Goodwill partners with Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber for community needs assessment
YOUNGSTOWN — Only about 57% of the local civilian labor force hold jobs, according to the Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber.
Despite this, the national participation rate is more than 63% based on data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey Data for 2018 through 2022.
To better understand what’s driving these numbers, the Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber and Goodwill Industries have partnered to conduct a Community Needs Assessment aimed at addressing the area’s workforce needs.
“We are hopeful that this initiative will help pinpoint employment and training barriers so that we can create a community-wide action plan to overcome them,” said guy Coviello, president and CEO of the Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber. “That will enable us and our partners to grow the local workforce and ultimately strengthen the economic fabric of Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania.”
The effort began this week and will continue through August 8, according to the Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber.
It will include a survey that’s been distributed to about 3,000 people of the chamber, community stakeholders and the public. Focus groups on the topic will also be held.
Several key data points and their causes will be examined through this process.
For example, education data shows that 37% of 25-64 year-olds in Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana, Mercer and Lawrence counties, ended their education with a high school diploma.
Statewide, that number is lower by 7% and nationwide that number is 25%.
The goal of this effort is to understand current and future employment demands and barriers faced by the community when entering the workforce.
It will also be used to identify funding opportunities and increase community awareness on services that could help them get a job.
