alignment among employers, education and training institutions, and other community organizations and partners in order to address issues of talent attraction, retention, and development within this sector. Boasting the third highest average annual earnings of the seven industry clusters highlighted in this report — with regional wages becoming increasingly competitive on the national stage — the IT and Media industry in West Michigan experienced a net gain of 166 employees over the year.

Industry Demographics The IT and Media industry in West Michigan employed 3,690 individuals who identified as male in 2018, while 2,774 females were employed throughout the sector. Individuals who identified as White contributed 86.0 percent to total industry employment (5,562 workers), while those identifying as Black or African American composed 6.0 percent of the total employed population (388 individuals). There were an additional 104 employees who identified as Asian (1.6 percent), exceeding representation from the Two or More Races, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander communities, respectively at 1.5, 0.3 and 0.0 percent of total sector employment. Regardless of racial identity, 4.5 percent of those employed within this industry were of Hispanic or Latino descent as of 2018 (294 employees).

With respect to age, 65.5 percent (4,234 adults) of total employment in the IT and Media sector was attributed to the working-age population — ages 25 to 54 — while 16.6 percent were under the age of 25 and 18.0 percent were over the age of 54. The most populous age cohort was associated with adults between 25 and 34 years of age (24.4 percent), trailed by those between the ages of 35 and 44 (21.5 percent).




Oral Comprehension 70, 56 Getting Information 78, 57 Oral Expression 69, 55 Communicating with Supervisors… 78, 65

Problem Sensitivity 65, 50 Making Decisions/Solving Problems 76, 60



Top Occupations in the IT and Media Sector



Focus Group Insights Reflecting the trend observed in previous focus group sessions for the IT and Media industry, employers emphasized the crucial role encompassed by a company’s culture in their efforts to attract, retain, and develop talent amidst an environment of rising competition for IT-oriented occupations. The region’s employers noted a rising number of competitors for local talent coming from outside of West Michigan, with companies from all industry sectors poaching local IT professionals through opportunities for remote work and even by recruiting talent from local IT boot camps. It would seem that occupations involving business analytics and data security are most affected by national competition, with demand for these jobs seemingly correlated with the rising integration of technology within industries beyond IT and Media.

A positive, empathetic company culture can often serve as the best means to prevent employee turnover, even for the most experienced employees, according to a majority of employers interviewed. Indeed, there appears to be a rise in the number of IT and Media companies striving to cultivate this atmosphere of positivity, achieved through company-hosted social events, modern and attractive office spaces, or company-reimbursed training opportunities. For a few of the most innovative employers, promoting the work-life balance of employees has led to reduced turnover and greater ease in recruiting younger workers — when evaluating the performance of employees, these companies emphasize the output and quality of deliverables, as opposed to an individual’s attendance or hours worked.

A few participants mentioned the adoption of more flexible organizational structures in their efforts to improve culture, cultivating new challenges for career pathing. These emerging organizational structures enable employers to organize project teams and assign leadership responsibilities on a rotational basis. This not only enhances the skillsets and experiences of younger employees, but also provides opportunities for professional development and reduces turnover for those seeking to be challenged.



Computer User Support Specialists $22.20 15.9% 65 45

Financial Managers $52.27 21.5% 60 50


Management Analysts $35.28 16.8% 65 30


Sales Managers $59.47 11.0% 40 20 Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products

$30.26 8.8% 390 100

Software Developers, Applications $36.65 33.8% 30 60



Manufacturing


158,397

▲ (2.3%)

$75,480 Annual, 2018


Composed of nearly 160,000 employees across West Michigan, the Manufacturing industry sector has continued to follow a strong post-recessionary growth trajectory since the end of the last decade. Paying just under $12 billion in wages in 2018, the second highest average annual wage of the seven industry clusters highlighted in this report, initiatives such as Discover Manufacturing and MiCareerQuest have helped to align efforts across the region — demonstrating the impact of modern manufacturing.

Industry Demographics As of 2018, there were 111,406 individuals employed within the Manufacturing sector across West Michigan who identified as male, while just 46,991 identified as female. Individuals who identified as White composed 78.0 percent of industry employment (123,510 workers), while those identifying as Black or African American contributed 6.8 percent to employment in this sector (10,740 individuals). There were an additional 5,803 employees who identified as Asian (3.7 percent), exceeding representation from those identifying as Two or More Races, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, respectively at 1.1, 0.4 and 0.0 percent of total industry employment. Regardless of racial identity, 10.1 percent of those employed within this industry were of Hispanic or Latino descent in 2018 (15,924 workers).

With respect to age, 67.3 percent (106,630 adults) of total employment in Manufacturing was composed of the working-age population — ages 25 to 54 — while 9.1 percent were under the age of 25 and 23.5 percent were over the age of 54. The most populous age cohort was associated with adults between 45 and 54 years of age (24.8 percent), trailed by those between the ages of 25 and 34 (21.6 percent).

