Rochester Area Skill Needs Assessment and Business Climate Survey, May 2014

Rochester Area Skill Needs Assessment and Business Climate Survey May, 2014

ADVANCED MANUFACTURING

SOFTWARE/TELCOM

TOURISM

In partnership with Center for Governmental Research and the Rochester Business Journal

HEALTHCARE/LIFE SCIENCES

OPTICS/PHOTONICS/IMAGING AGRICULTURE/FOOD

Rochester Area Skill Needs Assessment and Business Climate Survey i

Rochester Area Skill Needs Assessment and Business Climate Survey May, 2014 P URPOSE The mission of the Monroe Community College (MCC) division of Economic Development and Innovative Workforce Services (EDIWS) is to: • actively create and promote a robust applied-STEM, career and technical education, and middle-skills career pathway system; • support investment in curricula and equipment for academic, career and technical education, and industry targeted programming; • proactively address the shortage in educational pipeline (future workforce) and the skills gaps in the existing workforce; and to • outreach to Rochester business and industry in an aggressive and pervasive way. In support of this mission, the division for Economic Development and Innovative Workforce Services has established a communication “channel” that can be characterized as both proactive and systemic in pursuing relationships with appropriate contacts within industry. This channel, referred to as the MCC Business and Industry Database, currently includes approximately 3,400 area businesses, and is made up of appropriate and qualified contacts at each targeted organization that have “opted-in” to receive select communications from the college including: grant participation; participating in credit and non-credit industry training opportunities; serving on advisory boards and focus groups; involvement in student work cooperatives; and staying informed of relevant industry career and technical programs available at the college from which to recruit their future workforce. The MCC Business and Industry Database opt-in list is used for the Rochester Area Skill Needs Assessment and Business Climate Surveys .

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Rochester Area Skill Needs Assessment and Business Climate Survey ii

S UMMARY The Rochester Area Skill Needs Assessment and Business Climate Survey, represents the biannual survey effort by Monroe Community College’s (MCC) Economic Development and Innovative Workforce Services (EDIWS) division aimed at generating better area labor market information. The data collected will inform training programs, grant strategies, address local worker pipeline deficits, and help put displaced workers back to work. The first administration of the survey was in March of 2013, MCC surveyed businesses on the topics of business climate, skill needs, and training. The report was released with the initial findings in September of 2013 1 . In December of 2013, MCC surveyed businesses once again asking questions that covered workforce skills needs and general questions about the business climate with a special emphasis on health care. Twenty-nine questions were asked in total and can be found in the Appendix section of this report. Respondents to the survey totaled 400 across the local employment size spectrum. Specific results for health care are included in several sections of the report. Key Findings Key findings of the survey include: • Businesses are feeling less optimistic about the region. Fewer respondents view current and future business conditions as optimistically as in the previous survey. • Employers are looking to hold the line with their current workforce. Fewer employers are planning to hire than in the previous survey. However, the number of employers looking to reduce the size of their workforce has decreased. • There are roughly 26,000 positions that are chronically difficult to fill in the Finger Lakes Region. Similar to the previous administration of the survey, this represents less than 5% of the total occupied positions. Most respondents look locally to fill these positions. They estimate a 20% or less increase in pay would be enough incentive to fill most of these positions. Unfilled positions impact employers by requiring them to pay overtime and training costs to support their existing workforce in making up the difference. • Health care related employers will be training their workforce on-site with internal staff. Ninety percent of respondents indicated they would be providing training to their existing workforce in the next year. The three most frequently cited areas of training need include quality, customer service, and HIPAA compliance.

1 See “Rochester Area Skill Needs Assessment and Business Climate Survey” report published by the Economic Development and Innovative Workforce Services department of Monroe Community college for a full discussion.

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Acknowledgements This survey was sponsored by Monroe Community College’s Economic Development and Innovative Workforce Services (EDIWS) division, under the leadership of the division vice president Todd Oldham. Members of the MCC staff and faculty contributed to this project. Special acknowledgement goes to Angel Andreu, Director of Institutional Research, and Kristin Sine-Kinz, Marketing Manager. Project Director, Kent Gardner, Ph.D., Chief Economist for the Center for Governmental Research. Michael Silva supported Dr. Gardner with survey development, administration and analysis. Paul Ericson, Editor and Vice President for the Rochester Business Journal, offered valuable advice on survey design and administration and facilitated access to RBJ’s survey pool.

