Omaha Social Project



University of Nebraska at Omaha The Omaha Sociology Project: Employment Prepared by Crystal Barron Schafer and Hannah TargyFall 2015: Sociology 1010 Directed by Dr. Crystal Edwards IntroductionThe following information was obtained to demonstrate the relationship between sociology and employment in Omaha through our research. During our sociological research on employment in Omaha, we will explore why according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in August of 2015, the state of Nebraska was recorded as having the lowest unemployment rate in all of the United States at 2.8%. Included within the research will be factors such as: availability of jobs, impact of a college education, is the labor market qualified for the positions available, and does holding a job guarantee financial security. Primary Careerlink Research In order to understand unemployment within Omaha, we looked at job postings within Omaha through Careerlink. Careerlink is an online resource for posting and finding jobs within a certain area. The job postings that we look at were from on day, November 16, 2015; from this posting, we found 5,542 jobs. In order to make sense of the data, we looked at the breakdown of the information presented. We look at factors such as employers, location, career pathways, schedule type, career level, and skills. The research is important to employment within Omaha because we can determine factors such as: which compensation type dominates the Omaha market, what are the top career pathways, and job layoffs versus open positions. Employment Statistics Within OmahaIn our research, labor markets can be used to represent a geographical area (Omaha), industrial groups, level of education, and level of skill (Arne and Sorensen, 351). Within the City of Omaha, from the January to December of 2015, there were approximately 666 jobs affected by layoffs and closures. Some of the most significant layoffs include Union Pacific (100+), United Airlines (76), and Catholic Health Initiative (60). The closures of the two car dealerships, H&H Chevrolet and H&H Motors Omaha, lost a total of 206 jobs combined (Layoff and Closures Report, 2015). Although job layoffs were a little under 1,000 jobs total, the amount of available jobs on the Omaha market outnumber the layoffs, because on November 16, 2015, a hit on Careerlink matched 5,542 jobs within the Omaha area. Some key aspects of these jobs are demonstrated in Chart 1 and Chart 2 below. 1143002049780Chart 1: Career Level Required for Omaha Job Postings on Careerlink. Nov. 16, 2015. 00Chart 1: Career Level Required for Omaha Job Postings on Careerlink. Nov. 16, 2015. 30861002049780Chart 2: Schedule / Compensation for Omaha Job Postings on Careerlink.Nov. 16, 210500Chart 2: Schedule / Compensation for Omaha Job Postings on Careerlink.Nov. 16, 2105 The figures show that Omaha has a diverse labor market and job opportunities for Omaha. Entry-level positions and full-time employment compose the largest part of the job postings for Omaha. Hourly pay and mid level positions compose the second largest section of the job postings. There is a connection between the available jobs, and the top ten occupations within the Nebraska Metro area, which includes the areas of Grand Island, Lincoln, and Omaha (Nebraska Workforce Trends). Entry-level positions dominate the top ten occupations in Nebraska, which represent retail salespersons, customer service representatives, cashiers, food preparation, waiters, janitors, laborers, and truck drivers. Entry-level positions are demonstrated both in Careerlink and the top 10 Nebraska area jobs. Entry-level positions pose a problem to the unemployed people within Omaha because of the need for a better position. Since these positions are the bottom of the job chain, people tend to have less stability within them. The entry-level jobs are simple positions to fill; therefore, employees in this position are easily replaceable if job requirements are not met. Also, these entry level positions are not satisfying positions to be in for most employees to work in for a prolonged periods of time; consequently, employees may have high turnover due to unhappiness and stress. CareerLink Research While searching for jobs in Omaha, Nebraska, one will find a good variety of full-time, part-time, night time hours, day time hours and even health benefits. The most needed jobs, though are full-time in nursing and therapeutic services. Over 300 jobs fit into this category alone, while if you look at nursing jobs alone there are almost 800 positions available and full-time alone positions are looking to fill almost 3000 positions. Is this a good thing or a bad thing for our city? Some may argue that