Top Sector Competencies with Importance and Level scores (on a scale of 0 to 100)

Knowledge Skills English Language 65, 52 Active Listening 64, 50

Customer and Personal Service 60, 54 Critical Thinking 63, 51 Mathematics 56, 53 Speaking 62, 50

Abilities Work Activities Oral Comprehension 67, 56 Getting Information 78, 57

Oral Expression 66, 55 Communicating with Supervisors… 78, 64 Written Comprehension 65, 53 Making Decisions/Solving Problems 74, 61



Top Occupations in the Manufacturing Sector



Focus Group Insights Similar to the challenges felt across the Energy and Construction sector, a prominent theme to emerge for manufacturing employers pertained to current and future challenges associated with the availability of talent, with respect to both age and racial and ethnic diversity. A majority of employers were concerned about the number of retirements occurring within the industry — with an even greater number anticipated over the next five to ten years, as the tail-end of the Baby Boomer generation reaches retirement age. In addition to growing concern surrounding the stigma of skilled trades occupations, which was particularly prominent for local manufacturers in attempts to recruit younger, entry-level talent. Several participants also referenced intense competition over local, diverse candidates, with employers often channeling recruiting efforts outside of West Michigan in an attempt to increase the diversity of their workforce.

Employers are attempting to combat the stigma surrounding occupations in Manufacturing through various forms of collaboration emerging across the region — as too many young adults just entering the labor force misperceive the potential value associated with career paths in this sector, believing they don’t provide stable, lucrative career options. Manufacturing Day and MiCareerQuest were frequently mentioned collaborative efforts intended to increase awareness of the career possibilities in Manufacturing, while partnerships with local high schools, universities, and technical training institutions were also common tactics of employers to engage the next generation in the West Michigan talent system — increasing the future supply of talent through apprenticeship programs, co-ops, and summer internship programs. Although this stigma may permeate the younger generation of workers, several employers also noted difficulty in recruiting mid-in-career talent, which some attribute to the widespread perception among the previous generation, “that manufacturing was dying,” which is reflected in the comparatively low proportion of industry employment for adults between the ages of 35 and 44.





Industrial Engineers $36.01 16.6% 105 70

Industrial Machinery Mechanics $22.40 18.6% 145 75


Mechanical Engineers $34.50 11.3% 75 40 Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products

$30.26 8.8% 390 100






130,879

▲ $53,834 Annual, 2018

$7 billion in 2018

The Professional Services industry sector consists of five industries (in order of 2018 employment): Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services; Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services; Finance and Insurance; Real Estate and Rental and Leasing; and Management of Companies and Enterprises. Although the latter industry experienced a slight drop in employment over-the-year, a joint 1.9 percent growth to employment across the remaining four sectors buoyed this $7 billion industry in 2018.

Industry Demographics The Professional Services sector in West Michigan employed 60,653 males in 2018, while 70,226 females were employed throughout the sector. Following Retail and Hospitality Services, this was the second most equitable industry with respect to the gender identities of the employed population. Individuals who identified as White contributed 79.9 percent to total industry employment (104,535 workers), while those identifying as Black or African American composed 10.4 percent of the total employed population (13,667 individuals). There were 2,582 employees who identified as Asian (2.0 percent), exceeding representation from the Two or More Races, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander communities, respectively at 1.4, 0.4 and 0.0 percent of total sector employment. Regardless of racial identity, 5.9 percent of those employed within this industry were of Hispanic or Latino descent (7,776 employees).

With respect to age, 64.4 percent (28,102 adults) of total employment in the IT and Media sector was attributed to the working-age population — ages 25 to 54 — while 13.2 percent were under the age of 25 and 22.3 percent were over the age of 54. The most populous age cohort was associated with adults between 25 and 34 years of age (23.8 percent), trailed by those between the ages of 35 and 44 (20.4 percent).


Customer and Personal Service 69, 63 Active Listening 68, 52 English Language 69, 55 Reading Comprehension 66, 56

Mathematics 57, 55 Speaking 66, 52 Abilities Work Activities

Oral Comprehension 71, 58 Getting Information 82, 63 Oral Expression 70, 59 Making Decisions/Solving Problems 79, 66

Written Comprehension 68, 56 Communicating with Supervisors… 76, 64

(1.9%)



Top Occupations in the Professional Services Sector



Focus Group Insights A significant portion of practitioners across the Professional Services sector appear to be adapting to an anticipated talent shortage — considering the rising number of workers expected to reach retirement age over the next five to ten years, a concern shared by a majority of focus group participants — through increased emphasis placed on diversity and inclusion in their efforts of talent attraction, retention, and development. Establishing empathetic, positive company cultures were a crucial component of success referenced by employers focused on diversity and inclusion, while others noted the integral role attributed to company culture and job benefits in reducing employee turnover and attracting younger talent.

Although the topic of diversity and inclusion was a common theme across focus groups this year, a growing number of Professional Services employers are making strides to channel their recruitment efforts toward previously untapped, diverse talent pools and to subsequently foster a company culture that’s empathetic to the cultural differences of a diversified workforce. Despite the prevalence of external recruiting for diverse, qualified candidates — as competition is intense for all local, diverse talent in the Professional Services sector, regardless of skill-level — more employers across West Michigan are incorporating evidence-based selection processes (EBSP) into their hiring decisions. The integration of EBSP not only eliminates unconscious bias, reduces turnover, and increases measures of job satisfaction, with employers using a standardized scoring criterion for all applicants throughout the interview process, but it will also gradually improve employment outcomes for local and diverse talent.

Company culture and job benefits were also frequently mentioned by employers, specifically as a method to attract and retain younger workers. Providing flexible schedules to promote work-life balance, through increased opportunities for remote or part-time work, and offering more paid time off relative to monetary compensation in job offers and annual raises were considered extremely attractive to younger workers by industry practitioners. Despite a modest drop in employee productivity observed through the implementation of these tactics, employers noted an overall decrease in measures of job turnover.





