Washington, DC – The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) announced the release of the organization’s latest Economic Development Research Partners (EDRP) report titled “Growing Your Workforce: Strategies to Raise Local Labor Force Participation.” The report highlights and explores the topic of labor force participation: how it is defined and measured, historical trends, its uses, and analyses of data sources and limitations. 

The labor shortage in the U.S. is a major problem for businesses as it lowers productivity and profits and, in some cases, threatens day-to-day operations and overall longevity. In an effort to combat this, economic development organizations (EDOs) have increasingly become involved in talent attraction and acquisition as well as retention and other development initiatives to facilitate expedited entry and return to the labor force, especially for those facing barriers. 

"This report couldn’t have come out at a better time. Raising the labor force participation rate and lowering barriers to work has become critical for economic developers facing the global labor shortage. This report provides useful case studies and pertinent data to help economic developers understand and make the case for removing barriers to work such as childcare, transportation and the benefits cliff." says Jeanine Jerkovic, CEcD, Economic Development Director for the City of Surprise, Arizona and 2023 chair of EDRP. 

According to the U.S. Federal Reserve, there could be upwards of 4 million more job openings than there are available workers to fill them, averaging about 1.7 job openings per person looking for work. EDRP's report looks to address and supply economic developers with ample information about this shortage through analyses of nine case examples, discussions of eight barriers, possible solutions to eliminating barriers to employment, and five recommendations for EDOs to improve labor force participation rates.  

“The questions of ‘who’ and ‘how’ can both be answered through workforce development, and this report breaks down why,” says IEDC President and CEO Nathan Ohle. “There are people out there willing and able to work; it is all a matter of addressing high entry barriers and the needs of those looking to participate. Economic developers are focusing their efforts on opening pathways and, in some cases, building them from scratch to facilitate sustainability and future growth; EDRP is giving them the tools to do so.” 

Read the full report at www.iedconline.org/EDRP.