it is not necessarily good because for most jobs, there are certain requirements that must be met for a person to fill a job position. On the downside, he said “we have lost a few people out of our labor force. The state’s labor participation rate, the number of people age 16 and older working or seeking work, is still lower than before the Great Recession. The participation rate, which was 71.3 percent in 2006, fell to 69.9 percent in 2013, the latest figure available”, Thompson said. Thompson cited three potential reasons for the decline: the first wave of retiring baby boomers; older workers who lost their jobs during the recession and retired early; and the expansion of disability benefits” (Podsada, 2015). Perhaps this is why ConAgra has decided to move its headquarters to Chicago, because there aren’t enough workers with the skills necessary to fill the job positions they need filled. Others may say it is a great thing that the employment rate is so low because it gives everyone a chance to look many different places for jobs and also it gives people a choice on where they work. If you don’t particularly like the job you’re at, you can move companies fairly easily and not have to uproot your family from the city you reside in.Financial and Employment SecurityNow that an understanding of the Omaha job market and the top two jobs was presented, we are going to attempt to determine if the qualifications of the job are hard to find, if a degree makes a difference, and if financial security is promised when holding a job. First, we are analyzing the qualifications of the job, and if what is demanded is what is being supplied, and if being a degree holding person makes a difference. Educational systems attempt to anticipate the structure of the labor demand. Employers will in turn try to get the institutions to supply the labor that they want. Besides institutions trying to supply the demand that the employers want, students also try to attempt to determine what skills the labor market is demanding. Educational systems may also be expected to reproduce an existing social order or, to the contrary, change it in the name of values such as equality of opportunity. To this extent employers must make do with the labor supply they get, and learn to accommodate it in their organization of work and the structure of authority at the workplace (Labor markets and trade unions, 261). The allocation of labor that the educational systems, and those without a degree, are supplying the labor market may not meet the standards of the current qualifications that the workplace enforces. The workplace may offer additional training to adjust to the environment and culture of the company. Therefore, although the labor market is supplied with qualifications that do not meet the demand, there is still opportunities to turn the supply into the demand. Lastly, we are going to determine if holding a job can provide financial security. Within the labor market, factors besides skills may increase the success of finding employment. Differences in power may demonstrate differences in the ability of an employee to maintain their position in the event of incursion with respect to a variety of labor market outcomes (Arne and Sorensen, 361). Therefore, A degree, which typically displays a higher skill level, may in turn display a higher success of maintaining a job. However, job security may also lie within the hands of the hiring firms. Firms may choose their locations based on many factors including the labor field, which may not match the needs of the areas in terms of unemployment rate. Skills of workers in high unemployment metro areas may poorly match the hiring needs of firms; the needs of firms in low unemployment metro areas may not match the skills of workers elsewhere. (Why Does Unemployment Differ Persistently Across Metro Areas, 6) Therefore, firms may choose to stay in areas with high employment rates, to match the needs of the firm. This may be the reason as to why fortune 500 companies stay within Omaha, such as Union Pacific. However, it may be a leading factor of geographical relocation such as the relocation of the Con Agra headcounters to Chicago losing about 1,000 Omaha jobs. Crime Rates in Relation to Employment According to the International Business Times, “Omaha (and particularly its black neighborhoods in the deprived northern and northeastern parts of the city) accounted for almost half of all recorded homicides in Nebraska -- which, overall, sported a relatively low murder rate of less than four per 100,000 people. (The U.S. as a whole has a murder rate of 4.44 per 100,000 people.) Ninety percent of these murders came from the bullet of a gun” (Ghosh). But why, you may ask, is the