Industrial Engineers $36.01 16.6% 105 70

Insurance Sales Agents $24.18 16.5% 110 40

Management Analysts $35.28 16.8% 65 30


Registered Nurses $31.44 14.8% 450 215




Retail and Hospitality Services


168,317

▲ (0.5%)

$30,024 Annual, 2018

$5 billion in 2018

Retail and Hospitality Services is a broad sector composed of four major industries: Retail Trade; Accommodation and Food Services; Other Services; and Arts, Entertainment and Recreation. Although each industry encompassed within this sector experienced employment growth from 2017 to 2018, the combined growth rate of 0.5 percent was the second lowest of any industry cluster highlighted in the report, exceeded only by the attrition observed within Agriculture and Food Processing (-2.7 percent).

Industry Demographics In 2018, Retail and Hospitality Services was the most equitable sector with respect to the gender identities of the employed population — employing 89,699 individuals who identified as female, while the remaining 78,618 employees identified as male. Individuals who identified as White composed 82.3 percent of industry employment (138,567 workers), while those identifying as Black or African American contributed 6.9 percent to employment in this sector (11,654 individuals). There were an additional 3,425 employees who identified as Asian (2.0 percent), exceeding representation from those identifying as Two or More Races, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, respectively at 1.9, 0.4 and 0.0 percent of total industry employment. Regardless of racial identity, 6.4 percent of those employed within this industry were of Hispanic or Latino descent in 2018 (10,725 workers).

When considering age, 52.4 percent (88,134 adults) of total employment in Retail and Hospitality Services was attributed to the working-age population — ages 25 to 54 — while 28.8 percent were under the age of 25 and 18.9 percent were over the age of 54. The most prevalent age cohort employed in this sector was for adults between 25 and 34 years of age (22.4 percent), trailed by those between the ages of 19 and 24 (19.7 percent).




Oral Comprehension 61, 50 Getting Information 74, 49 Oral Expression 59, 49 Communicating with Supervisors… 69, 55

Problem Sensitivity 59, 44 Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events 67, 51



Top Occupations in the Retail and Hospitality Services Sector



Focus Group Insights A majority of focus group participants encompassed in the Retail and Hospitality Services sector referenced an undersupply of talent across all experience levels as their predominant hiring challenge, though especially prominent among entry-level roles in competition with similar jobs offering more attractive wages and seemingly better working conditions. The consensus would indicate that Retail and Hospitality is a retention-oriented industry, which presents its own challenges to employers striving to maintain low turnover rates, as “too many entry-level candidates lack the attractive soft skills of communication and customer service,” yet a large portion of those with the potential to fine-tune these skills are entering the labor force for their first time. Another retention challenge mentioned by industry practitioners lies in the difficulty that high-performing employees experience when trying to visualize and understand the career progression of their current job, fostering hiring challenges unique to middle- to late-in-career supervisory roles.

The fundamental skill that a majority of hiring authorities seek from talent across Retail and Hospitality Services is customer service, an in-demand soft skill for all sectors but a topic of emphasis for employers within this industry cluster. The presence of customer service skills is a determinant in many hiring decisions across the sector, and most employers have adapted their hiring and interviewing processes to better capture the degree to which a candidate demonstrates this skill — especially for the majority of entry-level applicants who possess no prior work experience. With a majority in agreement that the first few months of employment are the most crucial when it comes to the retention of entry-level employees, employers across the sector are placing greater emphasis on adapting their hiring and onboarding processes to include increased flexibility in scheduling, greater focus on company culture, and an overview of career paths to help employees navigate the system.




Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers $20.65 10.6% 595 140

Industrial Machinery Mechanics $22.40 18.6% 145 75 Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners $11.71 14.3% 965 200

Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand $14.16 11.9% 1005 230

Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers $13.60 15.2% 325 100

Maintenance and Repair Workers, General $17.94 10.6% 325 80 Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists $27.11 25.2% 70 60

Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products

$30.26 8.8% 390 100


Focus Group Insights Focus group sessions were conducted with industry practitioners across seven different sectors, with four themes emerging that were common to a majority of employers regardless of sector affiliation.

Company Culture and Benefits One prominent theme to emerge in the feedback gathered from West Michigan employers surrounded efforts to combat current and future challenges associated with the availability of talent, with respect to both age and racial and ethnic diversity. A majority of practitioners were concerned about the number of retirements occurring or anticipated across the talent system, with the tail-end of the Baby Boomer generation reaching retirement age over the next five to ten years, and with the challenges of recruiting local and diverse talent in our competitive labor market. Many local employers from across the seven sectors identified company culture and job benefits as leading factors in their efforts to attract and retain diverse candidates. Establishing empathetic, welcoming company cultures were a crucial component of success referenced by employers focused on diversity and inclusion, while others mentioned the pivotal role of company culture and job benefits in reducing employee turnover and attracting younger workers.

Job benefits were frequently referenced by employers specifically as a means to attract and retain younger workers, with most employers indicating a rise in the number of young workers reluctant to work beyond the traditional business hours of Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm. Some strive to provide flexible scheduling options in an attempt to enhance employees’ work-life balance, through updated paid-time off policies and greater opportunities for remote or part-time work, while others find significant benefits in offering employees more vacation time relative to monetary compensation in job offers and annual raises. Employers noted an overall increase in measures of job satisfaction and retention through the implementation of these methods, despite a modest drop in employee productivity noted by just a few participants.

