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Marc Giauque reporting It's a problem some say may actually begin to affect Utah's economy. Employers are struggling to find enough of the right kinds of workers to get the jobs done. Economists say it's impacting people from restaurants, to over-the-road driving, to construction.
Armo Hererra's "Cicilia Pizza" has been on Salt Lake's Third South for a dozen years now. He puts in a lot of time, and wishes he could find more of the right kind of workers.
"We get a lot of applications, but the people we are looking for are the right people," he says. Hererra admits, he'd like to spend more time, growing his business. "I'm holding back a little bit with advertising, I'm holding back a little bit with marketing, and just doing slow step-by-step," he says
Holding back, he says, because many of the people he can find to work, won't work out, or won't stay long. "Take people to train them, it costs money for the company," said Hererra.
And he's competing with other employers. "In many places they are looking for employees, looking to hire people, but there are too many options."
Across the street, a huge construction crane moves materials around the site of new downtown buildlng. "This recovery we've been in has been strongly impacted by the growth in construction, in both housing and commercial development," says Austin Sargent of the Division of Workforce Services.
Sargent says it's near the point where a shortage of workers could actually slow the economy. "If they can't find the number of workers they need, that schedule is delayed," he said, "so it slows down the completion of that project, as well as the next project doesn't get started on time."
Sargent says the need is especially high in trade areas, and that some young people may want to consider applied technology training, as an option to college.
