The U.S. government seeks full employment for our nation’s workers in an effort to maintain a stable economy. Many economists believe a labor market achieves full employment when the unemployment rate is 5% or less.
This may be good for the economy, but full employment makes it increasingly difficult for employers trying to staff their facilities around the country as well as economic development organizations trying to attract them.
Companies should carefully evaluate unemployment conditions during the site selection process for employee intensive operations such as call centers, distribution centers, headquarters, manufacturing plants and shared service centers. To help identify the metro areas at full employment, Site Selection Group researched unemployment conditions across the U.S.
Site Selection Group identified 142 metro areas at or below 5% unemployment — metros that potentially have reached full employment.
The impact of full employment on companies
Despite the macroeconomic benefits of full employment, companies should be concerned about the potential risks. Site Selection Group identified the following four primary risks of full employment on employers:
How to mitigate the risk of full employment during the site selection process
As companies search the country for the best location for their new call centers, distribution centers, headquarters, manufacturing plants and shared service centers, it is critical to carefully evaluate unemployment conditions. The risks of future labor problems rise when entering a labor market at full employment. To mitigate the risks of making a bad location decision, Site Selection Group recommends the following techniques for assessing labor conditions:
142 metro areas at full employment
Site Selection Group identified 142 metro areas as potentially reaching full employment. They are shown in the below interactive map and table. Site Selection Group ranked the metro areas based on their unemployment rate as of June.
Rank | Metropolitan Statistical Area | Unemployment Rate |
---|---|---|
1 | Lincoln, NE | 2.60% |
2 | Fargo, ND-MN | 2.80% |
3 | Bismarck, ND | 2.90% |
3 | Burlington-South Burlington, VT | 2.90% |
3 | Iowa City, IA | 2.90% |
3 | Sioux Falls, SD | 2.90% |
7 | Ames, IA | 3.10% |
7 | Grand Island, NE | 3.10% |
9 | Amarillo, TX | 3.20% |
9 | Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA | 3.20% |
9 | Portsmouth, NH-ME | 3.20% |
12 | Austin-Round Rock, TX | 3.30% |
12 | Billings, MT | 3.30% |
12 | Dover-Durham, NH-ME | 3.30% |
12 | Logan, UT-ID | 3.30% |
12 | Mankato-North Mankato, MN | 3.30% |
17 | Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 3.40% |
17 | Idaho Falls, ID | 3.40% |
17 | Manchester, NH | 3.40% |
17 | Midland, TX | 3.40% |
17 | Rapid City, SD | 3.40% |
22 | Rochester, MN | 3.50% |
23 | Boise City, ID | 3.60% |
23 | Dubuque, IA | 3.60% |
23 | Grand Forks, ND-MN | 3.60% |
23 | Madison, WI | 3.60% |
23 | Provo-Orem, UT | 3.60% |
23 | Salt Lake City, UT | 3.60% |
29 | Cedar Rapids, IA | 3.70% |
29 | Cheyenne, WY | 3.70% |
29 | Columbus, IN | 3.70% |
29 | Missoula, MT | 3.70% |
29 | Portland-South Portland, ME | 3.70% |
29 | Sioux City, IA-NE-SD | 3.70% |
35 | Boulder, CO | 3.80% |
35 | Fort Collins, CO | 3.80% |
35 | Lubbock, TX | 3.80% |
35 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 3.80% |
35 | Ogden-Clearfield, UT | 3.80% |
35 | San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | 3.80% |
41 | College Station-Bryan, TX | 3.90% |
41 | Elkhart-Goshen, IN | 3.90% |
41 | Great Falls, MT | 3.90% |
41 | Lewiston, ID-WA | 3.90% |
41 | Pocatello, ID | 3.90% |
46 | Abilene, TX | 4.00% |
46 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 4.00% |
46 | Sherman-Denison, TX | 4.00% |
46 | St. Cloud, MN | 4.00% |
50 | Appleton, WI | 4.10% |