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T ABLE OF C ONTENTS Purpose ..................................................................................................................................... i Summary .................................................................................................................................. ii Key Findings ........................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................iii Table of Contents.....................................................................................................................iv Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 1 The Middle-Skills Gap ............................................................................................................................ 1 Finger Lakes’ Middle-Skills Workers ...................................................................................................... 1 Methodology............................................................................................................................. 2 Data Collection ....................................................................................................................................... 3 Respondent Profile ................................................................................................................................. 3 Findings.................................................................................................................................... 4 Business Climate .................................................................................................................................... 4 Employment............................................................................................................................................ 8 Chronically Difficult to Fill Positions........................................................................................................ 9 How many positions are chronically difficult to fill?.......................................................................... 9 Which occupations are in short supply? .......................................................................................... 9 All Respondents ........................................................................................................................ 9 Health Care Respondents ....................................................................................................... 11 What training is required for these positions?................................................................................ 11 What are firms doing to fill the positions? ...................................................................................... 14 Could the skills gap be the result of not enough pay? ................................................................... 14 How are firms affected by this problem?........................................................................................ 15 Employee Training - Health Care Related Only ................................................................................... 16 Who provides training? .................................................................................................................. 16 What subject does the training cover?........................................................................................... 16 In what setting was the training provided?..................................................................................... 17 What is the preferred training setting? ........................................................................................... 18 Appendix .................................................................................................................................19 Survey Result Tables ........................................................................................................................... 19 Health Care Related Respondents Only .............................................................................................. 32 Survey Instrument................................................................................................................................. 52 Rochester Business Index.................................................................................................................... 64

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I NTRODUCTION The Middle-Skills Gap

There has been much written about what is termed the “middle-skills gap.” Although definitions vary, “middle-skills” are thought of as positions requiring some postsecondary education and training, but do not require a four year college degree. A recent Harvard Business Review article 1 found nearly half of new job openings from 2010 through 2020 will be middle-skills positions in fields such as computer technology, nursing, and high-skill manufacturing. However, New York’s Forgotten Middle-Skill Jobs 2 report cautions sole dependence on the next generation to fill gaps, stating the following: “The fact is that nearly two-thirds of the people who will be in New York’s workforce in the year 2025 were already working adults in 2010—long past the traditional high school-to-college pipeline.” Finger Lakes’ Middle-Skills Workers 3 Economic Modeling Specialists International (hereafter EMSI) employs state and federal collection and reporting of jobs by industry together with a “mapping” of occupation to industry to estimate total jobs by occupation. These jobs are further classified according to the level of training required—from brief, on-the-job training to graduate studies. We have mapped the level of training into low, middle and high-skill according to the following:

Table 1: Level of training related to skill level Level of Training

Skill Level

Short-term on-the-job training

Low-Skill

Work experience in a related occupation Moderate-term on-the-job training Postsecondary non-degree award

Middle-Skills Middle-Skills Middle-Skills Middle-Skills Middle-Skills High-Skills High-Skills High-Skills High-Skills High-Skills

Associate's degree

Long-term on-the-job training

Bachelor's degree

Bachelor's or higher degree, plus work experience

Master's degree

First professional degree

Doctoral degree

1 Who Can Fix the "Middle-Skills" Gap? by Thomas Kochan, David Finegold, and Paul Osterman. Harvard Business Review December 2012 2 New York’s Forgotten Middle-Skill Jobs by National Skills Coalition, Washington, DC March 2011 3 Monroe Community College is a significant participant in the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council, figures reported here are for the nine county Finger Lakes region: Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Wayne, Wyoming, and Yates counties.

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Chart 1 portrays the share of jobs in the Finger Lakes by “low,” “middle” and “high” skill.

Chart 1

Over a third of the jobs in the Finger Lakes area are middle-skills jobs.

