In times of record unemployment in the Midwest and West, many companies are using additional means to lure employees to their locations. Companies like Columbus Hydraulics Company are seeing a rising demand for skilled workers which is a part of the nearly half of a million vacancies in skilled manufacturing across the country. Companies are offering relocation payments, bonuses, higher wages, and other incentives to attract the limited supply of skilled workers. Companies which normally stayed out of the online job listing market are diving in to sites like ZipRecruiter to find potential candidates. Large manufacturing companies like Caterpillar and Lockheed Martin are also experiencing this trouble in finding candidates.
Key Takeaways:
- Americans are less prone to long distance moves than they have been in seven decades.
- Factories are starting to openly advertise their willingness to pay moving costs in their vacancy announcement.
- Companies like Caterpillar are offering thousands of dollars in moving expenses to prospective employees with special skills like welding.
“Manufacturers, including some in Nebraska, are paying relocation costs and bonuses to move new hires across the country at a time of record-low unemployment and intense competition for skilled workers.”