Soft Skills Another common theme discussed throughout focus groups this year referred to the various strategies local employers are implementing in their efforts to combat the perceived lack of soft skills prevalent among young, local talent. Skills like persistence, communication, problem solving, critical thinking, and patience were specifically mentioned as emerging pain points for focus group participants seeking young, qualified candidates in West Michigan. Indeed, a growing number of local employers have noticed a downward shift in the soft skills of the local talent pool — whether it be communicating absences, asking questions regarding projects, interacting with colleagues and customers, or taking initiative without direction — prompting several employers to respond through greater emphasis placed on the attainment of skills over credentials during the hiring process.

Current strategies appear to include employers either redefining the skill requirements of their pain point positions through job analysis or talent supply chain management models, investing in retraining or upskilling current employees, collaborating with education and training providers to emphasize desired employability skills through redesign program curricula, or some combination of these individualistic and collaborative methods. For those emphasizing the attainment of skills over credentials, the job analysis or talent supply chain management models both provide standardized approaches for subject matter experts to confirm the job duties and skill requirements of an associated occupation or occupational family. These redefined job descriptions are then compared to current position requirements, enabling hiring authorities to determine if their skill needs are being communicated effectively through job advertisements. For others, establishing collaborative relationships with education and training providers on the supply-side of the labor market yields greater long-term benefits — allowing employers to directly communicate their skill demands to the entities charged with developing these attributes in future workforce participants.


Diversity and Inclusion Another theme to emerge in many of our focus groups this year relates to diversity and inclusion, or more specifically, the challenges imposed upon West Michigan employers to find diversity in regional talent pools — but also the necessity for local employers to begin emphasizing diversity and inclusion in their efforts of talent attraction, retention, and development. Additionally, participants mentioned the crucial role of establishing an environment that’s welcoming to diversity in improving measures of job satisfaction and retention, especially among young or diverse employees. A few industries are also adapting to these challenges by adjusting their traditional recruiting techniques to target more diverse talent pools, employing more online job advertisements or booths at career fairs where employee referrals were previously the dominant tactic. Speaking to the challenges of recruiting diverse talent, several participants mentioned that West Michigan can be “a bit closed off,” resulting in difficulty for employers to find and sustain diversity in their hiring processes. Despite the prevalence of external recruiting for diverse, qualified candidates among West Michigan employers — as competition is intense for all local and diverse talent, regardless of skill-level — more employers across the region are integrating evidence-based selection processes (EBSP) into their hiring decisions to promote inclusion. EBSP mandates that all candidates be ranked and scored according to a set of standardized criteria and a structured interview guide throughout the interview process, effectively eliminating unconscious bias, increasing job satisfaction, and reducing employee turnover.

Student Competition A new theme to emerge from this year’s focus groups pertains to student competition among postsecondary education and training providers throughout the region and nation, resulting in a frequently discussed gap between the demands of employers and the supply of talent emerging from educational institutions across West Michigan — most commonly referred to as a “talent crisis” by focus group participants.

Although employer feedback leads to an overwhelming consensus indicating an undersupply of qualified talent prevalent across all industry sectors — and especially prominent among skilled, specialized occupations with more stringent requirements — practitioners operating within the region’s education sector argue that student competition lies at the source of this perceived crisis, as opposed to an under-provision of education and training services resulting from any lack of program capacity. Not only are high school graduates forced to weigh the value of various postsecondary credentials in determining their future career paths, but prospective postsecondary students must also choose among a plethora of institutions, programs, and credential options across the region, state, and nation depending on their financial circumstances. It is this combination of choices, when paired with an individual’s potential for mobility and the traditional stipulation of a four-year baccalaureate degrees as a job prerequisite (on the assumption this served as a proxy for soft skills), that lies at the root of the talent crisis.

Upjohn researchers have demonstrated that an individual’s propensity to migrate is highly correlated with age and education, with the most mobile population consisting of young adults (under 30) in possession of a college degree — who, consequently, also serve as the skilled talent the region requires to meet the current and future demands of employers. Larger metro areas gain an advantage over West Michigan in attracting this highly mobile and educated population, due to a greater presence of career and cultural opportunities for young, skilled workers and their spouses. When these young adults decide to relocate to pursue postsecondary education and training opportunities, they inevitably establish ties within the business communities of those areas — increasing the likelihood that an individual will establish roots and join the workforce in that location.


There is hope, however, as collaborative efforts between a majority of the region’s K-12 educators, postsecondary institutions, and employers could serve to mitigate this effect. There has been a notable shift in the efforts of West Michigan employers to define the skills and competencies required for their most critical occupations, with an increase in the volume of employers engaged in job analysis or talent supply chain management models. These redefined skills and competencies are then tied to credentials, like certificate or associate programs, as opposed to the traditional catch-all baccalaureate prerequisite — providing employment opportunities for those who may possess the necessary skills and abilities, but not the traditional four-year degree. Furthermore, practitioners in K-12 education have already begun to incorporate more career exposure activities before students reach high school. This not only increases the real-world application of knowledge acquired in a traditional classroom setting but could also strengthen business ties for future participants in the workforce and ultimately reduce the attrition of young, skilled workers for West Michigan, once students begin to enter the workforce.


