With Fort Collins booming population, it's not surprising that we're one of the most desirable destinations for job seekers. According to an index released by the American Institute of Economic Research (AIER), the Fort Collins-Loveland metro is ranked as the 4th best "small" metro destination in the country for jobs. Coming in ahead of Fort Collins were Lincoln Nebraska at number 3, Bridgeport Connecticut at number 2 and Ann Arbor Michigan at number 1.

According to the index, The Fort Collins-Loveland area boasts a great quality of life, with a population that is educated, low unemployment, with loads of entertainment options.  Fort Collins showed a solid overall profile when compared to 20 other "small metros", ranking #1 in Bars and Resturants, #3 in Education, Arts and Entertainment, #8 in Rent (I find this difficult to believe). Showing up in the middle of the pack, Fort Collins-Loveland ranked #10 in Unemployment and Labor Force Participation, #11 in City Accessibility. Sadly, we ranked #18 in Diversity and #19 in Earnings. Overall, our area is attracting job seekers from across the country, and in many cases, this can be a major contributing factor to our current population boom. So while Fort Collins is ranked as the 4th most desirable place to work, this also translates into intense competition for jobs.

With the basic concept of supply and demand, just as home and rent prices are skyrocketing due to the lack of availability and the influx of new residents. The same thing can happen when it comes to jobs and wages. When there are more job seekers in an area then there are jobs, employers have their "pick of the litter." This means that those looking for work are competing against the best of the best, while employers can be more selective and pay less. Employers can be more frugal with their wages because they have a large pot of job seekers to choose from.

Employers can be more frugal with their wages because they have so many job seekers to choose from. While the best applicant may want an incredibly large salary, an employer can instead choose an applicant that may be slightly less experienced or effective, while paying them substantially less, because they are willing to take it, rather than be unemployed. This is evident in Fort Collins-Loveland ranking 19 our of 20 when it comes to earnings.

(Source: The Coloradoan)

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