Martin Shields, an economist with Colorado State University, said research shows the longer people are out of work, the harder it gets to find work.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour networks wash away, it\u2019s hard to get back into the job market,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo there are some people, I think, that are still not finding the labor market to be welcoming them.\u201d<\/p>\n
And it should be the most welcoming job market ever. Employers rank the shortage of workers as their top concern in surveys. The state\u2019s unemployment rate has been at or below 3 percent for almost two years now, one of the lowest rates in the nation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the great shortage of workers that we have in the country and in the state, it\u2019s just really surprising that we don\u2019t see these people finding something that\u2019s suitable,\u201d said Richard Wobbekind, economics professor at the University of Colorado Boulder.<\/p>\n
He expected the state\u2019s economy to slow because there weren\u2019t enough workers to fill jobs, but surprisingly, wages and salaries are going up just enough to bring people back.<\/p>\n
\u201cPotentially, we\u2019re generating enough higher-quality jobs that some of the people who have been on the sidelines, who have lost high-paying jobs, are finally saying, \u2018you know, this is worth getting back into the labor force\u2019 \u2013 we\u2019re at a threshold just in terms of salaries,\u201d Wobbekind said.<\/p>\n
The percentage of people working, or seeking employment, has risen substantially in Colorado, especially compared to other states, from a low of 66.6 percent in 2015 to 69 percent now.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s helped employers fill jobs.<\/p>\n
However, finding skilled workers in some professions, like construction or health care, remains a major challenge.<\/p>\n
Miranda Hutchison, a dentist who runs Station Dental in Aurora, was on a quest for a dental hygienist for five months.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s often on social media groups for dental professionals.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll have one hygienist put in an application, \u2018Hey, I\u2019m moving to Colorado,\u2019 and you\u2019ll see 40 dentists like throwing themselves at this person, like, \u2018Hey, we need someone,\u2019\u201d Hutchison said.<\/p>\n
Colorado is a hygienist desert. Miranda\u2019s husband, Brad, who is also her business partner, said they\u2019ve had to increase their benefits to attract talent.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve recently introduced a 401K, so that\u2019s our first step along those lines,\u201d Brad said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can offer free dentistry, that\u2019s pretty easy for us to do, but you know it\u2019s a struggle finding ways to get people to want to even come interview.\u201d<\/p>\n
Besides the benefits, higher pay is another way to attract skilled labor. Wages have been rising in Colorado generally, up 3 to 4 percent in 2018 over the previous year, according to data from the state Department of Labor and Employment.<\/p>\n
The attraction of higher wages poses a challenge for government and municipal employers, who have to get creative to bring on enough employees to maintain their services.<\/p>\n
No matter how good the economy seems on the surface, some people and businesses will be left out, whether it\u2019s the long-term unemployed or businesses in specific sectors desperate for skilled workers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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