Why did you quit?
Hundreds of people each year file through the PA CareerLink offices in Downtown, where job-seekers can find state-funded computer labs and classrooms with programs to connect them with employers.
Over a period of several weeks earlier this year, Ms. Krofcheck and a researcher, Edgar Largaespada, stopped by to find people who had quit their jobs without having another lined up.
The researchers asked a simple question: Why?
Gathering about 400 anonymous responses from 30 focus groups, they published a report in October that peeled back answers to a trend that takes people out of the labor force in large numbers.
People who quit their job with nothing else lined up — roughly 87,000 in Pittsburgh every quarter, according to Partner4Work — talked about high-stress environments, getting injured and being unable to return, getting fed up with long bus rides, family members getting sick.
The report, called “Resignation: Understanding Why Workers Choose Non-Employment,” hits at the heart of what Partner4Work is trying to do: tell the stories of people forgotten by the positive Pittsburgh narrative.
Ms. Krofcheck also has begun pulling information from the state’s unemployment insurance program that sends checks to jobless residents for up to 26 weeks.
By analyzing the numbers, big questions can be answered about average Pittsburghers: What does their career look like? How many jobs have they held, and how long have these jobs lasted? How likely are they to get the next job? Who has more success: people who have more jobs and shorter tenures or people who have fewer jobs and longer tenures?
Partner4Work has released several reports this year that shine a light on the concerns of workers: People who obtained commercial drivers licenses talked about the freedom of the open road but worry that autonomous cars could put them out of work. Older workers shared their frustrations with being treated by hiring managers as overqualified and slow learners.
Though the nation’s some 500 regional workforce boards have access to such information, it’s rare that they analyze it, said Bryan Wilson, director of the Workforce Data Quality Campaign, a Washington, D.C.-based initiative that, among other things, helps states better use labor data.
“There are gaps in what data is collected,” Mr. Wilson said. “There’s a lack of tools that analyze how the supply of skilled workers matches the employer demand — if enough students are graduating from postsecondary programs compared Employment changes in the largest sectors — 5,000 or more employees — in the Pittsburgh region, by occupation, comparing 2013 and 2017:
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
with the number of job openings.”
Ms. Krofcheck’s report concluded with a message to Pittsburgh businesses: “Partner4Work is sharing these experiences to challenge the assumptions these job-seekers face from prospective employers who flag gaps in their resumes.”