Active Online Job Advertisements - West Michigan, 2016-2019

Job Advertisements by Education West Michigan, 2018

Real-Time Demand Despite the limitations associated with online job advertisement aggregating tools, like EMSI or Burning Glass, real-time demand serves as an adequate means to estimate the volume of job opportunities emerging across the region. Although online job advertisements are disproportionately distributed across industries — with Agriculture and Energy and Construction typically yielding lower volumes of job postings relative to our remaining five industry clusters — job posting trends provide insight to help identify the most in-demand occupations today, and their associated skill requirements, according to the number of unique job ads posted online by local employers.

In July of 2019 the West Michigan region saw a demand of 61,352 unique, active job ads. In comparison to the 42,261 job advertisements found across the region during the same month in 2018, this over-the-year difference of 19,091 postings reflects a growth of 45.2 percent. During the same reference month in 2019 there were 438,731 openings posted across the state, indicating that our 13-county region comprised 14.0 percent of all online jobs posted throughout Michigan in July.

With respect to annual averages, West Michigan saw an average of 41,939 unique job ads in 2017, 44,093 in 2018, and 54,463 over the first half of 2019. The total number of job postings in West Michigan has progressively increased since the end of 2015, despite a slight decline typically observed each year from March through May. The volume of regional job postings generally reaches an apex in October, reflecting the rising demand for seasonal workers in preparation for the holidays, and drops slightly to achieve above-average levels by December.

Although a total of 249,236 unique job ads were posted across West Michigan for the duration of 2018, employment opportunities did not emerge for all residents at an equal rate. Approximately half of all regional job postings last year required no educational credentials of the applicant, while 27.1 percent required some form of education beyond high school and an additional 20.3 percent mandated at least a bachelor’s degree. Associate’s degree holders across the region would have met the minimum qualifications for nearly 17,000 job postings (6.8 percent) over the year, in stark contrast to the 1,588 ads (0.6 percent) that required a doctorate or professional degree.

Grand Rapids leads the cities within the region with the most job postings in 2018, with an annual total of 76,364 unique job ads and a median posting duration of 32 days. Holland and Muskegon distantly trail, with 14,231 and 13,339 unique ads posted and a median posting duration of 33 days and 31 days, respectively.

Graph 10

Graph 11


Online Job Advertisements by Industry Cluster, West Michigan, 2018

Online Job Postings by Occupational Category, West Michigan, 2018

Hiring Demands by Industry Although the Transportation and Material Moving occupational group lead other occupational categories in terms of the number of unique job advertisements posted for the duration of 2018, accounting for almost 20 percent of all job ads across the region, the Professional Services industry cluster was the most advertised sector in West Michigan last year. Contributing 29.9 percent of all unique job postings across West Michigan, the Professional Services industry was primarily driven by a high volume of job ads associated with industry-specific Registered Nurses (3,650 ads), Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers (2,794 ads), and Accountants and Auditors (1,524 ads).

The next high-demand industry cluster in West Michigan was Retail and Hospitality Services, which contributed 22.9 percent of all unique ads posted across the region in 2018. The Professional Services industry was primarily driven by a high volume of job ads for First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers (8,543 ads), Retail Salespersons (7,800 ads), and Customer Service Representatives (5,396 ads).

The low volume of job advertisements attributed to Agriculture (282 unique ads in 2018), as well as Energy and Construction (4,077 unique ads), can be explained by the feedback provided by industry practitioners during our focus group sessions. Considering a majority of employers in these sectors offer incentives for employee referrals and some even post advertisements in local newspapers, online job advertisements do not serve as a traditional or effective means of recruitment when compared to the viability of word-of-mouth recruitment strategies, particularly for entry-level or low-skill roles.

Occupational Groups Hiring As of 2018, the occupational group with the largest number of job postings in West Michigan was for Transportation and Material Moving occupations, with 41,664 unique postings and a median posting duration of 23 days. This was predominately driven by the number of advertisements associated with Heavy and Tractor-trailer Truck Drivers (28,078 ads), which accounted for 20.0 percent of all postings in the region and reflects the increasing demands for those with a Commercial Driver’s License, the top posted qualification throughout West Michigan in 2018 (13,716 ads). The next most in-demand occupational group last year was attributed to Sales and Related occupations, which accounted for 13.7 percent of total ads in the region with an annual total of 28,968 unique postings. This category was trailed by Office and Administrative Support occupations (20,637 ads), Healthcare Practitioners and Technical occupations (20,019 ads), and Management occupations (12,745 ads).

Industry Cluster Unique Postings Median Posting

Duration % # Agriculture 0.1% 282 31 days Energy and Construction 1.9% 4,077 31 days Health Care 11.7% 24,625 31 days IT and Media 2.0% 4,179 30 days Manufacturing 9.1% 19,200 37 days Professional Services 29.9% 62,991 30 days Retail and Hospitality Services 22.9% 48,156 36 days

Occupational Category Unique Postings Median Posting Duration % #

Transportation and Material Moving Occupations 19.7% 41,664 23 days Sales and Related Occupations 13.7% 28,968 38 days Office and Administrative Support Occupations 9.8% 20,637 31 days Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 9.5% 20,019 30 days Management Occupations 6.0% 12,745 36 days Production Occupations 5.7% 12,016 32 days

Chart 3

Chart 4


Percent Employment Growth by Region, State, and Nation, 2016 - 2026

Occupational Outlook The Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives produces Long-Term Occupational Outlook forecasts for regions throughout the state every two years. This year, the most up-to-date information available for Michigan’s ten Prosperity Regions covers the period from 2016 to 2026. The bureau’s latest occupational projections include a new “separations methodology” intended to distinguish between the number of annual openings expected to result from three sources: growth, labor force separations, and occupational transfers. These projections indicate that West Michigan will experience a total of 96,265 job openings each year over the relevant ten-year period, with 92.8 percent of annual openings expected to emerge because an employee has separated from their previous role — either in pursuit of a different occupation or exiting the local labor force entirely — while just 7.2 percent of projected annual openings are associated with employment opportunities that didn’t exist before the 2016 to 2026 period.

