CUED

Labor Force Characteristics and Employment and Training Opportunities in the Suburbs of Dixmoor, Ford Heights, Harvey, Phoenix, and Robbins

There are a number of factors that will make attempts at economic development in the five communities a challenge. The education level of the populations of the five target communities is lower than that of the other south suburbs. The five communities have the lowest income levels of all the south suburbs. Although the majority of the south suburban population is white (70.8%), the five suburbs are predominantly black. There is a high correlation between a large concentration of minority populations and low-incomes. Almost half of the employed people in the five suburbs work in three industries: retail trade, health services, and manufacturing. The most dominant occupations of employed residents of the five communities are "other services," (cleaning, food preparation and similar low-skill jobs), and "administrative support services." The third most dominant occupation is "precision production." The five suburbs have a lower percentage of their populations working in higher paying executive, professional and technical occupations than most other communities in the south suburban area. As a result of the occupational and employment distribution, household incomes are lower in the five suburbs than in any other of the 40 communities in the south suburban region. Over one-third of the employed residents of the five suburbs work in Chicago. Nearly three-fifths (62.5) of employed residents of these suburbs drive to work alone compared to 73.4 percent in the overall South Suburbs. In contrast, a much larger percentage (18.1) of employed residents of the five communities car pooled compared to 11.6 percent in the entire South Suburban area. Finally, the percentage of employed residents walking to work or going to work by bus is larger in the five communities than in the South Suburbs as a whole. In other words, the lower the income, the more residents car pooled, used the bus or walked to work.

The largest employers operating in an extended area of the South Suburbs are the health industry (hospitals and offices and clinics of medical doctors in particular), eating and drinking places, general merchandise stores, and special trade contractors. Projected job growth is small for hospitals and general merchandise stores and medium for the other industries. The area combines large employers with a larger number of smaller establishments in a multiplicity of industries. The main occupations in local industries are amusement and recreation attendants, guards, nurses, nursing aides, medical secretaries, waiters and waitresses, physicians, auto mechanics and body repairers, cooks and restaurant attendants, food preparation workers, and retail salesmen. All of these occupations have high projected growth rates in Cook County (in this order). The industries in the South Suburban area with the highest growth rates (1984-1988) include special trade contractors, trucking and warehousing, grocery stores, auto dealers and service stations, eating and drinking places, business services, and nursing and personal care. All these industries are projected to grow in Cook County. Among the high growth occupations present in the south suburbs with high projected growth rates in Cook County are low-level service occupations such as guards, registered and licensed practical nurses, nursing aids and orderlies, medical secretaries and waiters and waitresses.

Seventy percent of the unemployed formerly worked in miscellaneous services, sales and clerical occupations, and services. Packaging and material handling and moving, typing and related, cashiers, food preparation, nursing aides, janitors, general office clerks, truck drivers and guards are the largest occupations of the unemployed. These are relatively low-paying occupations. With the exception of truck drivers and drivers of industrial trucks and tractors, projected growth rates for these occupations in Cook County range from medium to high. There are many jobs in the South Suburbs in the occupations of the unemployed. This suggests that unemployment is largely related to high turnover related to the low quality of employment. The main employers of the occupations of unemployment applicants are eating and drinking places, hospitals, miscellaneous business services, government, grocery stores, educational services, trucking and warehousing, business services, department stores, construction, hotels and motels, nursing and personal care, services to dwellings, motor vehicle dealers, miscellaneous special trade contractors, and metal working machinery. All of them are projected to grow in Cook County with the exception of educational services and metal working which are projected to decline. Lower employment growth (under 20%) is also projected for hospital, motor vehicle dealers, eating and drinking places, department stores and grocery stores. There are a limited number of training opportunities in the south suburban area. Most subsidized training is provided through the federal Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). The program serves less than 10 percent of those eligible. All JTPA programs provide placement assistance, and most provide job seeking skills. The most frequently offered training programs by the JTPA providers are security guard and certified nursing assistant. Courses also are available in data processing, computer applications programming, electronic office systems repair, computer repair, basic nursing assistant (CNA), medical terminology, optician, medical insurance specialist, and drafting. There is potential to build on available training resources. Certified nursing assistants, for example could complete licensed nursing programs at the community colleges.

Recommendations

1. Improve the job placement and referral capacity of local organizations.
2. Develop more support services for job seekers and discouraged workers.
3. Develop hiring agreements with employers receiving public assistance or subsidies or explore other alternatives for the hiring of residents in assisted and other local firms.
4. Develop at least one technical preparation program at each of the community colleges, linked with their corresponding high schools.
5. Establish a training program in the construction trades.
6. Examine the feasibility of developing a reverse commuting program.
7. Assess the credit needs of small businesses.
8. Develop a school- and community-based entrepreneurship initiative.
9. Promote self-employment.
10. Explore the feasibility of developing local CDCs.
11. Explore training linked to local employers, particularly in occupations with a career path

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UIC-Center for Urban Economic Development