Governor Phil Scott dedicated his weekly press conference to the ongoing state workforce challenges with Mathew Barewicz, Director of Economic and Labor Market Information, citing data that captures how dire the economic outlook is for workforce participation. Barewicz shared data highlighting the statewide labor shortage. In recent years there has been a more than 10% decline in labor force participation in more than half of Vermont counties. Six counties have declined by over 15%. Additional population data is expected to be released by the U.S. Census Bureau in the coming months.

Mathew Barewicz was a presenter at this year’s Vermont Economic Conference. His seminar, entitled “Where Did Vermont’s Workforce Go?” is available to view in full, here.