Table 2: Jobs in the Finger Lakes area by skill level, select years Number of Jobs (1000s)

Change in Jobs

2002

2012

2022 2001-2012 2012-2022

High-Skills Middle-Skills

128 225 238

130 214 243

142 227 261

2%

9% 6% 7%

-5%

Low-Skills

2%

Source: CGR Calculations using EMSI data

EMSI’s occupational forecast over the next ten years indicates middle-skills jobs shrinking as a share of the total. EMSI does not forecast a rise in total employment, including the total number of middle-skills jobs. Based on EMSI’s wage data, a middle-skills job pays on average $43,000 a year. This is 167% of what an average low-skill job would pay and 58% of the average high-skill job. Middle-skills workers earn between $14,000 and $124,000 a year. M ETHODOLOGY For this survey, Monroe Community College employed the MCC Business and Industry opt-in database. The survey was delivered to 2,408 business contacts, and the total distribution by REDC industry sectors is as follows:

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Rochester Area Skill Needs Assessment and Business Climate Survey 3

Advanced Manufacturing

33%

Agriculture/Food

4% 2%

Business Software/Telecom Healthcare/Life Sciences Optics, Photonics, Imaging

12%

3%

Tourism Unknown

25% 20%

The RBJ list was drawn from its database of print edition subscribers and others who have registered to receive the RBJ Daily Report or other e-newsletters. The database is dynamic, with some people joining or opting out daily. Data Collection Survey questions fell into the topics of business climate, skill needs, and training. Seventeen questions were asked in total. MCC collected the data via an online survey instrument. The survey instrument appears in the Appendix. Respondent Profile There were 400 respondents from across the size spectrum, up from 338 respondents when the survey was first given last year. Chart 2 indicates the self-reported size.

Table 3: Survey respondents by self-reported size Number Employed Locally

Respondents

50 and under

200

50%

51 to 100 101 to 500

25 49 28 98

6%

12%

>500

7%

Unknown

25%

Total

400

100%

Chart 2

Number Employed Locally - All Respondents

Unknown 25%

50 and under 50%

400

>500 7%

101 to 500 12%

51 to 100 6%

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In this administration of the survey, respondents were asked if they were from a health care related organization, with 32 respondents self-identified as such. These respondents were the focus of specific health care related questions. Chart 3 indicates the specific health care sectors represented by the respondents, and Chart 4 indicates the self-reported size.

Chart 3

Hospital 3% Unknown 9% Health Care Related Organizations

Long Term Care Facility 16%

Other 25%

32

Office of Physician 6%

Health Insurer 13%

Office of Other Health Care Practitioner 28%

Chart 4

Number Employed Locally - Health Care Related Respondents

Unknown 9%

50 and under 53%

>500 19%

32

101 to 500 9%

51 to 100 10%

F INDINGS Business Climate

The respondents were less optimistic about the business climate than they were in the previous survey. When asked to rate the Rochester region as a place for their business to succeed, 33%

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were positive (45% in the previous survey), while 33% were negative (12% in the previous survey). Overall respondents were also less optimistic about the future business climate: 35% expect the Rochester business climate to improve in the next few years (44% in the previous survey) while 30% expect decline (20% in the previous survey).

Chart 5

Rochester's Business Climate - All Respondents

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Positive/Improving

Neutral

Negative/Declining

Current

Future

The health care related respondents are not as positive about the current business climate. Only 13% were positive about current conditions, compared to 33% overall. They were also less optimistic about the future conditions.

Chart 6

Rochester's Business Climate - Health Care Related Respondents

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Positive/Improving

Neutral

Negative/Declining

Current

Future

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Chart 7

Positive Business Climate Sentiment

10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

0% 5%

Current

Future

All Respondents

Health Care Related

State and local economic development policy/programs are viewed as the greatest hindrance to business. The quality of health care continues to be the greatest support to business.

Chart 8

Supports or Hinders Business? - All Respondents

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Labor SKILLS

Labor SUPPLY

Labor COST

Health Care QUALITY

Health Care COST

EconDev NYS

EconDev Local

Supports Hinders

The health care related respondents viewed the local labor as a greater support than all respondents. They also viewed local economic development as a greater hindrance.

