CUED
Center
for Urban Economic Development
University of Illinois at Chicago
Analysis of the Labor Force in the Mid-Southwest Area of Chicago
Project Number: 264
Report Date: April 1989
Author(s): John Betancur, William Howard
Staff from the University of Illinois at Chicago Center for Urban Economic Development (CUED) have conducted an inventory of skills in the Mid-Southwest area of Chicago. The purpose of this analysis is to contribute to ongoing efforts by Greater Southwest Development Corporation (GSWDC) to explore industrial development opportunities for unused railroad tracks in the area bounded by 55th and 77th Streets on the North and South and, roughly, Bell Street on the West and Hamilton/Hoyne Streets on the East.
Industries, it is well known, can draw workers from areas much larger than the immediate and the extended areas considered here. Industries and workers, however, benefit from a closer location as well as from strong ties between industries and local communities: training and placement programs can be developed in close cooperation with local agencies thus ensuring a smooth replacement of workers and a continuous flow of skilled laborers; tardiness and other problems related to transportation can be largely avoided; increases in job opportunities and local purchasing power generally result in a more wholesome community, hence preventing problems of security and the eventual disruption of the production process; street and general infrastructure improvements, parking and similar needs can be worked out with the help of community-based agencies preoccupied with retaining and increasing job opportunities; and other services can be secured with the support of the local community. For these and many other reasons, the Greater Southwest Development Corporation is working with developers and other agents to secure the proper infrastructure, to identify an adequate labor force pool and to obtain the public assistance and support required for the project. GSWDC believes that a development partnership between the community and the private sector can bring together the necessary elements for a successful development of the site in a manner that is convenient for the general community and prospective industrial firms.
This inventory provides a general idea of the type of labor locally available. It includes detailed information on the 1980 occupations and related industries of residents in these community areas as well as information related to the occupations of applicants for employment services at area offices of the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES). Also discussed are IDES data on the employment of residents by industry in the areas surrounding the development site. The data suggest a large diversity of skills with a strong manufacturing component. A detailed analysis of these and other characteristics of the local labor follows.
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