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Home My WebLink About17. 2018 Workforce Survey Report 201 June 2 7-18 2018 8 Wor Vail V Repo rkfor Valley Part 97 Main v ort Author: An rce S tnership/V n Street, Ste. vailvalleypart ndrej A. Birju Surve Vail Valley E‐201 | Edwa tnership.com lin, Ph.D., Res ey Re Economic ards, CO 8163 | vailvalleym search Direct eport Prepare c Developm 32 | 970‐476 meansbusiness tor | 970‐328 t ed by: ment ‐1000 s.com ‐0299 Vail Valley Economic Development - Workforce Report 2018 2 Eagle County’s Labor Force: Conditions Continue to Improve After relatively high unemployment rates in 2009-2012, unemployment saw a solid decline in 2013 and that has continued through the current year. In 2017, the Eagle County unemployment rate was 2.3%, which is below the state rate of 2.8%. The current local unemployment rate is lower than the previous low point in 2007, which was at 2.8%. At the same time, the size of the labor force continues to grow. After a relatively flat period between 2010 and 2014, the number in the labor force increased 8.3% between 2014 and 2017 to 35,052. The county’s population continues to grow at a slow and steady pace. The State Demographer estimates that the population grew by 3.6% between 2010 and 2016. The population is currently estimated at 53,320, which represents a 1.1% increase over the previous year. School enrollment has seen growth of 6.3% in the past five years in grades Pre K – 12, which was 6,931 in fall of 2017. As a rural resort county, employment is disproportionally comprised of the accommodation and food services; retail trade; arts, entertainment and recreation; and construction. Almost a quarter (24%) of the County’s employees work in accommodations and food services, another 11% in retail trade and 12% in arts, entertainment and recreation. Construction employs about 10% of the workforce. Additionally, many residents are challenged to find suitable employment to carve out a sustainable living in the county since the average wage is lower than in Denver, yet the cost-of-of living is high. The cost for housing is especially high, ranging from about two 0.0% 2.5% 5.0% 7.5% 10.0% 22,000 24,500 27,000 29,500 32,000 34,500 37,000 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Unemployment RatePersons in Labor ForceEagle County Labor Force Eagle County Unemployment Colorado Unemployment Vail Valley Economic Development - Workforce Report 2018 3 times the national average in the Gypsum and Eagle area and increasing dramatically as one gets closer to the prestigious ski areas of Vail and Beaver Creek. Eagle County has 32,043 housing units and 19,853 households. Almost 2 in 5 homes (38%) in the county are classified as “vacant,” primarily second homes. While median household income in the county is higher than the statewide average ($78,763 compared to $62,520), weekly wages are low: $866 a week in Eagle County compared to $1,095 per week average statewide. It’s against this backdrop of an economy continuing to gain strength that we take a look at what employers in Eagle County are saying about business and workforce. 12th Annual Workforce Survey Vail Valley Economic Development (formerly The Economic Council of Eagle County) has been conducting a workforce survey in Eagle County since 2006-07. Although there has been some variation in items and response choices across administration years, core items on the current version of the survey have been collected since 2007-08 and ask employers about their business outlook, their employees, and their forecasts for the future. Additional items this year ask about business retention and expansion. Prior survey results can be found at www.vailvalleymeansbusiness.com. In 2017-18, 88 businesses responded to the Workforce Survey, which is somewhat lower than the previous year. This summary report compares those responses with data from prior surveys. Hiring New Employees and Workforce Conditions The chart on the next page shows that the experience with finding new employees has recently gotten worse in the County. In 2008-09, 52% percent indicated that finding new employees was “Good” or “Excellent. “ While this percentage has trended up and down over the past 10 years, reaching a high point in 2009-10, it has come down dramatically over the past year from 53% in 2016-17 to 38% in 2017-18. At the same time, those that indicate it was “Terrible” or “Poor” has remained relatively stable since 2014-15, however, the use of the “Fair” category has come up substantially after seeing a decline between 2014-15 and 2016-17. Vail Valley Economic Development - Workforce Report 2018 4 As seen in the chart below, in 2017-18 43% of businesses report that they can fill positions within 4 weeks, a 15% decrease over the previous year and a 28% decrease from 2015-16. Those that indicated it took more than a month increased to 58%. The overall hiring results show that the days of easy hiring peaked in 2010-11, but are currently facing challenges. 10%19% 33%22% 8%10%9%7%7%4% 62% 59% 53% 57%72%72% 55%64% 51% 39% 18% 19%13% 10%17%16% 29%19% 32% 43% 10%10%11%15% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 Average Length of Time Positions Remain Open Until Filled One Week 2-4 Weeks 2-3 Months 4 Months or More 0% 15% 30% 45% 60% 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 Experience Finding New Employees Terrible Poor Fair Good Excellent52% report “Good” or “Excellent” 38% report “Good” or “Excellent” Vail Valley Economic Development - Workforce Report 2018 5 The charts on the next two pages show the results of questions that were added to the current version of the survey and historical benchmarks are not available for these items. Overall, employers indicate that unfilled positions are largely stable, although about one out of three respondents say it is increasing. While about half of employers are not anticipating significant changes in their workforce, 25% indicate they are replacing employees and another 25% say they are hiring new employees. 