The Maysville-Mason County Industrial Development Authority is working to collect invaluable data from Mason County employers to develop a comprehensive labor analysis that our employers can use to recruit talent and retain current employees. MMCIDA Executive Director Jodi Ashby released the initial survey to Mason County’s businesses and industry on June 21, 2022. MMCIDA is working with national economic development consultant Next Move Group to conduct this study, which is anticipated to be complete by the beginning of August.
Ashby says MMCIDA decided to complete the study because, “Many data sources reference irrelevant information when an employer or key decision-maker is evaluating workforce information. Important information is watered down or can even be left out because data tends to focus on information like a community’s population and demographics. Neither of which are accurate indicators of what a community’s real labor market looks like. This labor analysis will fill in the missing pieces among readily available information, and it will be completely custom for Mason County, helping to build an invaluable tool for existing and future businesses.”
“Information like what wages are required to recruit employees from within Mason County’s expanded labor shed, exactly how far does the current labor shed extend, how many more employees could be accessed with incrementally higher wages will all be included,” said Chuck Sexton, CEO of Next Move Group. “This analysis will inventory what skills are available in Mason County’s custom labor shed. This analysis will allow employers to determine what wages would be needed for a specific occupation in order to attract and retain talent, how many people are currently employed in this occupation, and more.”
Labor market data that is currently available and readily accessible is inadequate and only a small piece of Mason County’s labor force puzzle. The more competitive the wages are with our neighboring communities, the larger our labor market is. Every community’s labor market is different, and the MMCIDA needs to know as much as possible about what is available to tap into for current and future employers in Mason County. Moreover, the labor market for each employer or type of employer is different. “We want to capture all of that information,” said Ashby.
“We are thrilled to partner with MMCIDA on this important endeavor,” said Jeremy Faulkner, Director of Business Services for the Tenco workforce board, who oversees Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funds for a 10-county region in Northeastern Kentucky and operates four Kentucky Career Center locations in the area is excited about the project. “We have supported several local and regional workforce studies over the past few years and the information gathered brings tremendous value. Workforce is a key factor in location and expansion project decisions. Understanding the skills and demographics of our population is crucial to doing our best work representing ourselves to the national site selection community.”
Data collected from Mason County employers will remain confidential. That means any company- or employee-specific information that is collected through this survey will be held in the highest confidence and will never be made available for marketing Mason County, publication in media, or to the public. Any information released upon completion of the labor analysis will be done so in aggregate and will be completely anonymous for any participants. Companies that participate are 100-percent safe in providing the feedback necessary to paint a true picture of what Mason County’s labor market actually looks like.
The labor analysis survey was designed to be a succinct survey that is mainly multiple choice. A vitally important survey question involves attaching an anonymous spreadsheet of employee residential ZIP Codes and average annual wages associated with that employee. There are no questions that ask an employer to submit identifying information about any employees.
If you are a Mason County employer that has five or more employees, we are asking for your participation. The more employers that participate, the more beneficial and accurate the analysis will be. Every employer that participates will receive an electronic copy of this year’s survey. If you did not receive this survey via email, please contact Jodi Ashby at [email protected].