West Michigan’s occupational employment is expected to grow by 9.0 percent over the ten-year forecasting period, equating to a net employment increase of 69,605 workers by the year 2026. Each year, the 13-county region is expected to see 6,960 job openings resulting from growth alone, with these potential openings resulting from business expansion, business relocation, or newly emerging occupations. Furthermore, 37,505 openings are anticipated each year as a result of labor force separations throughout the region, reflecting the predicted number of newly vacant positions caused by retirement, migration, death, or other reasons one might separate from the local labor force entirely. In contrast, individuals who change their occupational classification but remain in the local labor force account for an estimated 51,800 job openings across the region, annually.

In comparison to the nine remaining Prosperity Regions across Michigan, West Michigan’s 10-year projected employment growth of 9.0 percent would rank first in conjunction with Prosperity Region 9: Southeast Michigan, which is also anticipated to grow by 9.0 percent through 2026 (a net gain of 40,280 workers). In terms of future numeric job growth, West Michigan’s net growth of 69,605 workers would only trail Prosperity Region 10: Detroit Metro, which is expected to gain 165,705 additional employees over the 10-year period (8.8 percent growth). As such, employment growth in West Michigan accounts for 21.7 percent of total employment growth anticipated statewide over the relevant 10-year timespan.

Graph 12

Employment Growth by Prosperity Region, 2016 - 2026

Graph 13


Occupations and Areas of Growth Of the 69,605 estimated jobs to emerge in West Michigan through 2026, just under half are anticipated in four occupational groups: Transportation and Material Moving, Food Preparation and Serving Related, Healthcare Practitioners and Technical, and Education, Training, and Library occupations.

Occupation Growth Total Annual Openings # %

Total, All Occupations 69,605 9.0% 96,265 Transportation and Material Moving 6,770 10.5% 9,005 Food Preparation and Serving Related 6,765 11.5% 11,325 Healthcare Practitioners and Technical 6,045 14.5% 2,915 Education, Training, and Library 5,630 13.4% 4,445

The occupational group with the largest expected numeric growth over the 2016 to 2026 period is associated with Transportation and Material Moving occupations, with a projected net gain of 6,770 employees over the 10-year duration (10.5 percent growth). Employment change in this major occupational category consists of 3,315 annual openings due to labor force exits, accounting for 36.8 percent of total openings in this occupational group each year, with over half of total annual openings arising as a result of occupational transfers (5,015 annual openings). A majority of this change is driven by the occupational category’s largest occupation, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, which is projected to add a total of 2,285 jobs, resulting in 11.9 percent growth and 2,965 average annual openings. The next largest occupation in this category with respect to numeric growth is Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers, which is expected to add 1,415 total jobs, a 10.6 percent growth.

Food Preparation and Serving Related occupations is projected to add 6,765 jobs over the 10-year period, a proportional growth rate of 11.5 percent. This occupational category is anticipated to create 11,325 job openings each year. However, 94.0 percent of these expected annual openings will be replacements for current employees (10,650 openings), while over 41.3 percent of total openings each year will be new vacancies caused by current workers separating from the local labor force entirely (4,680 openings). Combined Food Preparation and Serving Workers, already the largest occupation within the category, is projected to add 3,155 jobs over the forecasting period, which translates to 18.3 percent growth. This more than doubles the numeric growth expected for Waiters and Waitresses, the second largest occupation in the category, which is predicted to grow by 9.0 percent through 2026, an additional 1,160 jobs.

Other occupations that are not as high-volume, but are expecting the largest percentage growth in West Michigan include: Statisticians (47.6 percent growth, 10 annual openings), Home Health Aides (40.3 percent, 350 openings), Information Security Analysts (34.6 percent, 10 openings), Physician Assistants (33.9 percent, 55 openings), and Software Developers, Applications (33.8 percent, 100 openings).

Occupation Growth Rate Annual Openings

Statisticians 47.6% 10 Home Health Aides 40.3% 350 Information Security Analysts 34.6% 10 Physician Assistants 33.9% 55 Software Developers, Applications 33.8% 100

Chart 6

Chart 5

Top Occupations by Growth Rate, West Michigan, 2016 - 2026


Forecasting Competencies Using the Long-Term Occupational Forecasts, the Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives is able to crosswalk core competencies from the Department of Labor’s O*Net Online tool with job projections to gain an understanding of the knowledge, skills, abilities, and work activities that will be in demand through 2026. Although the competencies identified in the Sector Focus section apply to the top occupations within a respective industry cluster, the following areas of importance apply to all jobs throughout West Michigan and illustrate which competencies are expected to be most in-demand, based upon the volume of anticipated job openings where the corresponding attribute was deemed important.

Knowledge Knowledge areas are “Organized sets of principles and facts applying in general domains.” Two of the top knowledge areas for growing occupations are Customer and Personal Service (important among 74.1 percent of annual growth openings) and English Language (73.7 percent). The former fits into the Essential Skills Framework, a pilot program at Northview High School to help better prepare high schoolers for their transition into the workforce.