31% 66% 3% Increasing Stable Decreasing 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Is the number of unfilled positions at your company: 49% 25%25% 1% No Yes, hiring employees Yes, replacing employees Yes, releasing employees 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Have you experienced or do you anticipate any significant changes in the make-up of your workforce? Vail Valley Economic Development - Workforce Report 2018 6 As seen in the chart below, employers do no give high ratings with their experience in finding new employees. While the overall mean for availability of workers in the area received the highest rating, it falls right above the mid-point of the 7-point scale, indicating the experience is “fair.” The quality of the workforce in the area received the lowest overall rating, at the halfway point between “terrible” and “fair.” 8%9% 59% 24% More than 10 full or part‐time employees Between 5 and 10 full or part‐time employees Between 1 and 4 full or part‐time employees None 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% How many new positions do you anticipate adding in the upcoming year? 4.3 2.5 3.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 Availability of Workers Quality of the Workforce Stability of the WorkforceMean RatingExperience in Finding Employees (1=Terrible, 4=Fair and 7=Excellent) Vail Valley More tha recruitme employer Bilingua wonderf Sales. - Seaso workforc - Fleet M Qualifie Enginee We hav houseke Attentio Leaders Spendin experien Not us, cannot a Sales, m Project Superin Precons Trade p quality a We are operato attitude less exp won't ha Part tim Skilled a and Lod It takes Being o where y do. Finding Nurses, Our tale training y Economic D an two out of ent problems rs described al and post c ful. nal was hard ce for this su Maintenance d Tile Install ering, culinar e found inte eeping, main n to detail ship, custom ng a lot of tim nced electric but many ot accurately tr managemen Managers tendents struction Ma ositions (HV applicants. often lookin rs that have and teachin perienced op ave this optio e, on-call cu and non-skil dging time to find n time and le you work skil skilled empl OR Techs ent base for t them Development f three busin s with specif d are shown certified Polic der to fill tha ummer. e / Auto Body lers ry rim solutions ntenance an mer service, l me and dolla cians. ther compan rack what the t, customer nagers VAC and elec g for motiva a good attit ng the skills. perators on s on to start fr ustomer serv led position the proper p eaving early lls i.e., take o loyees in Ea trades is shr - Workforce R nesses surve fic employee below. ce Officers, m an normal bu y positions a s to these ch d culinary st aborer ars on ads, c nies we work ey need to t service ctric) and fin ted and pos ude and req As our more staff, we will om scratch w vice position in Food & B person y - no sense out the trash agle County rinking and a Report 2018 eyed (68%) i e positions o more bilingu ut by increas are always h hallenges - h taff is very d career fairs a k with have s rack (if they nance roles h itive skilled quisite skills. e tenured op likely have with a willing s with clean Beverage, int of business h, clean your continues to aging resulti indicate that or skills. The ual administr sing the wag hard to fill. however, rec difficult and such. Re sub-par book wanted to t have curren labor and ha Oftentimes perators con to hire at a h g new opera n background termediate p , communica r desk etc... o be an issue ng with hirin t they are ex e specific pro rative staff w ge we have a cruiting qual esponses ar kkeepers int rack it) tly been diff ave a hard ti , we end up ntinue to retir higher level ator. d. positions in M ation skills, b . If you don e. ng young peo 7 xperiencing oblems that would be a great ified season re few. Need ternally and icult to find ime finding hiring for re and we ha of skill and Maintenance basic embra 't ask they d ople and nal d ave e ace don't Vail Valley Economic Development - Workforce Report 2018 8 Lifeguards, Gymnastics Housing! For manager positions...thankfully our team is set for next year with past employees but when we need to look elsewhere for managers people who are hustlers, move quickly, and are detailed / task oriented can be a tough find. Difficult to find quality employees with great customer service skill set. Over Qualified applicants for entry positions. Language and driver’s license issues. Fire, sprinkler certs We were experiencing trouble recruiting for 4 year college degrees for Interior Designers. Cad operators We are experiencing recruitment issues for all positions. Guest Service skills. Many local, native, ski bum, hippie types that hate tourists. Maintenance, trades, guest service Finding the right person for a management level position in either our kitchens or our dining rooms has been challenging. Bilingual skills Front line more entry level positions Word of mouth seems to be the best way to get a position filled Yes, the outgoing and customer service orientated position is the hardest to fill as well as the bi-lingual supervisor position Development new applicants who don't have housing or transportation Admin Optician - certifications, experience in the optical field. Hospitality professionals RNs, Certified Medical Assistants Sometimes- applicants can be over or under qualified and always want to be paid at much higher levels when coming from out of state Maintenance is a tough position to fill unless we're paying an exorbitant amount of money. Gymnastics Coaches and Lifeguards are tough to find as well. It is a very focused position. Front desk IT skills, fundraising skills Facilities maintenance and culinary are the most challenging