Workforce Shortages in Utah

Workforce Shortages in Utah

The U.S. is often described as having a workforce shortage, especially recently after the COVID-19 pandemic1 and what is called The Great Resignation of 2021-2022.2 However, labor shortages are not a new issue, and historians point out that this has happened since the colonial era in the US.3 More recently, sectors like healthcare have been predicting shortages for over a decade.4 

A common excuse for workforce shortages – and one that you may have heard before – is something along the lines of “no one wants to work anymore!” This mindset claims that people are just lazy, undisciplined, and don’t want to work. However, economists point out that workers are tired of being exploited, underpaid, and overworked.5 From the late 1700s to the present, the common thread among employers and business owners has been “How can they get everyone to do awful jobs for them for awful pay?”6

In reality, research shows workforce shortages happen thanks to factors such as mass retirement by older generations of workers7 and the lack of well-paying jobs.8 It is especially telling when the problem of shortages is often “concentrated among America’s low-wage workforce, hitting restaurants, warehouses, manufacturers and the service industry."9 In addition to low wages, these jobs can require long hours and hazardous or tiring conditions. Meanwhile, the stress of being short-staffed means the workers who stay get treated worse until they also want to leave. 

What about Utah?

In addition to the demographic shifts taking place across the US, Utah has its own version of the nationwide issue with workforce shortages.

Prior to The Great Resignation, the state of Utah already had more jobs than workers: today, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, this rate is 44 workers for 100 open jobs.10 When combined with the state’s historically low rate of unemployment – i.e., most people already have jobs – this means it’s even harder to address to fill certain jobs.11 

Additionally, predominant issues in Utah such as rising childcare costs,12 rising costs of housing13 and housing shortages combined with a lack of qualified construction labor.14 Utah Workforce Services also notes that most available jobs are in blue-collar labor and manual services,15 which is not always full-time, benefitted work. Research also predicts that Utah will continue to face its own labor shortage for several years.

The state is aware of these issues and its worker service agencies have been working on solutions to address them. In 2022, a report from the Utah Workforce Services office offered five possible solutions:16 

  1. “Incentivize or pressure” older workers to keep working 
  2. Encourage the state economy to shrink naturally
  3. Import labor, product(s), and service production from outside Utah
  4. Encourage immigration of workers from outside the US
  5. Use more automation and AI to offset missing human workers

Notably, none of these solutions address issues with costs, pay, or housing. More effective recommendations might include increasing minimum wages, worker protections, full-time hiring, and benefits. However, for certain occupations in need of workers like healthcare, there are other federal, state, and local incentives, such as the Utah chapter of Area Health Education Centers.17