50 | Coeur d'Alene, ID | 4.10% |
50 | Manhattan, KS | 4.10% |
50 | Napa, CA | 4.10% |
50 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 4.10% |
50 | Sheboygan, WI | 4.10% |
50 | Urban Honolulu, HI | 4.10% |
57 | Columbus, OH | 4.20% |
57 | Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO | 4.20% |
57 | Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI | 4.20% |
57 | La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN | 4.20% |
57 | Lexington-Fayette, KY | 4.20% |
57 | San Angelo, TX | 4.20% |
57 | San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | 4.20% |
57 | St. George, UT | 4.20% |
57 | Victoria, TX | 4.20% |
66 | Ann Arbor, MI | 4.30% |
66 | Danbury, CT | 4.30% |
66 | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | 4.30% |
66 | Evansville, IN-KY | 4.30% |
66 | Lawrence, KS | 4.30% |
66 | Oklahoma City, OK | 4.30% |
66 | Santa Rosa, CA | 4.30% |
66 | Waco, TX | 4.30% |
66 | Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA | 4.30% |
66 | Wausau, WI | 4.30% |
76 | Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL | 4.40% |
76 | Eau Claire, WI | 4.40% |
76 | Fond du Lac, WI | 4.40% |
76 | Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI | 4.40% |
76 | Lewiston-Auburn, ME | 4.40% |
76 | Odessa, TX | 4.40% |
76 | San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA | 4.40% |
76 | State College, PA | 4.40% |
76 | Wichita Falls, TX | 4.40% |
85 | Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | 4.50% |
85 | Bangor, ME | 4.50% |
85 | Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH | 4.50% |
85 | Columbia, MO | 4.50% |
85 | Fort Wayne, IN | 4.50% |
85 | Green Bay, WI | 4.50% |
85 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | 4.50% |
85 | Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN | 4.50% |
85 | Lancaster, PA | 4.50% |
85 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 4.50% |
85 | Tyler, TX | 4.50% |
96 | Bloomington, IL | 4.60% |
96 | Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 4.60% |
96 | Gettysburg, PA | 4.60% |
96 | Glens Falls, NY | 4.60% |
96 | Greeley, CO | 4.60% |
96 | Ithaca, NY | 4.60% |
96 | Springfield, IL | 4.60% |
96 | Topeka, KS | 4.60% |
96 | Winchester, VA-WV | 4.60% |
105 | Casper, WY | 4.70% |
105 | Charlottesville, VA | 4.70% |
105 | Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA | 4.70% |
105 | Killeen-Temple, TX | 4.70% |
105 | Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN | 4.70% |
105 | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | 4.70% |
105 | Oshkosh-Neenah, WI | 4.70% |
105 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | 4.70% |
105 | Wenatchee, WA | 4.70% |
114 | Corvallis, OR | 4.80% |
114 | Kingston, NY | 4.80% |
114 | Lima, OH | 4.80% |
114 | Monroe, MI | 4.80% |
114 | Springfield, OH | 4.80% |
114 | Tulsa, OK | 4.80% |
114 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 4.80% |
121 | Barnstable Town, MA | 4.90% |
121 | Champaign-Urbana, IL | 4.90% |
121 | Dayton, OH | 4.90% |
121 | Kokomo, IN | 4.90% |
121 | Lawton, OK | 4.90% |
121 | Lebanon, PA | 4.90% |
121 | Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR | 4.90% |
121 | Longview, TX | 4.90% |
121 | Staunton-Waynesboro, VA | 4.90% |
121 | Trenton, NJ | 4.90% |
131 | Akron, OH | 5.00% |
131 | Asheville, NC | 5.00% |
131 | Chambersburg-Waynesboro, PA | 5.00% |
131 | Corpus Christi, TX | 5.00% |
131 | Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 5.00% |
131 | Gainesville, FL | 5.00% |
131 | Jefferson City, MO | 5.00% |
131 | Lansing-East Lansing, MI | 5.00% |
131 | Laredo, TX | 5.00% |
131 | North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL | 5.00% |
131 | Roanoke, VA | 5.00% |
131 | San Diego-Carlsbad, CA | 5.00% |
© 2020 Site Selection Group, LLC. All Rights Reserved · Site Map · Privacy Policy
Let us know what you think!