Professionalism, Dress Code, entitlement and lack of proper communication skills, following procedures and guidelines Hard to find employees willing to do labor jobs Usable past experience; IE have worked in hotels before We have difficulty in recruiting highly technical faculty positions in fields such an emergency medicine, nursing, automotive, etc., etc. Not currently Finance professionals Vail Valley Economic Development - Workforce Report 2018 9 Employee Experiences and Key Issues for Employers Perception of employees' experiences in finding reliable transportation and housing continue to change. Transportation saw a sizable decline over the previous year, with 46% of employers saying their employees’ experience finding reliable transportation to and from work is “excellent” or “pretty good" and 34% giving a negative rating. Frustration with housing continues to grow, with nearly two-thirds of employers indicating “major frustration” and another 28% saying “it could be better.” Only 5% don’t feel that housing is much of an issue. The 2017-18 results regarding housing are the most negative they have been in the history of collecting this information. 15% 6% 22%19%17%15%23%24% 24% 24% 17% 16%22%18%14%6%15% 20% 38%67%37% 43% 40%41%41%34% 25% 21% 11% 25%15%24%28%26%26%21% 0% 50% 100% 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 Employees’ Experience Finding Reliable Transportation To and From Work 24% 5%9%15% 35% 53%53%61% 38% 44% 49%44%34% 39% 30%38%28%18% 28%16%26% 13% 8% 7%6%15%22%22% 17% 27% 12%6%6%6%8%4%11%6%5% 0% 50% 100% 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 Employees’ Experience Finding Housing They Desire at an Affordable Price Excellent Pretty Good Neutral/Don’t Know Could be Better Major Frustration Vail Valley Economic Development - Workforce Report 2018 10 Effect of Housing on Ability to Attract, Hire and Retain Employees As seen in the chart above, the effect of housing on the ability of businesses to attract, hire and retain employees declined substantially from the previous year and is also at an all-time low. Specific comments made in this area include: This is a problem for new employees. Many times we are able to retain them when they are in our employee housing but then we lose them if they need to move out. It is a desire of many employees to live closer to where they work and to live in the community they work. For those who have lived here long enough to have stable housing, it is not an easy. For those who have recently moved here, rent, or have changes in housing circumstances, housing is a major source of frustration that ultimately forces employees to ask if they really belong here and want to belong here. We are losing one person that experienced housing frustrations and may be losing a second because the options aren't great and what people are asking for rentals is ridiculous. Current housing prices are difficult for young associates to purchase. Rentals were difficult for associates to find in the middle of peak season. The short answer is no, they can't. Most can usually find it (often couch surfing or room sharing), but it diminishes their quality of life because of the cost and environment. We do lose some employees due to lack of decent available housing. Moving way out side of work areas to find affordable. Or living with multiple people to survive. The conditions that some people are renting out are hidden and inexcusable. Causes other major costs with vehicle expenses. We offer a very progressive and comprehensive housing program to help employees find long term solutions for housing. That being said, it is still very difficult for employees to find affordable housing on the free market if they are looking to own. 24%22%23%24%33% 56% 69%70%78% 71% 56% 21% 60%40% 26% 22%24%16% 6% 22% 56% 16%27%18%9%7%6% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18Percentage of BusinessesNegatively Neutral Positively Vail Valley Economic Development - Workforce Report 2018 11 We have a very young workforce that are primarily renters. They need to find multiple roommates that they potentially have never met just to stay in this area. Incredibly difficult to find affordable housing that meets our employee’s needs. availability and affordability Last year we turned our rental townhome into employee housing. We are currently using 2 of the 4 bedrooms for employee housing at a discounted rate in order to retain employees. Many of us are home owners. Mostly down valley. Our employees are in long term, stable housing situations generally. Like I mentioned above, our valley is greatly lacking in affordable housing options for our workers. We offer a lot of housing for seasonal employees, so that helps. I had two of our best employees quit and move out of state because of the price of owning a home. It is not a problem with our current employees but has been in the past Current employees are all fine with housing. Items parallel to the transportation and housing issues were added to the survey the past two years. In 2016-17, items were added regarding availability of affordable child care and in 2017-18 items were added regarding affordable health care. As seen in the chart below, 56% of employers felt that health care is a problematic issue for their employees and 54% felt that child care is a problematic issue. However, the percentage of employers using the “Major Frustration” category was higher for health care than for child care. At the same time, 32% of employers used the positive end of the scale to describe the health care of experience for their employees, reflecting the fact that a number of businesses provide comprehensive coverage. This was not seen for child care, with only 12% of employers using the positive end of the scale. 