Parker Poe Consulting's Mark Simmons and Azad Khan and Parker Poe attorney Sam Moses wrote in Area Development about how companies should balance their labor needs during the site selection process.

In today’s tight labor market, where unemployment rates are back to pre-pandemic lows of just under 4% nationally, companies are forced to dig into the data of the communities where they intend to set up operations," they wrote. "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."

Companies have various resources at their hands when it comes to learning more about the availability and quality of labor for their project. Using data, companies can get answers to questions like how many job applicants there are per job opening and how many potential job candidates there are in the workforce.

"Companies can use this granular data to draw several insights, including whether the size of the labor market has grown at a pace that’s faster than the national or state average," Sam, Mark, and Azad wrote. "If a company knows it needs machinists or engineers, for example, it can learn how many people with those skills are applying to those jobs in a given community."

Click here to read their article: How to Factor in Labor Needs While Selecting a Site for Expansion

Area Development is a magazine that covers corporate site selection and relocation. It serves an audience of approximately 44,000 business leaders and site selection professionals.

Mark, Azad, and Sam are part of Parker Poe's Business Expansion and Location Solutions (BELS) Team, which provides legal and location solutions for companies expanding their operations across the United States. In this collaborative model, experienced consultants provide data-driven location analysis, working alongside attorneys advising on legal strategy, to create a seamless and proven structure for successful expansion projects, with the added benefit of saving companies time and money.