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CAREER CORNER
Employers, cities entice the young and the restless [by Michael Kinsman] The most sought after people in the work force today have been dubbed “the young and the restless.”
young and the restless than other cities.
There’s a simple reason recruiters are turn-
Cortright found that urban areas with attrac-
ing their attention to this group of college-
tive neighborhoods close to their downtowns
educated 25- to 34-year-old workers: They
will be the winners in this battle because
“It’s about matching up with their lifestyle
are the high-value future of our economy.
they fit the lifestyles of these individuals.
and their expectations for how they will live,”
This evolution in economic development
“Just as railroads and interstate high-
thinking is likely to have cities competing
ways shaped development in the past, the
But it also means that companies that have
against each other to land these in-demand
migration of knowledge workers will shape
established gender and ethnic equity in their
workers.
prosperity in the future,” Cortright says.
work forces and management structure will
“Cities that disregard this basic fact do so at
have a broader labor pool available to them.
she says.
So-called young knowledge workers - those
their peril.” This new way of thinking about economic
who have good educations and up-to-date job skills - are more likely to be entrepreneurs
His study identifies cities such as Chicago,
development will challenge civic leaders who
and are more mobile than others in the work
Seattle, San Francisco, New York and Boston
are locked into tradition. Yet, in the wake of
force, according to a study by economist
as the best situated to capitalize on the
a shrinking labor pool and a work force that
Joseph Cortright. They also are likely to be
young and mobile knowledge workers.
is changing, they will have little choice but to keep open minds.
among the most successful workers in the most successful companies.
In San Diego, economic development officials have already been looking at the region’s
“There’s no question these are the people
work force needs and have been making
you want today,” says Carol Coletta, presi-
efforts to reach out to potential knowledge
dent of Chicago-based CEOs for Cities, which
workers.
commissioned the report. “But you’re going to have to adjust your thinking about how to
“We’re going about it a little bit differently,”
attract them.”
says Jane Signaigo-Cox, senior vice president of the San Diego Economic Development
Cortright’s study found that as the baby boom
Corp. “We understand that cost of living
generation begins to retire, the number of
makes getting people to relocate here dif-
college graduates plateaus and the number
ficult, so we want to make sure that students
of women entering the work force levels off,
going to school here will stay once they
competition will be fierce for better edu-
graduate.”
cated, young workers who are more likely to relocate to new cities than other workers.
That’s a goal not just aimed at college students, but at high school and junior high
“Most economic development in the past
school students as well.
has been about recruiting businesses to a region,” Coletta says. “But we are entering
Coletta believes that cities that can offer
new territory - where we will have to recruit
vibrant residential neighborhoods close to
people instead.”
downtowns will be more likely to attract the
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