Excerpted from Finance & Commerce, James Warden, October 24, 2014

"Minnesota retailers are facing the same looming labor shortage as other industries, but that doesn't yet appear to have caused stores to rush to hire, according to an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

Regional economist Toby Madden said Thursday in a speech that businesses have told him in interviews that finding good people is the biggest challenge they face. Demographers expect the issue to become more common as baby boomers leave the workforce faster than new workers replace them.

Madden's observations echo findings the Minnesota Retailers Association presented Thursday. More than 30 percent of retailers in a fall survey identified retail workforce as an obstacle to growth - the fourth biggest concern behind consumer spending, competition and regulations.

Yet less than 10 percent of the 100 to 200 retailers in the unscientific survey expect 2014 holiday hiring to be bigger than last year - well under the 60 percent who expect hiring to be the same. Meanwhile, nearly 30 percent expect to have the same number of workers but increase their hours.

The same survey found that 60 percent of retailers expect holiday sales to remain the same, compared with just more than 30 percent who expect growth in 2014 - almost an exact reversal of last year's numbers. Bruce Nustad, president of the trade group, blamed the modest expectations, in part, on continuing consumer worries about the economy.

Some businesses report more-acute labor shortages in pockets of the state that have seen demand from competing employers, such as in Rochester with the growing Mayo Clinic, he said.

Rick Lien, owner of the Rochester motorcycle dealership Cycle City, said he needs to add four to seven people to his 12-person store but can't find anyone with the skills for the positions, particularly workers with technical skills for his service department. That's forced him to look far beyond Rochester's city limits. His service writer travels 55 minutes from Harmony, Minnesota, and his sales manager travels 1� hours from just outside Decorah, Iowa. He hired his last two technicians from out-of-state. With companies like Mayo Clinic hiring, he said he doesn't have any other options."

Meet and hear an issue briefing from Karen Reardon, vice president of public affairs at RISE (Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment) regarding important public policy issues facing Minnesota retailers related to the chemical industry, both in Minnesota and around the country.

Agenda
- Briefing on the pollinator issue
- Proposed legislation across the U.S.
- How the issue impacts retailers
- Retailer reactions

Pollinator Legislation & Its Impact On Retailers: A Issue Briefing
Thursday, October 30
10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Free to attend. Non-members welcome. Pre-registration required. Dial-in option available. Please indicate your desire to dial-in when registering and you will be provided a call-in numbers via e-mail.

MnRA's RetailPlus+ Buying Group