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Chart 9

Supports or Hinders Business? - Health Care Related Respondents

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Labor SKILLS

Labor SUPPLY

Labor COST

Health Care QUALITY

Health Care COST

EconDev NYS

EconDev Local

Supports Hinders

State regulation and local taxes were viewed as the strongest hindrance. The hindrance of New York State taxes is viewed as more modest than in the previous survey. NYS and local regulations combined make up more of a hindrance than NYS and local taxes.

Chart 10

Rochester's Business Regulations - All Respondents

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Strong Hindrance

Modest hindrance

Little or No Hindrance

NYS Taxes

Local Taxes

NYS Regulation Local Regulation

The health care related respondents indicated the skill level, supply, and cost of local labor are a support to the success of their business. They viewed state and local economic development policies/programs as the greatest hindrance to their success.

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Chart 11

Rochester's Business Regulations - Health Care Related Respondents

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Strong Hindrance

Modest hindrance

Little or No Hindrance

NYS Taxes

Local Taxes

NYS Regulation Local Regulation

Employment The region’s employment outlook could be summed up as maintaining the status quo . Most respondent firms intend to maintain current levels of employment, with more intending to increase rather than decrease their workforce in the future.

Chart 12

Rochester's Employment Outlook - All Respondents

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Increase

Remained the Same

Decrease

Current

Future

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Chart 13

Rochester's Employment Outlook - Health Care Related Respondents

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Increase

Remained the Same

Decrease

Current

Future

The health care related respondents indicate less optimism for employment outlook (Chart 12). The share of respondents who expect to experience a reduction of their workforce in the future is higher than all the respondents (Chart 13). Chronically Difficult to Fill Positions How many positions are chronically difficult to fill? How many positions would businesses like to fill, but can’t due to a scarcity of qualified candidates? More than half of the respondents indicated they had at least one position that is chronically hard to fill. Survey respondents reported approximately 900 positions as chronically difficult to fill. The sample size in the two surveys is not large enough to support an assessment of whether this number is rising or falling. To estimate the total number of unfilled positions across the entire economy, responses were averaged by size class, and then the unfilled positions were extrapolated to the entire economy based on the distribution of firms by size. This is a very rough approach to estimation. If correct, then the number of persistently unfilled positions in the Finger Lakes area would be about 26,000 across a range of occupations, something less than 5% of total occupied positions. The estimation would be more reliable if the survey respondents were a representative cross-section of the economy. Which occupations are in short supply? All Respondents The respondents indicated the number of positions that are chronically difficult to fill, including identification of up to five specific roles. Each occupation was weighted by the total share of the stated chronically unfilled jobs (i.e. if they said there were 10 chronically unfilled jobs and gave 5 occupations, each occupation was counted as 2 chronically unfilled jobs). Based on the survey

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responses the following graphics summarize the occupations. The size of the text relates to the number of positions 2 . The graphic below illustrates all responses except health care.

Positions named by respondents were mapped into occupational groups. The following table summarizes what share of the estimated chronically difficult positions exist by category:

Table 4 Occupational Groups Production Occupations

Share of Positions

19% 12% 10%

Architecture and Engineering Occupations Construction and Extraction Occupations

Sales and Related Occupations

8% 6% 6% 6% 5% 5% 4% 4% 3% 3% 2% 2% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1%

Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations Transportation and Material Moving Occupations

Management Occupations

Computer and Mathematical Occupations Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations Business and Financial Operations Occupations Office and Administrative Support Occupations Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations Personal Care and Service Occupations Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations

Healthcare Support Occupations

Community and Social Services Occupations

Legal Occupations

Education, Training, and Library Occupations

Protective Service Occupations

Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations

0.4% 0.2%

2 The frequent mention of “CNC machinist” likely reflects sample bias

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Health Care Respondents More than half of the health care related respondents indicated they had at least one position that is chronically difficult to fill. The health care occupations in short supply are summarized in the graphic below:

