Page 36 - AreaNewsletters "Jan'20" issue
P. 36

Wade’s
My goal in this monthly column is to inform our readers about current and planned changes going on around the Town of Castle Rock without making judgments or editorial comments.
Castle Rock is Now Hiring, or Maybe Not?
Have you noticed that just about everywhere you go in and around Castle
Rock and surrounding communities, there are “Help Wanted”, “We Are
Hiring”, signs posted on restaurant, businesses, and store front windows?
In the following, I’ll attempt to demonstrate why this phenomenon is
happening in our area and talk about the impact it is having to our community. According to data provided by the Colorado Department of Local A airs, Colorado is ranked 3rd in the nation for residents who are age 65 and older. In the years of 2015-2030, the 65 plus age group is projected to increase from 711,000 to 1,200,000 in Colorado. One major impact is the imbalance this creates for those who are in the labor force and those who are retired. In 2019, the median age in Douglas County is 40.1. This obviously creates an acute shortage of workers in the service and hospitality industries. Additionally, the abundance of 65 plus creates demands and added costs for healthcare, infrastructure/transportation, recreation, and helps drive up the costs for housing. Demographics of age matters since it impacts the local and state economy. Age impacts how town folks shop and recreate. Age impacts preferences, and what persons buy and do. Age places demands on what services are needed and o ered in the local community.
Low income individuals and families are already  nding it very challenging to  nd a ordable housing in Douglas County and Castle Rock. When striking a conversation with persons who work in our local restaurants and businesses, you will discover that more and more folks are commuting to Castle Rock. Some of those with whom I’ve talked to commute from Colorado Springs, Aurora, and communities along the I-25 corridor. It’s becoming increasing di cult to  nd workers who actually work and live in Castle Rock or in the community that they serve. Business owners, restaurants, and stores are experiencing continuous workforce shortages and/or turn-overs. There have been recent instances where fast food restaurants have had to temporarily close due to sta  shortages when they didn’t have enough employees to open the store. Hopefully, there already are local and state task-forces who are attempting to study and address these critical issues to lessen the impact that this will have on our communities. Here is some additional information speci c to our area:
• Douglas County grew 191 percent between 1990 and 2000 making it the fastest growing county in the U.S. in the decade.
• It grew another 63 percent from 2000 to 2007, ranking 11th nationally.
• Douglas County is rated as the ninth highest-income counties by median household income.
• Castle Rock’s population changed by 19.5 percent from 2010 to 2016 and another 5.1 percent from 2016 to 2017.
Wade A. Frary
What’sGoingOn
January 2020 • Castle Rock “AreaNewsletters” 36
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