{"id":457475,"date":"2025-09-28T08:46:19","date_gmt":"2025-09-28T08:46:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/457475\/"},"modified":"2025-09-28T08:46:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T08:46:19","slug":"a-colorado-firm-struggling-to-hire-has-no-job-openings-and-thats-the-new-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/457475\/","title":{"rendered":"A Colorado firm struggling to hire has no job openings \u2014 and that\u2019s the new plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Quick links: The \u201cideal\u201d 1:1 job ratio<\/a> | Readers on the economy<\/a> | Reader poll results<\/a> | New reader poll<\/a> | Apartment growth<\/a> | Greeley development<\/a> | More<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Mineralife Nutraceuticals, a Colorado Springs manufacturer of dietary supplements, officially has no job openings, even though it really does.<\/p>\n

The small business has faced an unusually high rate of staff turnover in recent years and has had trouble filling open positions. It seems like that\u2019s the exact opposite of what current labor data shows, which is that it\u2019s tough to find a job.<\/p>\n

In fact, some new hires seem to flame out even before orientation is over.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey either didn\u2019t have the skills they said they did or they would end up finding another job they were more interested in,\u201d said Rebecca Goffe, the company\u2019s director of operations. \u201cWe hired someone six months ago. That person \u2014 because we wanted two document-control specialists \u2014 has watched that (second) position turnover twice now because the people would not stay through their onboarding.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Mineralife Nutraceuticals is a Colorado Springs manufacturer of dietary supplements. The company has a warehouse and manufacturing facility to make and package up orders. Hiring is based on the ebb and flow of orders and new business. (Handout)<\/p>\n

So, instead of posting yet another job opening, Goffe has a new plan: Host a career event to scope out whether the types of workers needed exist or could eventually exist \u2014 with training and support.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m trying to flip the script on hiring,\u201d Goffe said. \u201cWhat I\u2019m trying to do in January is put together a hiring event where we would kind of see what\u2019s out there in Colorado Springs, what knowledge and skills are out there. And can we apply that to our business? I\u2019ve been reaching out to consultants in our industry and saying, \u2018Hey, if I hired somebody with 20% of the knowledge, can you get them to 100%?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Colorado\u2019s job market may seem bleak for job seekers<\/a>, as the number of available jobs has plunged by double-digit rates this year, compared with last year. Openings in the state were down 40% in July from a year earlier. There are fewer options for job seekers.<\/p>\n

The \u201cideal\u201d 1:1 ratio: A job for every unemployed Coloradan<\/p>\n

The latest data points to a more balanced economy \u2014 there\u2019s now one job available for every unemployed Coloradan, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.<\/p>\n

A few years ago, unemployed workers had their choice of three jobs, when during the pandemic recovery, employers were competing for some of the same workers.<\/p>\n

Is it a better economy now?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really depends,\u201d said Bill Craighead, program director at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs Economic Forum. \u201cFor employers, things are better because they don\u2019t have to compete as hard to hire retain workers, but for workers, since it\u2019s not as easy to find another job, they have less bargaining power.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why it\u2019s tough to generalize, even at a state level. The reality hits businesses and workers differently based on their size and skill level, as companies like Mineralife have learned.<\/p>\n

Denver economist Gary Horvath puts it this way:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn an ideal world, the 1:1 ratio is a good number to strive for; however, job openings are a little bit like housing data,\u201d Horvath said in an email. \u201cThe data doesn\u2019t account for job or housing mismatches. If a job is open in Aspen and I don\u2019t want to move there, or can\u2019t afford the housing, or don\u2019t have the qualifications, it does not matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

He prefers to look at whether Colorado is adding more jobs as an indicator of where the state\u2019s economy is headed.<\/p>\n

From 2012 to 2019, the state\u2019s annual job growth averaged 66,000 a year, he said.<\/p>\n

In August, Colorado employers had added just 18,300 in nonfarm payroll jobs in the past 12 months. That\u2019s still job growth, albeit weaker, he said. But then he pointed out the top sectors adding jobs: health care, accommodation and food services and state government.<\/p>\n

Such jobs are needed in growing communities. But the state\u2019s population growth has been slowing<\/a>. Retail sales have been weaker than in years past. And local governments rely on those taxes to provide services.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese sectors are critical to a well-rounded economy; unfortunately, they will not drive sustained economic growth,\u201d he said in an email. \u201cAre we tapering off (as might be suggested by real GDP of 3.8%) or are we going in the tank? To me, this takes precedence over the 1:1 ratio.\u201d<\/p>\n

What readers shared<\/p>\n

The disconnect between job seekers and employers isn\u2019t new. And it showed up in comments from readers who took a recent What\u2019s Working poll on the economy. Some responses for the question asking about what it\u2019s been like to look for a job or hire for one?<\/p>\n