35% 23% 11% 61% 21% 31% 24% 28% 12% 35% 20% 6% 17% 6% 25% 3% 15% 6% 21% 3% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Health Care Child Care Transportation Housing 2017-18: Employees' Experience with Health Care, Child Care, Transportation and Housing Major Frustration Could be Better Neutral/Don't Know Pretty Good Excellent Vail Valley Economic Development - Workforce Report 2018 12 The two charts below present the overall mean ratings on the four key issues presented to employers: reliable transportation, affordable child care, affordable health care, and affordable housing. These charts show that employee experiences are rated as lowest for housing, followed by child care, then health care, and transportation is rated as highest. All issues moved in a negative direction from 2016-17 and 2017-18 (note that the health care items were new to the 2017-18 version of the survey). In terms of the impact of these issues on the ability to attract, hire and retain employees, housing was rated as significantly more problematic than child care or health care (the impact of transportation on hiring and retaining employees was not included on the survey). 3.01 2.69 2.03 1.92 2.14 1.57 1.43 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 2016‐17 2017‐18Mean Rating (1=Terrible, 2=Could Be Better, 3=Pretty Good, 4=Excellent)Employee Experience on Key Issues by Year Transportation Child Care Health Care* Housing * New Item in 2017‐18 1.92 1.84 1.96 1.37 1.28 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2 2.2 2016‐17 2017‐18Mean Rating (1=Negative, 2=Neutral, 3=Positive)Impact of Key Issues on Ability to Attract, Hire and Retain Employees by Year Child Care Health Care* Housing * New Item in 2017‐18 Vail Valley Economic Development - Workforce Report 2018 13 Businesses were asked to allocate $100 across 11 key issues in Eagle County. Not surprising and as shown in the chart below, housing received the highest mean dollar allocation at over double the amount of the next highest item. Health care, talent attraction, and talent retention also received relatively high mean allocations. $0.77 $2.26 $2.72 $3.16 $5.33 $5.43 $6.52 $9.95 $11.81 $15.13 $36.64 $0.00 $10.00 $20.00 $30.00 $40.00 Macro‐Economic Environment Local Government Regulations State Government Regulations Tourism/Visitation Transit Early Childhood Env. Sustainability/Climate Change Talent Retention Talent Attraction Health Care Housing Mean Dollar Allocation If you had $100 to spend annually to address community- based barriers to your company's success, how would you allocate the money across the following issues? Vail Valley Economic Development - Workforce Report 2018 14 Pay, Training and Benefits The survey asked employers about their pay scale, job training and professional development, and about benefits they provide. The cart below shows that 99% of employers provide job training and professional development to new employees as well as those who have been there more than 6 months. Not surprising, new employees get more training than those that have been there more than 6 months. Additionally, nearly two out of three employers indicated that investment in employee training is increasing at their company any only about 1% say is it decreasing. 1%1% 19%19% 29% 42% 51% 38% ...new employees? ...employees that have worked for you more than 6 months? 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% How much job training and other professional development do you offer... None Some Moderate Considerable 63% 32% 1%4% Increasing Stable Decreasing There is no investment in employee training 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Is company investment in employee training: Vail Valley Economic Development - Workforce Report 2018 15 Most entities in Eagle County tend to pay the same, or more, than similar businesses in other parts of the state. Additionally, as shown in the chart below, those who say they pay more than other parts of the state increased over the previous year and those who say they pay less declined. Perceived Pay Scale In Relation to Other Parts of Colorado The charts on the following page show the percentage of businesses that offer various benefits asked about in the survey. Health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, life insurance, flex time and employer sponsored retirement plans are offered by over half of the entities surveyed. The percentage of businesses offering employee health insurance peaked in 2012- 13, but has come back up over the past three years. 16%8%10%12%14%6% 49% 50%67%62%65%52%55%53%59% 48% 36%42%33%38%33%40%35%35%28% 46% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18Percentage of BusinessesWe pay less About the Same We pay more 0% 25% 50% 75% Retirement Health Ins. Emp. + Fam. Health Ins.* Dental Ins. Vision Ins. Life Ins. Percentage of Businesses Offering the Following Benefits: 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 Vail Valley *Items ad The Ec As show pretty go However direction year, but own busi thereafte 0% 25% 50% 75% y Economic D dded in 2013- conomy n in the two od about the r, perception since 2013- t is about the iness health er. Emp. Asst. Prog.* 2012-13 Development -14 charts on th e Eagle Cou n of the Eagl -14. Percep e same as it shows 2013 Flex Time 2013-14 - Workforce R he next page unty Econom e County ec ption of one’s was in 2015 3-14 to be th e*Emp.