By Brittany Woodby

BWOODBY@CULLMANTIMES.COM



A recent study found more than 3,000 Cullman residents are making less money and working less challenging jobs than they deserve.

The study, conducted by independent research team The Pathfinders, sought to determine the number of underemployed workers in the area, or residents who are currently employed but qualify for better jobs. The Cullman Economic Development Agency paid for the study, which CEDA Assistant Director Dale Greer said is a powerful tool for industrial recruitment.

“This study helps better identify the potential workforce in the county,” he said. “We just have to have this study because of our low unemployment rate...Companies want to know where they will get their employees.”

The agency used the research group to conduct the area’s first underemployment study in 1999 when the unemployment rate in Cullman County dropped to below 4 percent. Greer said the data has been invaluable to the agency’s efforts to recruit industry, but was outdated.

CEDA enlisted The Pathfinders to conduct another study this fall. Researchers spent weeks calling Cullman residents to ask them about what skills and qualifications they have and what benefits and pay they desire. Additionally, researchers questioned local industries about the strengths and weaknesses they have seen in Cullman employees.

“That is a new part of the study and is something we did not have in the old data,” Greer said. “We can show this information to potential industries and tell them this is what industries who are already here are saying. This isn’t just us bragging about our workforce.”

The 2007 information estimated Cullman County has a civilian labor force of 40,000 with 1,200 of those people unemployed. However, Greer said the study shows potential employers they could also recruit from a pool of 3,200 underemployed workers.

The median current pay rate of the underemployed workers is $13.50 per hour and the median desired pay rate of the underemployed workers is $13.99.

Of the underemployed workers in the county, 40 percent have some college education but do not have a degree. Thirty-two percent are high-school graduates or hold a GED.

The study also grouped Cullman residents by the types of professions they work in and by how many years of experience they have. The majority of underemployed workers have an average of 11 years of experience in manufacturing, assembly and fabrication. Another 1,000 underemployed people have an average of 10 years experience in warehouse, distribution and transportation work.

Greer said he was not surprised by the results of the study but felt confident the data would help CEDA recruit the right types of industries to the area for the kind of people who live here.

“Our goal is to give people job opportunities here,” he said. “We can figure out a way to match our residents’ strengths with potential employers and tell businesses exactly what it will take to get a certain number of employees.”

The study also compared Cullman County employers and their work policies. Ninety-six percent of employers interviewed said their companies test for substance abuse and reported substance abuse in the workforce as being low.

Approximately 80 percent of employers rated the workforce as good to excellent in productivity, reliability and attitude.

The study compared Cullman County employers’ opinions of their workers to the opinions of other employers in areas such as Decatur, Shelby County and Tuscaloosa.

In comparisons, Cullman County has among the highest percentage of skilled and experienced manufacturing underemployed workers. In the fields of medicine and health sciences, and warehouse and distribution, Cullman County has above the median percentage of other surveyed cities in skilled, experienced, underemployed workers.