The cost of child care, housing and transportation are the main obstacles to getting and keeping a job or an employee in Northern Colorado, according to a report recently released by the NoCo Works workforce participation collaborative and sponsored by United Way.
“The results of this research confirm what many of us already know. While Northern Colorado is a great place to live, many people struggle with the cost of housing and child care and don’t have access to transportation. This puts pressure on their ability to afford to live in the area,” shared Dr. Alexis R. Kennedy, author of the report and assistant professor in the Master of Public Policy and Administration program at Colorado State University. “This can create recruitment and retention problems for employers thus impacting workforce and economic development.”
“Barriers to Getting and Keeping Employment in Northern Colorado” reports on the disparate cost of living as compared to wage rates in Larimer and Weld counties, provides a basic understanding of why this is happening and shares many of the current initiatives addressing the challenge. It also provides some ideas for further steps that the larger community can take.
The report was resourced by Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce, The Weld Trust and United Way of Weld County. Read it and share your thoughts at https://nocoworks.com/subcommittee/external-barriers. Contact Kelsey Baun, NoCo Works Program Manager, at kbaun@larimer.org or 970-498-6612 with questions or to get involved.