Once again these positions in the graphic above were mapped into occupational groups. The following table summarizes what share of the estimated chronically difficult positions exist by category:

Table 5 Occupational Groups

Share of Positions

Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations

26% 25% 17%

Computer and Mathematical Occupations Personal Care and Service Occupations

Healthcare Support Occupations Sales and Related Occupations

9% 6% 4% 3% 3% 3% 2% 2% 1% 1%

Office and Administrative Support Occupations Community and Social Services Occupations Business and Financial Operations Occupations Architecture and Engineering Occupations

Management Occupations Production Occupations

Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations

Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations

What training is required for these positions? CGR matched up the occupations with EMSI occupational data for the purpose of summarizing unfilled positions by skill level. Most of the persistently unfilled positions are in occupations that could be considered middle-skill which require some postsecondary education and training, but do not require a four year college degree. However, this estimation would be more reliable if the survey respondents were a representative cross-section of the economy, although we believe that these figures are credible.

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Chart 14

Chronically Difficult Jobs to Fill by Skill Level - All Respondents

Low-Skill 19%

High-Skill 31%

Middle-Skill 50%

Health care related occupations tended to need a higher level of skill.

Chart 15

Chronically Difficult Jobs to Fill by Skill Level - Health Care Related Respondents

Low-Skill 8%

High-Skill 44%

Middle-Skill 48%

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Chart 16

Chronically Difficult Jobs to Fill by Skill Level

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

High-Skill

Middle-Skill

Low-Skill

All Respondents

Health Care Related

Each occupation was also paired with the type of training required. Most of the chronically difficult to fill positions require short or moderate-term on-the-job training. 53% of all of these positions typically require only on-the-job training, and 47% require some postsecondary schooling. So employers will need to provide the training to solve the problem.

Chart 17

Type of Education and Training Needed for Chronically Difficult to Fill Jobs - All Respondents

Associate's degree Bachelor's degree Bachelor's or higher, plus work experience Master's degree First professional degree

Long-term on-the-job training Postsecondary non-degree award

Work experience in a related occupation Short-term on-the-job training Moderate-term on-the-job training

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

Health care related respondents indicated that most of their chronically difficult to fill positions require a bachelors or short-term on-the-job training. As previously noted the amount of skill these health care related occupations is higher and because they require a higher degree of training.

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Chart 18

Type of Education and Training Needed for Chronically Difficult to Fill Jobs - Health Care Related Respondents

Associate's degree Bachelor's degree Bachelor's or higher degree, plus work experience Master's degree First professional degree

Long-term on-the-job training Postsecondary non-degree award

Work experience in a related occupation Short-term on-the-job training Moderate-term on-the-job training

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

What are firms doing to fill the positions? When faced with these chronically difficult to fill positions, employers begin their search close to home and then look outward. They rarely look outside the region for workers. 71% of respondents indicated that they do not pay relocation expenses.

Chart 19

Where Do You Look? - All Respondents

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Post Internally

Advertise Locally

Public Agency

Reg'l Placement Firm

Nat'l Placement Firm

Job Website

Advertise Reg'ly

Advertise Nat'ly

Often Rarely Never

Could the skills gap be the result of not enough pay? When asked how much more they would have to pay to find the workers, over two-thirds of respondents indicated that an increase of 20% or less would be needed. This suggests that the “skills gap” is only partly a labor force problem and is also related to the competitive position of

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the respondent firms. This explains why small firms are more likely to indicate that they have “persistently unfilled positions.”

Chart 20

How Much More Pay is Needed? - All Respondents

More than 50% 3%

20-50% 29%

Up to 20% 68%

How are firms affected by this problem? The survey suggests two strategies employed by firms in dealing with chronically unfilled positions: 1) to provide training to existing workers that lack the required skill set; 2) pay overtime to existing employees that possess the skills needed to do business. Respondents indicated that it hadn’t been necessary to delay worker retirement, and 57% indicated never needing to turn down business.

