How to Factor in Labor Needs While Selecting a Site for Expansion

Companies have a long list of factors to consider before building a new facility or expanding operations. How much available land is there? Are there utilities nearby to power the site? What’s the closest interstate and port to move our goods? But as unemployment rates have steadily dropped in the past decade — except for a two-year period during the COVID-19 pandemic — one factor has been climbing higher on this list: labor.

In today’s tight labor market, where unemployment rates are back to pre-pandemic lows of just under 4 percent nationally, companies are forced to dig into the data of the communities where they intend to set up operations. On top of questions like land availability, companies — including manufacturers — are forced to consider the labor needs question early on in the site selection process.

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