Customer and Personal Service

English Language

Mathematics

Administration and Management

Education and Training

Skills Skills are defined as “Developed capacities that facilitate learning or the more rapid acquisition of knowledge.” Four of the top five skills identified as important for growing jobs are defined as “Basic Skills.” These are led by Active Listening (84.3 percent) and Speaking (71.9 percent).

Active Listening

Speaking

Critical Thinking

Coordination

Monitoring

Skills (non-Basic) Considering the top Skills tend to fall under the classification of Basic Skills, we have also assessed how non-Basic skills correlate with employment projections. Here, we see that Coordination (64.7 percent), Social Perceptiveness (63.0 percent), and Judgment and Decision Making (59.4 percent) lead.

Coordination

Social Perceptiveness

Judgment and Decision Making

Time Management

Service Orientation

Abilities Abilities are “Enduring attributes of the individual that influence performance.” Cognitive abilities encompass four of the five abilities that are most common and important among projected job openings due to growth. The most prominent abilities identified as important for growing jobs include Near Vision (79.3 percent), Oral Comprehension (77.2 percent) and Oral Expression (72.1 percent).

Near Vision

Oral Comprehension

Oral Expression

Problem Sensitivity

Information Ordering

Work Activities Work Activities are “General types of job behaviors occurring on multiple jobs.” The most common activity, Getting Information, is deemed as important among 80.2 percent of anticipated growth openings across West Michigan. Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates closely trails, prominent among 56.1 percent of annual growth openings, followed by Making Decisions and Solving Problems (29.5 percent).

Getting Information

Communicating with Supervisors, etc.

Making Decisions and Solving Problems

Performing General Physical Activities

Inspecting Equipment, etc.


Conclusion The U. S. economy has continued to expand since the recession at the end of the last decade, and growth has been especially prominent here in West Michigan. Today, regional unemployment stands at historically low levels not seen since the turn of the century, at 3.3 percent over the first half of 2019, and well below that of the state. Yet, with a larger portion of jobseekers employed, the pool of local talent from which employers can draw from has become significantly smaller. Today, more than ever before, employers and non-profit, education, and training organizations recognize the need to collaborate in order to address barriers to employment and to maximize the quantity and quality of the region’s talent to ensure that employers have access to the top-tier talent necessary to remain and thrive in West Michigan.

Local employers have responded through increased wages, emphasis on company culture or career pathways, investments in the training and development of new and incumbent employees, redefining job skill requirements, and developing talent pipelines in collaboration with education and workforce organizations. Education and workforce organizations have also made efforts to establish new training programs for semi-skilled and skilled labor, to promote in-demand jobs and career pathing information to middle and high school students, and to expand career exploration activities to better prepare students for their transition into the workforce.

West Michigan’s Population is Growing and Getting Younger West Michigan continues to thrive on a macroeconomic and demographic level. From 2010 to 2018, the population in West Michigan grew by 5.9 percent to reach a level of over 1,600,000 residents, while the statewide population rose by just 1.2 percent over the same period. This means that just under 1 in 6 Michigan residents now reside within our 13-county West Michigan region. Working-age residents, between 25 and 54 years of age, comprised 37.8 percent of the total population across West Michigan in 2018 — trailing only the Detroit Metro Prosperity Region, at 39.6 percent — while those over the age of 16 contributed nearly 81 percent to the total population in the region. Since 2010, West Michigan has become younger as the number of residents between the ages of 25 and 54 has declined by 6,810 residents while the 16 and over population has grown by 94,689 residents (40.6 and 77.1 percent, respectively).

Manufacturing is West Michigan’s Engine West Michigan’s largest industry, Manufacturing, remains an economic and employment driver. In 2018, the industry employed over 1 in 5 workers and paid an industry-wide average annual wage of $75,480 — gaining almost 45,000 jobs since the end of the recession in 2009, when the average annual wage was just $64,514. Of the job families that Talent 2025 was able to gather data for with an acceptable level of confidence, many show large shortages in the supply of talent from local training institutions.

More Jobs on the Horizon The job outlook in West Michigan through 2026 continues to show promise, with the region expected to gain over a fifth of all newly created jobs emerging statewide over the ten-year forecasting period, resulting in an anticipated annual gain of 6,960 new jobs due to growth alone. This translates to a 10-year projected growth rate of 9.0 percent, surpassing expected job growth for eight of Michigan’s nine remaining Prosperity Regions and tied with Southeast Michigan, also at 9.0 percent.

The occupational categories with the top expected job growth include Healthcare Support (19.0 percent), Personal Care and Service (17.2 percent), and Computer and Mathematical (16.1 percent). In contrast, the occupational categories with the largest number of annual openings — aggregated job openings due to growth, labor force exits, and occupational transfers — include Production (12,515 annual openings), Office and Administrative Support (11,860), Food Preparation and Serving Related (11,325), and Sales and Related (10,045).


Although these gaps can be partially filled through internal hires and recruitment of talent from outside the region, employers have cited a lack of talent as a current and potential future constraint to business growth.

A Word of Caution Although total employment and the employment rate are the highest in decades, racial and ethnic minorities, those with a criminal history, working poor families, and individuals lacking the higher levels of education and skills now sought by employers are struggling to find employment and are being left behind in the midst of the region’s historic economic recovery.

• Over 200,000 West Michigan households struggle to find gainful employment to afford basic necessities1.

• African American residents lag White residents by 14 percentage points in post-secondary educational attainment, 9.7 percentage points in employment, and $13,941 in per capita income.