Chart 21

What's the Impact? - All Respondents

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Turn Down Business

Extend Delivery Schedule

Pay Overtime Retain Retirees

Train Existing (Internal)

Train Existing (Contract)

Often Rarely Never

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Employee Training - Health Care Related Only Only firms self-identified as being a health care related organization answered the following questions. Who provides training? Health care related respondents indicated that when providing training, it is provided by internal staff.

Chart 22

Who Provided the Training? - Health Care Related Respondents

Contract Trainer 29%

Internal Staff 71%

What subject does the training cover? Quality and customer service training are the types of training most frequently offered. If training is delivered by a contract trainer, the respondents indicate that the training topic is most often leadership. Leadership is the only topic respondents indicated as more likely to be delivered by a contract trainer, rather than internal staff.

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Chart 23

Type of Formal Training Delivered by Type of Trainer - Health Care Related Respondents

Reading, writing, & verbal Mathematical Computer Literacy/Information Technology

Electronic Health Records Medical Billing & Coding HIPAA compliance Supervisory/Management Quality Problem solving/decision making Leadership Sales Customer Service Safety Other

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Internal Staff

Contract Trainer

In what setting was the training provided? Health care related respondents indicate that when they provide formal training it is usually done on-site, and delivered by a trained leader. A regular college course is not the preferred setting.

Chart 24

Formal Training Setting Used - Health Care Related Respondents

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

On-site class Computer (online)

Computer (not online)

Off-site seminar

Multi-session course

College course

Often Rarely Never

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By observing the training settings most often used they are generally in order from the least expensive to the most. This suggests, as was observed in the previous survey, that training is an expense employers are trying to minimize. What is the preferred training setting? The health care related respondents indicated their strongest preference is for on-site classes. College courses are once again not viewed as a preferred setting for training.

Chart 25

Formal Training Preferences - Health Care Related Respondents

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

On-site class Computer (online)

Computer (not online)

Off-site seminar

Multi-session course

College course

Strongly Prefer

Prefer

Slight or No Preference

Health care related respondents indicated that they use online computer training often however it is not strongly preferred. Other training settings are generally provided in manner consistent with the respondents’ preferences.

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A PPENDIX Survey Result Tables How would you currently rate the Rochester region as a place for your business to succeed?

Respondents

Positive

Neutral

Negative

Respondents

Positive

Neutral

Negative

Survey Date

December 2013

March 2013

Total

384

33%

34%

33%

334

54%

34%

12%

Size Breakout 50 & Under

200

36% 36% 16% 11% 41%

39% 24% 41% 21% 28%

26% 40% 43% 68% 30%

194

53% 55% 58% 61%

32% 36% 39% 29% 33%

14%

51 to 100 101 to 500

25 49 28 82

47 59 31

9% 3%

>500

10% 67%

Unknown Size

3

0%

Health Care Related

32

13%

41%

47%

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

As a place for your business to succeed, will the Rochester region improve or decline over the next few years?

Respondents

Improve Neutral Decline Respondents Improve Neutral Decline

Survey Date

December 2013

March 2013

Total

380

35%

35%

30%

334

44%

36%

20%

Size Breakout 50 & Under

197

34% 44% 43% 32% 31% 32%

35% 28% 35% 39% 36% 35%

31% 28% 22% 29% 33% 32%

194

44% 34% 51% 52%

34% 49% 27% 39%

22% 17% 22% 10%

51 to 100 101 to 500

25 49 28 81 31

47 59 31

>500

Unknown Size

3

0%

100%

0%

Health Care Related

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

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Do these aspects of the Rochester region business environment support or hinder the success of your business? Local labor skills

