In CRAINS, a report on the strength of the New York for hiring…..certainly a good thing for real estate when the strength of the employee pool is best in the country…. Whats good for business, is good for real estate values.
SEEN IN CRAINS: Here’s a bit of good news for New York businesses: The high costs of setting up shop here are more than offset by the low risk of recruiting and hiring.
An Aon Consulting report found New York City had the second-lowest risk levels in the world for recruiting, employing and relocating employees. (Toronto finished first.) Some elements of employer risk that the report measured include the inability to find enough people with the right qualifications and the likelihood of high turnover within the company.
Of the five major criteria in the report, the city finished first in “education” and second in both “demographics” and “talent development.” It ranked 12th in “government support” and 23rd in “employment practices.”
Population size played a major role in New York City’s ranking, said Rick Payne, chief research officer of Aon Consulting’s Global Research Center, based in Singapore. He also noted the presence of elite higher education institutions like Columbia and New York universities.
“New York has a significant advantage over other cities in the United States because of the breadth and depth of the talent it has,” Mr. Payne said. “When employers look at where they should locate, they should not only look at costs…. If the availability of talent isn’t there, you’re taking a high risk.”
Mr. Payne also called New York City a “gateway” to the U.S. and cited immigration as a factor in the quantity of high-quality employees. The report stated that New York City has “a large diverse multilingual workforce, which is increasingly critical in a global work environment.”
Los Angeles, another “gateway” in Aon’s eyes, finished as the second-highest American city, but 10th overall. Chicago was right behind at No. 11, and Boston finished 13th. Detroit fared the worst of all U.S. cities, finishing 40th out of the 90 cities around the world that qualified for the study, based on population and business investment.
Mr. Payne said this report will show employers which cities are most likely to have people with the skills necessary to excel at their companies. Even criteria such as crime are a factor, he said, because it increases costs and has an impact on productivity.
“We look at the fundamental causes of the problems that companies face, and look at the fundamental causes of the supply of labor,” Mr. Payne said.
The wide range of components involved in the study—25 overall—cover a wide spectrum of employment factors, said Jennifer Loftus, national director for Astron Solutions, a New York-based human resource consulting firm.
She noted the importance of education, pointing out that cities rank higher for getting their youth “work force ready.” She also found companies could benefit from developing their employees and giving them skills they did not have coming in.
The city’s wealth of talent and what some might call its dog-eat-dog atmosphere bode well for New York companies. Yet with the unemployment rate still above 9%, there are not enough positions to go around for job hopefuls.
“From the employer’s perspective, [New York City] is a good place to be, because it has a diverse talent pool,” she said. “From the employee’s perspective however, you’re competing against top talent, which makes it harder.”