National News
High unemployment and hard-to-fill jobs
March 06, 2015 posted by Steve Brownstein
A year ago, our region was close to double-digit unemployment. Today, many of the long-term unemployed have fallen off the rolls, we have lower unemployment and still have difficulty filling jobs. Why the disconnect?
According to Keynesian Economics, there is a natural rate of unemployment, which is generally understood to be around 4% in the U.S. In 2005, Washoe County's unemployment rate was 3.6% and few companies required drug testing and background checks. Now, the vast majority of employers do require some level of pre-employment screening.
In December 2014, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was at 6.8%; however, a significant percentage of those unemployed cannot pass pre-employment screenings and we expect them to remain unemployed over the long haul.
In the long-run, we need to address factors causing candidates in large numbers to fail drug testing and background checks. We are keeping our eye on the increased legalization of marijuana use – either medical or recreational. Employers can still enforce a drug-free workforce in drug-legal states. Employers will increasingly screen a larger pool of candidates and spend more time ruling out those who can't pass/won't take a drug test.
