VITAL STATISTICS

Striking a balance

Seacoast Ventures: The work force, like the region as a whole, is graying. How can states retain existing workers and recruit additional labor to sustain a competitive edge?

PETER FRANCESE: A demographically balanced work force — one that has sufficient workers in all age categories — is absolutely necessary for sustaining economic growth. The way that any state can retain and recruit workers and achieve that balance is first by assuring that they have access to high quality education at the state's colleges and universities as well as public K-12 schools. The state must also assure that there is an adequate supply of affordable work force housing.

SV: As New Hampshire promotes a $1 million job training fund to help new and existing businesses, what other steps can the state and regional governing agencies take to become a valuable economic partner?

FRANCESE: That million dollars is a woefully inadequate amount. It should be at least 10 times that amount and given in the form of scholarships to the state's colleges and universities. New Hampshire provides by far the lowest amount of scholarship grants of any New England state — below $700 per student, which is less than half of what Vermont provides. As a result, students graduate from New Hampshire schools with the highest debt load in the nation — nearly $23,000. That is shameful considering that we are one of the 10 most affluent states in the nation.

SV: New Hampshire's labor force is again challenged, this time with a demand for skilled workers in manufacturing and other prominent sectors. Why is the labor pool so stressed or stretched at this time?

FRANCESE: The main reason is the high out-migration of young adults over the past decade caused in large part by the lack of affordable housing combined with an rather short-sighted preference for age restricted housing. By preferring age-retricted housing — also called "child-proof " housing — towns send a clear message to young workers that they are not wanted.

SV: What are some of the other challenges for businesses in the Northeast and how are they being met by the private sector and/or government?

FRANCESE: As if lack of work force housing and affordable higher education were not enough, a growing challenge for employers is the rapidly escalating cost of health insurance for their workers. This is driven in large part by what is called cost-shifting, which occurs whenever the Medicare and Medicaid patient population grows rapidly, as it is in New Hampshire, due in large part to the proliferation of age-restricted housing.

SV: If there is a tightening labor pool, which industries could be hardest pressed to find available help?

FRANCESE: The health care sector will be hardest hit and it's already finding it quite difficult to hire the people they need. But high-tech manufacturing is also having a tough time getting skilled workers to move here from other states, where housing is cheaper and communities are far more welcoming to young adults with children. There are town selectmen and planning board members in New Hampshire who actually brag about how many families with kids they have excluded from their town. No industry will benefit from that and neither will our work force or our economy.