US: Study finds more of Napa’s workforce comes from outside county

(NBBJ) - Napa County increasingly draws its workforce from outside of the county, particularly in the wine and hospitality industries, according to a new study.

The study, by Sonoma State University Professor of Economics, and Frank Howard Allen Research Scholar Dr. Robert Eyler, said Napa County’s most prominent industries also face several unique challenges, and that the supply and demand for its labor force are increasingly interconnected.

“The number of Napa residents leaving Napa to work is rising, which implies a need to import more workers into Napa,” according to the study, The Labor Market in Napa County: Opportunities and Challenges for the Wine Industry. The findings of the study will be presented by Dr. Eyler, also president of Economic Forensics and Analytics and a Frank Howard Allen Research Scholar, at the North Bay Business Journal’s Impact Napa Conference.

The wine industry possesses several unique attributes that affect both the supply and demand of its labor, including a workforce that is perhaps more willing to accept lower wages in exchange for intangible benefits of the wine industry, such as events, wine allocations, meals and a low-stress lifestyle, according to the study.

Additionally, hospitality is playing an increasingly important role, and as a result, there is greater mobility for some wine industry workers, particularly in sales and administration, the study said.

“The interconnections between industries in Napa and how the wine industry (dirt to glass) has a supply chain connection to almost every other business in Napa helps network workers to other possibilities and provides more mobility,” the report states.

That might be good for workers, but for wine-related businesses, it can present some challenges — more mobility means upward pressure on wages. And more dependence on an aging and imported workforce also may increase total wage packages. Furthermore, coming health care reforms may increase total wage packages when the cost of health insurance is factored in, across all parts of the wine supply chain, according to the report.