Annual Housing Survey: Worker Housing Situation Continues to Worsen

The Whitefish Chamber of Commerce and Housing Whitefish recently conducted the 2023 Workforce Housing Survey. The survey’s goal was to better understand how housing issues are impacting our local employers. The results of the survey point to a continued challenge for businesses, with close to half of respondents saying housing is the most critical problem in the area. In total, there were sixty-five responses from local businesses.

Compared to last year's survey, this year’s results indicate businesses are taking on a bigger burden in helping their employees find housing. When asked how they are assisting employees with housing challenges, there was an increase in businesses helping employees find housing. On top of that, more employers are providing sign-on bonuses, salary stipends, and paying higher wages than nearby communities for the same or similar jobs.

Another challenge the survey identified is around recruitment and retainment of employees. Sixty-six percent of businesses that responded indicated they either lost employees or had job offers refused because they could not find adequate housing, a 17% increase from last year. Similarly, 61% of respondents revealed they either lost employees or had job offers refused due to the cost-of-living being too high in the area, an increase in 37% from 2022.

Some things have stayed the same. For one, the desire for our local workforce to live where they work. In both 2022 & 2023 over 70% of employers indicated that their employees living outside of the Whitefish zip code would prefer to live in or nearer to Whitefish if housing they could afford was available.

Here are some other highlights from the 2023 survey:

·       Close to 50% of respondents said that housing was the most critical problem in the area.

·       80% of respondents indicated that their ability to recruit and retain employees has gotten harder in the last 3 years.

·       73% of respondents said that it was either very or extremely difficult to for their year-round employees to find housing in Whitefish, while 81% said it was very or extremely difficult for their seasonal employees to find housing in Whitefish.

·       46% of respondents only 0-20% of their employees live in Whitefish. Only 6% of businesses that responded have 81-100% of their employees living in Whitefish.

·       68% of respondents indicated that multi-family apartments with 3+ units in a building would be most helpful in attracting and keeping employees.

·       81% of respondents said that they hear about housing issues from their employees.

·       75% of respondents said they pay higher wages than nearby communities for the same or similar jobs.

For full survey results, please contact Daniel Sidder, Executive Director of Housing Whitefish at daniel@housingwhitefish.org.