A quick search on any job board will show dozens of vacant positions at businesses in Summit County ranging from an oral surgeon to a retail associate, but the challenges caused by the nationwide labor shortage aren’t just affecting employers in the private sector.
With low unemployment rates across Utah, high housing costs in the Park City area and an ongoing pandemic, employers are forced to compete for the short supply of workers.The Summit County government is no exception.
Summit County Manager Tom Fisher said the challenge in filling the ranks, particularly when it comes to essential workers, is happening statewide. Locally, it’s been the most difficult to hire law enforcement personnel, plow drivers, equipment operators and 911 dispatchers.
“We are seeing the pressure like everyone is,” he said.
There are 10 open positions listed on the county’s job board, with the oldest positions including deputy sheriff, corrections officer, equipment operator, general laborer, victim services coordinator and a temporary assistant cook having been posted more than 30 days ago. Other jobs working as an administrative assistant at the Health Department, a housekeeper and a dispatcher were posted over the past couple of weeks. The most recent position, fire chief of the North Summit Fire District, was listed on Monday.
Fisher said the county has worked hard to keep its salary structure and benefits competitive but that it’s hard to know if they’re lagging behind or keeping up with other public employers across the state. The pay for the open positions ranges from $15 an hour to $80,000 a year.
The county is most eager to fill positions that serve essential functions like law enforcement officers and plow drivers because, without those jobs, community services are affected.
The biggest challenge in attracting employees to Summit County is the cost of living and high housing prices. That’s why hiring efforts have been directed specifically toward county residents through word-of-mouth recruiting and referrals. Fisher estimated that between 70-80% of public employees in Summit County live here.
Another obstacle is the turnover that occurs within the essential service industries. Often, the skill set required for police officers or equipment operators is the same across the state so employees have the freedom to choose where they want to live. At the same time, the types of applicants are changing, and employers are now spending more time training and developing workers who are new to the industry.
To ensure potential future employees are choosing to work here, the county is striving to increase engagement in local middle and high schools to highlight the value of civic jobs and improve workforce recruitment in the area.
The challenge in hiring workers from outside of the county is part of the reason why Fisher and other officials have been focused on retention to reduce turnover, particularly since the pandemic began.
“We’re a friendly, family-oriented workplace. We feel it’s a good place to work,” he said.
When the health emergency was declared, Fisher said the county began planning to revamp services as they would during any emergency. It started with COVID testing and over the past two years has moved toward providing vaccinations.
The county has asked employees to take on other roles during the pandemic, such as library workers operating phone banks while the institutions were closed to aid in providing information to the public. Legal experts working in the County Attorney’s Office were also tasked with following updates at the state level tied to COVID restrictions and mask mandates in addition to their normal duties. Employees working in code enforcement or food inspections also helped with educating businesses about the rules they had to follow.
“The idea was to mobilize who you can,” Fisher said, adding that this method helped keep people employed and limited disruptions.
Despite the transitional period, Fisher said that the average resident hasn’t been significantly impacted.
As the pandemic continued and the community adapted, the county shifted to hiring people for the jobs permanently or acquired contract positions to get workers back to their regular roles.
However, sometimes contracting workers isn’t always cost-efficient. Summit County officials were unable to fill a seasonal woodchipper position, for instance, a role that helps with fire mitigation, which meant they couldn’t offer the service.
And while Fisher is always thinking about whether the county will be able to assist the community during an emergency, he feels confident that his employees’ work ethic will keep things operational.