-Sp Retireme 4 2014- Report 2018 e, business o my in genera conomy in ge s own busine 5-16. Longe he most pos pons. ent* Transp -15 201 owners and l as well as t eneral has b ess health d er-term trend itive year, w p. Subs. Hous 15-16 2 managers c their own bu been moving declined from ds on perce with a decline sing Subs.R 2016-17 16 continue to fe usiness heal g in a negativ m the previou ption of one e in most yea Recreational Benefit* 2016-17 eel th. ve us e’s ars Vail Valley Economic Development - Workforce Report 2018 17 Businesses Indicating the EC Economy in General is Better or Worse Off than in the Previous Year . Businesses Indicating their Own Business Health is Better or Worse Off than in the Previous Year 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 Worse About the Same Better than last year 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 Vail Valley Economic Development - Workforce Report 2018 18 Comments from survey respondents regarding their own business health are as follows: We have been able to grow tremendously in the past year due to additional funds from foundations and state government grants. This growth however, may not be sustainable after a few years when grant cycles end. As a private lodging club that has long tenured team and strong real estate market position, we are somewhat removed from the significant challenges Lodging, Dining and Retail businesses are experiencing. We anticipate lower visitation numbers from our homeowners ‐ that does not affect the financial health of this association, though. Long‐term it is important keep our valley attractive to and desirable for our homeowners. This is where strategic economic growth throughout the valley comes in. The low snowfall did have a negative effect on sales. I credit some of that to joining VVP and improving my marketing strategy, and some of that to employers who have healthy budgets for training and consulting. We had a downturn from last year to this year, but we are making changes and adapting and plans to grow this year As a government entity, we are very stable even with a low snow pack year. Revenues are down slightly Due to snow conditions last winter we had a worse year as a business. With new leadership and direction, we are much better than last year. The situation will become worse if the Gallagher amendment forces another loss of funds. Vail Valley Economic Development - Workforce Report 2018 19 Predicting the Future After several years of decline, the outlook for finding and retaining employees is held relatively stable over the last two survey cycles. About 24% of respondents say finding and keeping employees will be worse next year, a 5% decrease from the prior year. About 11% predict it will improve, which is a 2% decline from the prior year. Predictions for Your Ability to Hire and Retain Employees in the Coming Year * Don’t Know was not offered as a response option starting in 2013-14. As seen in the charts on the next page, the outlook for the economy and one’s own business health moved in a negative direction when compared to the previous year. For Eagle County in general, the percent indicating “worse” increased from 7% to 14% and those that say “better” decreased from 29% to 14%. While there was more optimism for respondents’ own business health, that that indicated worse increased from 2% to 3%. More importantly, those that indicated “better” decreased significantly from 51% to 33%. 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 Getting Worse About the Same Improving for Next Year Don’t Know* Vail Valley Economic Development - Workforce Report 2018 20 Predictions for EC’s Economy for the Coming Year * Don’t Know was not offered as a response option starting in 2013-14. Predictions for Own Business Health for the Coming Year * Don’t Know was not offered as a response option starting in 2013-14. 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 Getting Worse About the Same Improving Trends Don’t Know* 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 Getting Worse About the Same Improving Trends Don’t Know* Vail Valley Economic Development - Workforce Report 2018 21 Current Business Growth and Expansion Almost two out of three businesses surveyed indicate that they expect to expand in the next three years. About 24% of businesses say they are considering expanding or diversifying into a different service sector, a 1% increase from the previous year and a 5% increase over 2015-16. At the same time, 86% of businesses say there are barriers to growth in this community and 38% say that they the anticipate federal state, or local legislation changes that will adversely affect their business in the next five years. The anticipated changes in legislation are shown in the table below, while comments regarding barriers to growth are shown in the table starting on page 22. Additional resources that would be beneficial to the businesses surveyed are listed in the table starting on page 25. Adverse Legislation Anticipated in the Next 5 Years: Changes in ACA or other legislation may impact health care as an industry. Outcomes unknown currently. Changes to FLSA could have significant budget impacts. Continued favoritism for online retailers who avoid collecting and paying sales tax, rising minimum wage, rising health care costs Current administration's standpoint on immigration and non-immigrant visas is already having a damaging effect on our ability to attract talent. Every time the state legislature is in session we fear they will mess up school funding and damage our ability to serve students. FCC is in the process of changing ownership rules that could make the radio landscape quite different from today. Federal changes to Medicaid and Medicare appear likely. Federal government/incompetent president From a recruiting & employee retention standpoint; 1) Drug Testing 2) Hiring Applicants Legally Authorized to work in the United States 3) Affordable Housing 4) Affordable Medical, Work Comp insurance for small local businesses Health insurance legislation I hope that something is done to control health care, child care and housing Impacts of Gallagher Amendment increasing commercial property taxes Loss of Federal tax credit for solar Not 100% Wish THC testing was in-place prior to legalizing. Hopefully more tax dollars going to teacher’s wages. Our organization is subject to changing state and federal regulations from the EPA, CDPHE and other regulatory agencies. Political