National Association of Counties * Washington, D.C.            Vol. 32, No. 12 * June 26, 2000

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Beach Week Anyone?

THas your county had difficulty attracting and keeping good employees in certain positions? This is a national problem that is affecting not only local governments, but also many other businesses. In a recent article published in the May issue of American Demographics, employers are going to great lengths to recruit the newest college graduates. During spring break this year, many recruiters were setting up tents on the beach, hoping to get access to the “best and the brightest.” In Panama City, Fla., recruiters conducted a job fair at the beach. With private sector employers going to these extremes to recruit new hires, is it any wonder that counties are having trouble? Will we be able to attract these young people to the public sector?

The recent upswing in the country’s economy and the lowest unemployment rate in decades have all worked against county governments. Counties never offered high paying jobs as compared to the private sector, but could always point to the job benefits and excellent retirement programs as well as working in public service as an incentive to work for local government. Now, with younger people changing jobs an average of once every five years (more frequently in high demand fields associated with information technology) and private IRA accounts, stock portfolios, annuities and other personal retirement investments, those benefits are no longer great incentives to many people.

Studies are showing that even graduates with liberal arts degrees, which generally get the lowest starting salaries, are in a position to ask for higher salaries. The shortages in computer science and engineering are starting to leak over into other areas. Starting salaries for new graduates are moving higher and higher, with this year’s crop getting an average of nearly $5,000 more a year than last year’s.

These new college graduates are the first graduating class of Generation Y, all children of baby boomers who have had more advantages than many of this age group in the past. Also called “echo boomers,” they have reached maturity during the nine years that the economy has been strong and they are accustomed to many luxuries. Although these are the sons and daughters of boomers they are a much more diverse group and represent a wider diversity of races and ethnicity than baby boomers.

More are children of mixed marriages and have lived through divorces, drugs, gay lifestyles, guns and gangs. More of this generation have held part-time jobs in high school to buy the things they want rather than out of need. This is the generation that was raised on video games and PCs and helped their parents get on the Internet. This generation has no stereotypes about women in the workplace since all their lives, many have had working mothers. These young people also believe that education is the key to economic security and will continue to go to school for much of their lives.

Can local governments make public service attractive to “echo boomers” as a career option? That remains to be seen. Maybe county governments will have to market to them, much like the private sector has started doing. Beach week anyone?

(Research News was written by Jacqueline Byers, research director.)