Zingerman's Mail Order holiday hiring

Judi Wilcox, of Ann Arbor, ties a bow on an order before sending it to shipping at Zingerman's Mail Order on Thursday, December 1, 2016. Melanie Maxwell | The Ann Arbor News

(Melanie Maxwell)

Some areas of Michigan no longer await enough jobs for their workforce. Instead, hiring pressures in those area are starting to threaten the state's economic growth.

"I think we're getting to a critical juncture," said Roger Curtis, the state's director of Talent and Economic Development on Wednesday during an interview at the Mackinac Policy Conference.

Curtis said he's talked to some employers who are "turning away work now as we speak.

"They have expansion opportunities .. they are reluctant to take because they don't know if they can fulfill the obligations because they have so many openings."

The 100,000 estimate for open jobs comes in part from openings posted on the Pure Michigan Talent Connect website, which on May 31 listed 97,766 jobs available. Many of those positions represent skilled or management positions across a range of industries, leaving other hourly and part-time jobs uncounted.

Monthly employment data for Michigan released in late May showed an overall unemployment rate for the state of 3.7 percent. That compares to 4.5 percent a year earlier, when 81,000 fewer people were in the labor force - meaning that 94,000 more Michiganders were employed this spring.

The regional unemployment numbers range from a low of 2.2 percent in Ann Arbor, 2.4 percent in Grand Rapids and 2.9 percent in Lansing to 6.7 percent in Northeast Lower Michigan and 5.8 percent in the Upper Peninsula.

Meanwhile, as another sign of hiring pressure, five companies in Michigan were awarded expansion grants through the Michigan Strategic Fund - but requested in 2016 to reduce the amount following hiring challenges.

One of those, said Otie McKinley of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation in an email earlier this year, was Integrated Manufacturing & Assembly in Detroit. The project was reduced from 851 jobs to 566 jobs, McKinley said, and the grant amount was reduced from $4.6 million to $3.4 million.

Another company that struggled to hire even with the help of Michigan Works offices and Oakland County was Cosma, based in Oakland County's Lyon Township.

The original grant as announced by the MEDC in June 2015 was for $1.6 million dollars based on creation of 250 jobs. The amended grant, approved by MEDC in December 2016, is for $1.44 million based on creation of 225 jobs.

The company - a division of Magna International - was "having a very difficult time finding individuals to hire," according to MSF board minutes. The jobs includes skilled trades and factory work.

"Magna is proud of its partnership with Oakland County Michigan Works! and the entire Michigan Works! system," said Paul Myles, Magna senior manager, government workforce development and training programs, in a news release about the partnership. "We are working together to solve some of the most important workforce development challenges facing our industry."

Curtis said the state is looking for solutions. Some underemployed people could be tapped for better jobs, he suggested, while some retirees could possibly be lured back into the workplace, possibly to train new people.

A bigger-picture solution will come in June, Curtis said, when the TED and Department of Education will release a series of recommendations to increase career tech education - and, eventually fill more jobs.

Among many of the job openings are positions in the skilled trades - including tool & die and construction - and manufacturing-related positions that require some advanced training, such as robotics.

"We recognize we have two issues," Curtis said.

The first is the stigma against professional trades, which keeps some parents from encouraging their children to pursue those careers. The second is the educational system, which no longer offers career tech in many public school districts.

"This is a national issue," Curtis said.

Add the state's diversification from the auto industry to jobs in agriculture, aerospace, information technology, health care and cybersecurity creates some non-traditional openings in the state, he said.

The situation is enough to worry Curtis, who took over the TED office in November.

Creating more job opportunities in Michigan could be a slow-moving process, he said, but he's determined to speed it up.

"I want to move very fast," Curtis said. "Everywhere I go, every employer needs talent.

"Everyone has positions (open)," he continued, in such varied fields as manufacturing and health care. "There's such a huge demand."