climate surrounding Mexico, immigration, possible wall could definitely negatively affect our business both on the employee side as well as potential fallout from some of our Mexican and South American clientele, depending on how all of this gets resolved. Vail Valley Economic Development - Workforce Report 2018 22 Possible the ACA, items are pending Potential immigration law changes affecting the status of work visa programs, including J1’s & H2B’s, continue to be an area we are keeping a close eye on Presidential elections and a change in party/delegation typically will impact our organization. This is due to the economic stability around this time as well as changes in federal and state laws as a result of the election. REGULATIONS ON LENDING. INCREASED INTEREST RATES. RESTRICTIONS ON RENTALS. State legislation continues to change. Some positive and some negative. Mostly concerned about continued competition from grocery and convenience stores. TABOR/Gallagher since we are partially funded via property taxes and are a special district Tariffs have had and may continue to add cost to our projects which may impact the affordable and in some cases tank projects due to excessive cost. Tariffs on cost of construction is driving prices higher Tariffs on newsprint, legal advertising not required in local paper of record Tax reform will have an impact on our smaller donors forcing us to depend more on larger donors and reworking our approach to attracting smaller donors. TBD: Keeping an eye on CAM censure, Transportation, tax laws, health insurance, second homeowner voting rights, The banking industry is highly regulated, very dependent on who is elected The retail liquor laws pertaining to grocery stores/box stores offering beer/wine will have some effects on our business. There may be some changes to the States Early College High School program which may impact how students move from high school to CMC. There is also the Gallagher act that may substantially impact the funding the College receives to service a growing population. Trump Administrations anti-government, lack of commitment to public services, lack of funding of infrastructure, lack of commitment to the environment, the new tax law each have significant negative consequences Who knows in this crazy political environment...tariffs could affect things significantly Barriers to Growth in the Community: - The housing crisis in this valley is a HUGE challenge. Lack of affordable housing (rentals and to buy) makes growth difficult because we can't keep good people long enough. - There is a lot of competition just within our small valley of other pet supply stores, not to mention the big box stores (Wal-Mart, Costco, and the Petcos in Silverthorne & Glenwood) 1. Qualified Labor 2. People wanting to be trained in a trade 3. Affordable Housing 4. Local/ between town valley public transit that times work for construction trades people 5. People looking for the deal not necessarily doing what is legal or honest. 6. legalized marijuana without testing methods for employers. Affordability to stay and live. There is a split between, workers, owners vs lodging vs AR& B VROB, health insurance cost, parking and of course the ever rising cost of the epic pass and much more. There needs to be a solution to keep this community together for the long term. Affordable AND desirable housing for a qualified workforce. Affordable housing is available, but for many professionals looking to relocate to the area, the affordable housing options do Vail Valley Economic Development - Workforce Report 2018 23 not support a desirable living situation, especially where workers are accompanied by family members and dependents. Much of the affordable housing is more like college living in very small condos. Affordable Housing Affordable housing Affordable housing supply Affordable housing that workers can afford. Affordable housing. As I get busier, I am exploring other ways of scaling the business, such as recorded training sessions. If I cannot afford to pay someone a living wage I would prefer not to take on employees. Availability of quality employees, housing. Shorter ski season, warmer weather. Clients do not have large enough budgets to allow us to garner true Brand Marketing results. Continued housing challenges for both seasonal and permanent year round staff. Our current partnerships for opportunities in East Vail will aid in breaking down some of this barrier and we continue to look for additional private/private as well as public/private partnership to continue this work. Cost of doing business and difficulty recruiting and retaining competent staff Cost of living Cost of living, particularly housing. Health care costs are high and jobs that provide insurance benefits are relatively scarce. Cost of living, specifically health care and housing, access to high speed, affordable broadband service, elevation/rugged weather, transient nature of the workforce Cost of living. Low salaries combined with high housing and health care Cost/money and space Disconnected down valley from up valley Employee housing Employees and housing. Finding a person with the proper technical skills, people skills, and that can pass the company drug Finding competent workers and dual-language workers Finding qualified candidates to work From a recruiting & employee retention standpoint; 1) Drug Testing 2) Hiring Applicants Legally Authorized to work in the United States 3) Affordable Housing 4) Affordable Medical, Work Comp insurance for small local businesses Getting people, and then helping those people find affordable housing. Good employees High cost of living Lack of affordable housing A much too fragmented outlook on growth overall - each incorporated town and unincorporated Eagle County seemingly doing their own thing in silos. Are we asking collectively what and how community grows? Higher