Despite predictions of nationwide shortage of entry-level service employees by the next decade, Utah will be able to meet the demands of the growing labor market.
Lecia Parks Langston, labor economist of the Utah Department of Employment Security, says Utah's bumper crop of healthy, well-educated workers will either lure new business to the state or send Utahns packing for job opportunities out of state."We see both things happening," she said.
Langston shared her forecast on the state and national work forces during a seminar on future employment trends Wednesday at Little America Hotel.
Langston said the anticipated worker shortage stems from lower fertility rates nationwide. "Yes, even here in Utah fertility rates are declining," she said. Yet, Utah's population is expected to grow faster than the 15 percent growth rate anticipated nationally.
The increase of female and minority workers will have the greatest impact on the future work force, she said. By the end of the next decade, 62 percent of Utah's women will be working outside the home, compared to 61 percent nationally.
The influx of women into the workplace has forced employers to deal with demands for child care, flexible work schedules and part-time jobs with benefits, she said.
Minorities will make up about a third of the nation's work force by the year 2000, but in Utah, minorities will comprise only 10 percent of the state's workers.
Women and minorities will benefit most from the shortage of entry-level employees.
"This is going to open up some opportunities for women and minorities if they are properly educated to move into the labor force."
Langston said media reports that Utah's economy has become a service economy are misleading. "Utah has always been heavily involved in services," she said.
Another misconception is that high-tech jobs will provide the most jobs in future. At present, only 6 percent of the state's employees work in high-tech jobs. That percentage is expected to rise only 2 percentage points by the end of the century.
"We tend to focus on those jobs, but services is where we expect to see the growth, not high-tech jobs."
She said Utah labor trends indicate in the year 2000 the average Utah worker will be employed in a service-related occupation and will work in the Salt Lake City area.