Respondents Support Neutral

Hinder

Respondents Support Neutral

Hinder

Survey Date

December 2013

March 2013

Total

381

48%

27%

25%

321

55%

23%

22%

Size Breakout 50 & Under

198

21% 52% 55% 39% 49% 59%

32%

47% 40% 24% 46% 23% 25%

186

54% 52% 51% 72% 67% N/A

27% 20% 18%

19% 28% 32% 21%

51 to 100 101 to 500

25 49 28 81 32

8%

46 57 29

20% 14% 27% 16%

>500

7%

Unknown Size

3

33% N/A

0%

Health Care Related

N/A

N/A

Local labor supply

Respondents Support Neutral

Hinder

Respondents Support Neutral

Hinder

Survey Date

December 2013

March 2013

Total

381

43%

30%

27%

333

50%

25%

26%

Size Breakout 50 & Under

199

27% 36% 47% 46% 38% 47%

29% 32% 29% 18% 39% 25%

45% 32% 24% 36% 24% 28%

195

47% 48% 52% 65%

30% 22% 17% 10%

23% 30% 31% 26%

51 to 100 101 to 500

25 49 28 80 32

46 58 31

>500

Unknown Size

3

100%

0%

0%

Health Care Related

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Local labor costs

Respondents Support Neutral

Hinder

Respondents Support Neutral

Hinder

Survey Date

December 2013

March 2013

Total

378

44%

35%

21%

321

45%

33%

22%

Size Breakout 50 & Under

198

24% 28% 59% 57% 50% 55%

38% 48% 20% 32% 32% 23%

38% 24% 20% 11% 18% 23%

186

38% 50% 51% 66%

38% 28% 33% 10%

24% 22% 16% 24%

51 to 100 101 to 500

25 49 28 78 31

46 57 29

>500

Unknown Size

3

100%

0%

0%

Health Care Related

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

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Local health care quality

Respondents Support Neutral

Hinder

Respondents Support Neutral

Hinder

Survey Date

December 2013

March 2013

Total

377

66%

23%

11%

333

69%

23%

8%

Size Breakout 50 & Under

196

10% 75% 65% 68% 74% 78%

28% 17% 24% 14% 15%

62%

194

66% 72% 66% 84% 67% N/A

28% 22% 15% 13%

5% 7%

51 to 100 101 to 500

24 49 28 80 32

8%

46 59 31

10% 18% 11% 13%

19%

>500

3%

Unknown Size

3

0%

33% N/A

Health Care Related

9%

N/A

N/A

Local health care cost

Respondents Support Neutral

Hinder

Respondents Support Neutral

Hinder

Survey Date

December 2013

March 2013

Total

380

29%

31%

39%

332

22%

26%

52%

Size Breakout 50 & Under

198

40% 20% 29% 39% 38% 31%

34% 36% 20% 39% 28% 34%

26% 44% 51% 21% 35% 34%

193

23% 21% 14% 35% 33% N/A

25% 26% 28% 32% 33% N/A

52% 53% 59% 32% 33% N/A

51 to 100 101 to 500

25 49 28 80 32

47 58 31

>500

Unknown Size

3

Health Care Related

N/A

State economic development policy/programs

Respondents Support Neutral

Hinder

Respondents Support Neutral

Hinder

Survey Date

December 2013

March 2013

Total

378

16%

33%

51%

335

19%

35%

46%

Size Breakout 50 & Under

199

54% 25% 15% 11% 16% 19%

29% 38% 44% 37% 33% 28%

17% 38% 42% 52% 51% 53%

195

17% 19% 31% 10% 33% N/A

33% 45% 25% 48%

49% 36% 44% 42% 67% N/A

51 to 100 101 to 500

24 48 27 80 32

47 59 31

>500

Unknown Size

3

0%

Health Care Related

N/A

N/A

Monroe Community College Center for Governmental Research Rochester Business Journal

Rochester Area Skill Needs Assessment and Business Climate Survey 22

Local economic development policy/programs

Respondents Support Neutral

Hinder

Respondents Support Neutral

Hinder

Survey Date

December 2013

March 2013

Total

377

23%

35%

42%

327

29%

40%

31%

Size Breakout 50 & Under

198

44% 22% 23% 14% 23% 25%

31% 43% 40% 43% 39% 25%

25% 35% 38% 43% 39% 50%

189

27% 24% 36% 32% 67% N/A

40% 52% 38% 35%

33% 24% 26% 32% 33% N/A

51 to 100 101 to 500

23 48 28 80 32

46 58 31

>500

Unknown Size

3

0%

Health Care Related

N/A

N/A

How much do taxes & regulation hinder the competitiveness of your business? NYS taxes