level, positions requiring a very specific skill set can be hard to recruit. Hiring & retaining employees Vail Valley Economic Development - Workforce Report 2018 24 Hiring staff, cost of living, inconsistent snow conditions House purchase cost enormously outrageous, to bring out of town staff with specific qualifications, rentals extremely hard to find Housing Housing and cost of living Housing and good managerial support Housing and talent pool of skilled professional workers. Housing availability and cost Housing availability and cost Housing costs / salary costs Housing costs for hourly wage workers, Rising wages but fixed prices on books, shortage of qualified hourly employees, cost of leasing space in Vail Village for additional bookshop Housing for employees is always hard. Soft snow years is a given. Peoples travel patterns and the high price for lodging in Vail & Beaver Creek. Housing for hourly workers. Motivated, career minded people for good paying jobs. Many qualified people cannot pass a drug test due to marijuana usage. Housing limitations Housing limitations & overall cost of living Housing limitations and cost Housing struggles to bring in new staff, cost of living, lack of daycare so staff leave Housing, availability of skilled workforce, Housing, lack of land that can be developed In accounting, the bar for performance has been set so low and there are so few people that are inexperienced that demand so much money it is not economically feasible to plan to grow very much. It can be difficult to find faculty with the necessary credentials in the area. Labor market. Housing. Lack of affordable housing, expensive healthcare Lack of affordable housing, lack of housing in general, lack of a labor pool to hire qualified personnel. Everyone comes from outside the market, and then cannot secure housing. I have lost 4 employees in the last 3 years due to this issue. 3 others have declined offers due to housing. Lack of housing, high cost of living Lack of skilled candidates. Housing availability. Lack of trail and office space. Lease amounts, Qualified Employee's, available Rentals and price of health care coverage and premiums Limited Lots for new construction in the most exclusive neighborhoods. Living in paradise is expensive, wages are not higher to match the extra cost of living, and the reward is where you live so getting ahead is hard to do. Health care costs are totally out of sight. Housing is hard to come by Lots of competition, technology has evolved and more people are able to compete with us given the age of GoPro and iMovie My company needs to hire a very specific certified and licensed individual that is not likely to be found in this setting. Vail Valley Economic Development - Workforce Report 2018 25 Ongoing and consistent funding, housing, cost of living. Our particular company does not have a goal of continuing to grow; however, we are starting to see long-term employees leave to move to less expensive regions. Qualified employees Qualified workforce, wages, affordable housing, career growth opportunity perceived as limited Real estate Recruiting a strong workforce Somewhat. Licensing and appropriate commercial space. The biggest challenge facing growth of our community is affordable housing. Every year we lose employees, and fail to close offers with candidates because they can't afford to live in Eagle County. The issues for housing, cost of land, and cost of living make it difficult to keep employees. There are too many nonprofits for our size of a community. Well, the land is limited to expand any business. Workforce Additional resources that would be beneficial: A lower cost of living, or at least more options, with regard to housing, transit and health care Advocating for health care and employee housing. Affordable and desirable housing (not everyone wants to live in a condo) more housing developments like the miller ranch area. A strong and affordable health insurance offering in eagle county Affordable housing for employees. The ability to own in Eagle county for first time home buyers and single income Affordable housing, affordable and available daycare, more pet friendly housing, free overnight town parking (the overnight charge is making it really tough for our night staff to park in town without getting charged) Affordable housing, DACA resolution, work permits for temporary workers Ban all short term rentals. This affects the work force, community, business community i.e. lodging and full time residents and true 2nd homeowners. It's just a snowball effect Better employee recruitment Better regulatory enforcement of safety and quality work practices. Either parking or transportation. More thought to the VO Tech class offerings in schools. Businesses need to work together to attract talent to our valley. The hospitality industry in general could do a better job at sharing best practices, collaborative recruiting efforts, reciprocal employment partnerships and more. Community wide people seeking employment website. One that vets the people who are on the site and have trusted recommendations for local business. Continue the good work and current direction of that VVP. Cost controlled health care & improved options for employee housing. Vail Valley Economic Development - Workforce Report 2018 26 Emphasis on shopping locally and supporting each other. Employee housing that is available and affordable. Employee Retention, new ideas and creative solutions for keeping young professionals in the area. Endorsements of my business and services by my clients, and introductions to prospective clients. health care for employees Housing assistance for employees relocating to the Vail Valley with hopes of starting a career and life here. Housing at a reasonable price, after school programs I really like the forums you offer. Generally they attract high level management. It