Mayor Sly James is partnering with When Work Works and other organizations to promote family-friendly workplace policies, such as paid parental leave and affordable childcare, to attract talent to the Kansas City, Miss. Metro region.
According to the January newsletter of the Regional Workforce Intelligence Network of Greater Kansas City (RWIN), the region’s unemployment rate dropped below 4 percent. Among its 14 peer metros, the city has the sixth-lowest unemployment rate1. However, employment remains flat as the number of available jobs grows each year. Today’s occupations in demand, according to RWIN’s website, are registered nurses, administrative assistance, sales representatives, project managers, and customer service representatives. And through 2017, RWIN is forecasting the most rapidly growing occupations to be financial specialists, health practitioners, business operations specialists, computer specialists, and sales representatives 2.
“When Work Works will advance innovative, family-friendly policies that will put Kansas City on the map as one of the best workplace communities in the nation,” James said in an announcement released from his office.
“We want to drive economic development by responding to workers’ needs,” said Wendy Doyle, chief executive officer of the Women’s Foundation, at the program launch3.
The program will provide workplace flexibility benchmarks and recognize exemplary employers through awards and community events. The coalition, which includes the Women’s Foundation, the Society for Human Resource Management of Greater Kansas City, the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, United Way of Greater Kansas City, and the Central Exchange are planning community outreach, workshops, and more, according to Mayor James’ office. The city will also host a Work Family Summit in May, but details are not yet finalized.