December 2013

Respondents

Strong Hindrance

Modest Hindrance

Little or No Hindrance

Total

377

23%

39%

39%

Size Breakout 50 & Under

197

64% 63% 73% 71% 71% 55%

18% 17% 15% 14% 13% 16%

18% 21% 13% 14% 16% 29%

51 to 100 101 to 500

24 48 28 80 31

>500

Unknown Size

Health Care Related

March 2013

Respondents

Strong Hindrance

Modest Hindrance

Little or No Hindrance

Total

375

59%

17%

24%

Size Breakout 50 & Under

222

59% 50% 56% 64% 53%

18% 21% 21% 12% 19%

24% 29% 23% 24% 28%

51 to 100 101 to 500

57 58 36

>500

Unknown Size

2

Monroe Community College Center for Governmental Research Rochester Business Journal

Rochester Area Skill Needs Assessment and Business Climate Survey 23

Local taxes

December 2013

Respondents

Strong Hindrance

Modest Hindrance

Little or No Hindrance

Total

376

54%

27%

19%

Size Breakout 50 & Under

197

55% 46% 56% 52% 54% 39%

22% 33% 33% 26% 31% 23%

23% 21% 10% 22% 15% 39%

51 to 100 101 to 500

24 48 27 80 31

>500

Unknown Size

Health Care Related

March 2013

Respondents

Strong Hindrance

Modest Hindrance

Little or No Hindrance

Total

407

38%

27%

36%

Size Breakout 50 & Under

240

38% 37% 36% 42% 33%

27% 26% 26% 24% 33%

35% 37% 38% 34% 33%

51 to 100 101 to 500

57 69 38

>500

Unknown Size

3

State regulation

December 2013

Respondents

Strong Hindrance

Modest Hindrance

Little or No Hindrance

Total

376

63%

20%

17%

Size Breakout 50 & Under

197

62% 56% 75% 81% 56% 69%

16% 28% 15% 15% 30%

22% 16% 10%

51 to 100 101 to 500

25 48 26 80 32

>500

4%

Unknown Size

14% 22%

Health Care Related

9%

March 2013

Respondents

Strong Hindrance

Modest Hindrance

Little or No Hindrance

Total

382

57%

18%

26%

Size Breakout 50 & Under

231

51% 52% 65% 87%

20% 20% 13%

29% 29% 22% 10%

51 to 100 101 to 500

56 63 30

>500

3% 0%

Unknown Size

2

100%

0%

Monroe Community College Center for Governmental Research Rochester Business Journal

Rochester Area Skill Needs Assessment and Business Climate Survey 24

Local regulation

December 2013

Respondents

Strong Hindrance

Modest Hindrance

Little or No Hindrance

Total

375

39%

35%

26%

Size Breakout 50 & Under

196

40% 28% 49% 48% 31% 41%

30% 36% 38% 33% 46% 19%

30% 36% 13% 19% 23% 41%

51 to 100 101 to 500

25 47 27 80 32

>500

Unknown Size

Health Care Related

March 2013

Respondents

Strong Hindrance

Modest Hindrance

Little or No Hindrance

Total

400

31%

26%

43%

Size Breakout 50 & Under

238

28% 33% 29% 52% 33%

28% 23% 26% 12% 33%

44% 44% 45% 36% 33%

51 to 100 101 to 500

57 69 33

>500

Unknown Size

3

During 2013, employment at your company has

Responde nts

Increas ed

Remained the Same

Decreas ed

Responde nts

Increas ed

Remained the Same March 2013

Decreas ed

Survey Date

December 2013

Total

380

34%

44%

22%

330

37%

44%

19%

Size Breakout 50 & Under

198

28% 38% 53% 43%

51% 29% 37% 25%

21% 33% 10% 32%

191

31% 47% 51% 37%

35% 38% 42% 27%

54% 15%

51 to 100 101 to 500

24 49 28

47 59 30

7%

>500

37%

Unknown

Size

81

32%

44%

23%

3

0%

33%

67%

Health Care Related

31

26%

48%

26%

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Monroe Community College Center for Governmental Research Rochester Business Journal