• Latino residents trail White residents by 6.5 percentage points in post-secondary educational attainment, 2.9 percentage points in employment, and $15,239 in per capita income.

• When compared to its top performing peer region, an estimated 13,500 additional working-age adults are completely disconnected from the labor force and unavailable to meet the more than 44,000 average monthly job advertisements posted across the region, which significantly constrains West Michigan’s economic growth.

Maximizing the quality of the region’s labor force now, and for generations to follow, will require greater alignment and coordination from state policymakers and stakeholders across the talent system to eliminate barriers to employment for all residents in West Michigan. Fortunately, education and training organizations and employers are beginning to step up their individual and collaborative efforts to tap into this available talent. These emerging practices need to be replicated and scaled, if West Michigan’s talent system is going to meet the demand forecasted in this report.

1 Michigan Association of United Ways, 2019 ALICE Report (data updated in 2017)


Sources Page Source

10 U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates, 2018 Population Estimates U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates, 2000-2010 Intercensal Estimates

11 U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2013-2017 5-Year Estimates, County-to-County Migration Tables

12 Erickcek, George A., Brain Pittelko, Claudette, Robey, Bridget Timmeney. 2013. "A Comprehensive Analysis of the Current and Future Talent Needs for the TALENT 2025 Region." Report prepared for TALENT 2025. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2013-2017 5-Year Estimates

13 U.S. Census Bureau, OnTheMap Application, Longitudinal-Employer Household Dynamics, 2017 data

14 DTMB, Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives, Local Area Unemployment Statistics

15 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2013-2017 5-Year Estimates

16-17 DTMB, Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages

19-33

DTMB, Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages DTMB, Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives, Occupational Long-Term Forecast (2016-2026) EMSI 2019.3 O*Net Online Database Talxcellenz© U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics

36-37 EMSI 2019.3 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections Table 1.11

38-39 DTMB, Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives, Occupational Long-Term Forecast (2016-2026)

40 DTMB, Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives, Occupational Long-Term Forecast (2016-2026) O*Net Online Database

43 Michigan Association of United Ways, 2019 ALICE Report (data updated in 2017)


Appendices Appendix 1 For the comparative areas, the 11 peer communities were chosen because they met two criteria: population fell within 30 percent of the Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Muskegon, MI CSA, and the percent of total private employment that was in Manufacturing was over 10 percent. Population data is from the U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, July 1st, 2018 population estimate. Employment data is from the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2017 1-Year Estimates.

For the purposes of the analysis in the call-out boxes, American Community Survey 2013-2017 5-Year Estimates data was used (since the West Michigan region must be built from the county level). In these rankings, the Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Muskegon, MI CSA was replaced by West Michigan.

Peer Region % Employment in Manufacturing

2018 Population Estimate

Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL CSA 11.2% 1,366,283 Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY CSA 11.2% 1,206,992 Dayton-Springfield-Sidney, OH CSA 17.2% 1,079,837 Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Muskegon, MI CSA 21.8% 1,468,075 Greensboro—Winston-Salem—High Point, NC CSA 15.7% 1,677,551 Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC CSA 19.9% 1,478,658 Harrisburg-York-Lebanon, PA CSA 12.5% 1,267,057 Hartford-West Hartford, CT CSA 11.4% 1,473,084 Knoxville-Morristown-Sevierville, TN CSA 11.4% 1,135,556 Louisville/Jefferson County—Elizabethtown—Madison, KY-IN CSA 14.6% 1,528,738

Rochester-Batavia-Seneca Falls, NY CSA 12.8% 1,162,893 Tulsa-Muskogee-Bartlesville, OK CSA 12.3% 1,162,677

Appendix 2 The following NAICS industry assignments are made to create sector definitions:

NAICS NAICS Industry Name Sector 11 Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting Agriculture 21 Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction

Energy and Construction 22 Utilities 23 Construction 62 Health Care and Social Assistance Health Care 51 Information IT and Media

31-33 Manufacturing Manufacturing 52 Finance and Insurance


53 Real Estate and Rental and Leasing 54 Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services 55 Management of Companies and Enterprises 56 Administrative and Support and Waste Management and

Remediation Services 44-45 Retail Trade

Retail and Hospitality Services 71 Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation 72 Accommodation and Food Services 81 Other Services (except Public Administration)


Appendix 3 The four competency areas are defined as follows:

• Knowledge - Organized sets of principles and facts applying in general domains. • Skills - Developed capacities that facilitate learning or the more rapid acquisition of knowledge. • Abilities - Enduring attributes of the individual that influence performance. • Work Activities - General types of job behaviors occurring on multiple jobs.

Using the Talxcellenz© online tool, we generate O*Net Online database competency scores for the combined top occupations within the given sectors, both for Importance and Level.

Importance and Level scores are the result of extensive, statistically random surveys of businesses about occupations at the O*Net code level.

Importance score: This rating indicates the degree of importance a particular descriptor is to the occupation. The possible ratings range from "Not Important" (1) to "Extremely Important" (5). It is then standardized on a scale of 0 to 100.

Level score: This rating indicates the degree, or point along a continuum, to which a particular descriptor is required or needed to perform the occupation.

Each level score can be further investigated on the O*Net Online database, with specific scales for each occupation. For the skill Reading Comprehension, the following example level scale is for Lawyers (23-1011):

More information can be found at the O*Net Online database.

https://www.onetonline.org/help/online/scales


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