crime rate in Omaha, Nebraska, of all places, among the highest of the United States? According to Zip Atlas, the highest unemployment, at 17.58 percent, within Nebraska is within the zip code 68110, where people of color tend to reside. The second highest unemployment rate in Omaha is within the zip code 68111, at 12.71 percent, which is nearby the 68110 neighborhoods. Not only this, but why do people of color tend to be targeted? Gun violence is a serious problem throughout all of the States, and the unemployed and or those who are employed with a minimum wage, part time job tend to be both the targets and subjects of this said violence. Although the job market in Omaha is booming, there will always be people who struggle either to find their own work ethic or to get and sustain a stable job period. Omaha does seem to be very discriminatory in its homicide rate and maybe this is a result of the city being very discriminatory on which it offers substantial jobs with good benefits to.National Employment Rate Versus Omaha Employment According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, In August of 2015, the state of Nebraska was recorded as having the lowest unemployment rate in all of the United States at 2.8 percent. Although the economic depression hit farmers hard, causing many to have to sell equipment or start another job, it created many more jobs in other areas of work. “The state Department of Labor said Friday in a news release that year over year, jobs in education and health services increased by 3,430, leisure and hospitality jobs were up 2,080, and jobs in other services grew by 1,920. Overall, there were 11,000 more jobs in Nebraska in February than there were a year ago (Olberding). Because people are realizing that farming may not be the best job, financial wise, more people are attending school to get a higher education. Another argument made is that Nebraska was spared from the housing market crash. “Nebraska’s geography was a factor in its dodge of that crisis. The state’s landlocked location in the Midwest means it has few natural barriers to population growth. Oceans and rivers limit housing expansion in places like California, New York City, or Massachusetts, which saw rapid increases in home values before the housing market crashed. “In Nebraska, if demand is there you can always just convert more farmland to housing” (Zillman).Conclusion In conclusion, although Omaha may be praised for having such a low unemployment rate, there are upsides and downsides, as in all things. There are plenty of jobs in Omaha but because of the requirements needed to fulfill these positions, this abundance of jobs may not be accessible to everyone. Also, many homeless people are employed, they just aren’t making enough money to support their families and buy or even rent a home and keep up with the payments. The biggest struggle in Omaha is keeping people off the streets because if people have a place to live and succeed and call their own then they feel safer and don’t necessarily feel the need to be violent because their families will be protected in their home. Bibliography:Clark, Dick. "Raising the Minimum Wage: Hurting Those Who Need Help the Most." Platte Institute for Economic Research. N.p., 7 Oct. 2014. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.Ghosh, Palash. "Omaha, Nebraska: The Most Dangerous Place In America To Be Black."International Business Times. N.p., 27 Jan. 2014. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.Kalleberg, Arne L., and Aage B. Sorensen. "The Sociology of Labor Markets." Annual Review of Sociology Vol. 5 (1979): 351-79. JSTOR. Web. 11 Oct. 2015.Nebraska Department of Labor. "Layoffs and Closure Report." Layoffs and Downsizing. Nebraska Government, 11 Oct. 15. Web. 11 Oct. 2015.Nebraska Department of Labor. "Nebraska Workforce Trends." (2015): 1-19. Oct. 2015. Web.11 Oct. 2015.Olberding, Matt. "Nebraska Unemployment Rate Now Lowest in U.S." Journal Star. N.p., 27Mar. 2015. Web. 12 Oct. 2015Podsada, Janice. "Nebraska's Unemployment Rate Continues to Fall, Now at 2.9 Percent.” . N.p., 23 Jan. 2015. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.Streeck, Wolfgang. "The Sociology of Labor Markets and Trade Unions." The Handbook of Economic Sociology. By Neil J. Smelser and Richard Swedberg. Princeton, NJ: PrincetonUP, 2005. 254-83. Print.Wharton, Amy S. "The Sociology of Emotional Labor." Annual Review of Sociology. By KarenS. Cook and Douglas S. Massey. Vol. 35. Palo Alto, CA: Annual Reviews, n.d. 147-65.Print.Zillman, Claire. "How This State Ended Up With America's Lowest Unemployment Rate." Fortune. N.p., 22 July 2015. Web. 12 Oct. 2015. ................
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