would be great to explain the same topics to mid-level staff. So they understand we are all working together on solutions. Investment funding and portfolio management for nonprofit entities. Job boards or other tools, Seems like it's the Vail Daily classified or nothing More affordable health and housing Dual language learning possibilities More data on local economic trends more detailed information on market makeup, especially visitors More employer partnership with Colorado Mountain College particularly for trades. More housing options that are not just solely employer driven. More opportunities and forums for employers to collaborate to solve workforce challenges- the more we collaborate rather than compete, the better we are as a community. More options for employees parking and more options for public transportation. More Skilled Tradesmen / labor pool n/a Networking One valley wide salary survey, not just including ranges but actual wages paid. Open communication from the partnership on how the Gallagher amendment will affect all services provided to businesses that are critical to both their own business operations, and their ability to attract employees. Options for smaller businesses to participate in employee housing programs. Ability to learn more about heath care options such as self-funded vs. traditional. Access to employee assistance programs that do not cost an arm and a leg (we are too large for small group and not large enough for large group to be financially sustainable.) Regional Housing Network / Authority Sales and customer service training. Small business financing and managerial talent That Vail, Eagle County and Vail Resorts market to the correct demographic Valley-wide economic growth think tank or council that can develop a strategic, wide-reaching economic and infrastructure plan that the government resources and business resources will collaborate on implementing. A comprehensive and targeted public relations resource/plan for the whole valley to specifically address the destination's stigma of a bad snow year - think visitors, second Vail Valley Economic Development - Workforce Report 2018 27 homeowners, seasonal/migrant staff.... Valley wide recruiting efforts...Midwest, Puerto Rico. Valley wide rent stabilization.... Housing rates are increasing far greater than the wages. VVP Sponsored health plans We need multiemployer pooling for health insurance. Another hospital in the Valley would create competition which would lower health care rates. Survey Methodology Vail Valley Economic Development invited employers to participate in this research by sending them an email link to an online survey. Staff then placed follow-up “invitation to participate calls” to those companies and other entities that had not yet completed the survey, but were considered highly representative of the local business climate. The Vail Valley Partnership and its member associations included information and the survey link in their online newsletters, and area non-profit organizations were invited to weigh in. The survey was designed and tested by research staff, and distributed through Survey Monkey, an internet-based survey tool. Data was tabulated and analyzed using SPSS, the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. This was an opt-in rather than a random sample or census survey, so a margin of error cannot be calculated. However, survey respondents represented small and large businesses of different types employing a large number of workers throughout the valley, and results can be used to assess trends in the Eagle County workforce. Vail Valley Economic Development - Workforce Report 2018 28 Conclusions Some conclusions from the 2017-18 Workforce Survey: ✓ Business owners and managers as a whole predict a negative change in the economy in general for the upcoming year. This was also true for the vitality of one’s own business, but the magnitude of the negative trend was smaller. Similarly, a modest decline was seen among respondents in terms of opinions regarding current economic conditions in the County in general and current views on the health of their own business also moved in a negative direction. ✓ After 5 years of declines, predictions about the ability to hire and retain employees in the upcoming year held relatively steady in the current survey year. ✓ Frustration with housing continues to grow and moved in a negative direction from 2017- 18. Negative opinions about housing are higher than ever found in the history of conducting the survey. More than 3 out 4 businesses feel that the housing situation negatively impacts their ability to hire and retain employees and this issue was mentioned frequently when asked about barriers to growing their business in the community. ✓ Over half of the businesses feel that their employees have a negative opinion of the availability of affordable child care, an issue that was introduced to the survey for the first time in 2016-17. About 1 out of 4 businesses feel that lack of child care negatively impacts their ability to hire and retain employees. ✓ Over half of the businesses feel that their employees have a negative opinion of the availability of affordable health care, an issue that was introduced to the survey for the first time this year. Over 1 out of 3 businesses feel that lack of affordable health care negatively impacts their ability to hire and retain employees. However, a number of the businesses provide comprehensive coverage and 31% of respondents say their employees have a positive experience on this issue. ✓ Almost 2 out of 3 businesses surveyed indicate that they expect to expand in the next three years and about 1 out of 4 say they are considering expanding or diversifying into a different service sector. Businesses that report plans to expand or diversify into a different service industry remains at a 5-year high point.