The number of job openings in the Detroit area has exceeded pre-pandemic levels, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Businesses of all sizes are adding employees in a big way, according to the ADP Research Institute, but still, large numbers of positions remain unfilled.

With the Michigan unemployment rate still at 5.2%, Detroit business owners wonder why they are having difficulty attracting applicants for open positions.

According to a recent article posted in The Economist, there are two major reasons why many sidelined workers aren't anxious to come to work. The first is fear.

Every week, according to Nielsen, 84% of adult consumers tune in to a Detroit radio station. This is significantly more people than watch broadcast TV, local cable, or video streaming services. It's more than use social media sites like Facebook or Instagram.  And, it's more than read local newspapers.

Detroit radio is also the medium with the greatest reach among millennials, a generation that not only has embraced an abundance of online media options but also accounts for nearly a third of all local consumer spending.

This reach advantage is a crucial reason why Southeast Michigan small business owners depend on Detroit radio to market their goods and services.

A study released this week by Edison Research and NPR discovered that their six distinct types of radio listeners. The study also examines how each group of listeners engages with both programming and advertising.  These distinctions are important for Detroit small business owners to understand.

The six listener categories as described in the study are:

Southeast Michigan residents will begin receiving economic stimulus checks  from the Internal Revenue Service as early as today.  In all, local consumers will receive more than $5.5 billion in payments.

This infusion of cash into the Metro Detroit economy was authorized by Congress last week in the American Rescue Plan legislation. 

The stimulus relief legislation calls for a one-time payment of $1,400 to single adults. Married couples who filed jointly will receive $2,800 total ($1,400 apiece). Families will get an additional $1,400 for each eligible dependent regardless of age. A family of four could get $5,600 in total payments. Like the second round of stimulus payments, the third round specifically prohibits payments to anyone who died before January 1, 2020.

Many of the stimulus dollars will end up in the wallets of 1.1 million Detroit area homeowners. Based on research from Modernize, a leader in the home improvement and home services industry, 57% of these consumers are planning to spend all or part of their checks on home improvement projects.

Southeast Michigan consumers are expected to spend upward of $58.8-billion at retail in 2021. This would be, at minimum, a 6.5% jump over 2020. The forecast is based on newly released estimates by the National Retail Federation.

“Despite the continuing health and economic challenges COVID-19 presents, we are very optimistic that healthy consumer fundamentals, pent-up demand and widespread distribution of the vaccine will generate increased economic growth, retail sales and consumer spending,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said.

“From the outset of the pandemic, retailers have gone above and beyond even the most conservative safety guidelines to protect and serve their associates and consumers alike."

To capture the largest possible share of spending growth, local retailers will need to advertise. By the most crucial marketing metrics, the best best way to reach consumers is by advertising on Detroit radio.

There are 33 radio stations in Southeast Michigan. Each provides a unique format of news, sports, music, entertainment, and inspiration. Some stations broadcast in English. Others serve Spanish speakers. Some stations cater to millennials. Others appeal to Baby Boomers.  No doubt, there is a local radio station that fulfills the preferences of every listener.

Each week, according to Nielsen, 3.1 million adults tune-in to their favorite Detroit radio stations. This is more people than watch local TV, cable, or streaming channels. This is more than use Facebook and Instagram. This is more than read newspapers or connect to Pandora and Spotify. 

Despite the abundance of Detroit radio stations to choose between, Nielsen reports that, on average, adult consumers only listen to three each week.  So, which stations do local consumers choose?

How important is Twitter to Southeast Michigan consumers? Yesterday, for instance, the social media platform was mentioned in at least ten articles published by the Detroit News yesterday.  Almost every local TV newscast included references to the site as well.

Twitter's outsized presence in the news, however, is enormously disproportional to the importance of the micro-blogging app in the life of Detroit's consumers.

According to Nielsen, only about 16.5% of adults in Detroit use Twitter during the course of a month. This is minuscule compared to other social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook.

Twitter offers 20 different options that Metro Detroit small business owners can utilize to market their goods and services to local consumers.  The platform's minimal reach, however, can hamper the success of any advertising campaign.

On August 20, 1920 at 8:15pm, the Detroit News, owner of radio station 8MK, began broadcasting. The broadcast originated from the second floor of the newspaper's headquarters on Lafayette Boulevard.

The historic programming that night began with station operator Frank Edwards declaring, "this is 8MK calling." This was followed by the playing of 78 rpm records on a borrowed phonograph. The first selections played were two of the most popular songs of the World War One era,  "Roses of Picardy" and "Annie Laurie".

The historic broadcast concluded with a salesman from the newspaper's advertising department playing "Taps".

For 100 years, Southeast Michigan small business owners have depended on local radio stations to successfully market their goods and services through depressions, recessions, wars, and natural disasters. Even now, during a pandemic, advertising on Detroit radio remains a dependable way to make cash registers ring.

Here are five facts every Detroit Small business owner needs to know about local radio in 2020.

Almost 93% of Southeast Michigan adults have access to the internet, according to Nielsen. Over 63% of these consumers spend more than five hours a week connected.

Nielsen reports that Metro Detroit consumers go online to stay connected to friends and family; research products and services; learn the latest news, and obtain directions to where they are going and know what the weather will be when they get there.  

Here are some of the many reasons why Detroit internet users go online each month

• Social Media: 75%
• Online Banking: 50%
• Weather: 47%
• Maps/Directions: 45%
• Product Reviews: 37%
• Current Events: 33%
• Sports Scores/News: 27%
• Restaurant Reviews:30%
• Job Search: 16%
• Real Estate: 14%

And, of course, there is shopping.  Over the past six months, according to Nielsen, 78% of Detroit area consumers shopped online for every imaginable product and service including, cars, golf clubs, office supplies, wedding rings, mattresses, tires, medicine, shoes, socks, and eyeglasses.

To reach local consumers while they are online, Southeast Michigan businesses will spend $992,000 for digital advertising in 2020, according to Borrell Associates.  Here is how the money is being spent:

There are 990,800 adults in Metro Detroit who have earned a four-year college or postgraduate degree, according to research from Nielsen. A study from the Federal Reserve indicates that these educated consumers have been least affected by the economic consequences of the pandemic.

"While the labor market disruptions have affected workers in a wide set of industries and occupations, those without a college degree have experienced the most severe impact," say Mary C. Daly, Shelby R. Buckman, and Lily M. Seitelman authors of The Unequal Impact of COVID-19 in the Economic Letter published by the Federal Reserve of San Francisco.

Although the unemployment rate increased among consumers of every education level in late March when the Governor of Michigan lockdown the state to slow the spread of the Coronavirus, the smallest increase was among those with bachelor or postgraduate degrees, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Seven months later, job recovery among those with college degrees is closer to pre-pandemic levels than consumers with lower levels of educational attainment.

Many small business owners have seen the correlation between advertising and survival during the economic crisis inflicted by the pandemic.  With precious few dollars to invest, it is crucial that every advertisement reaches consumers who have disposable income to buy. Right now, the most likely spenders are customers with college degrees.

By key advertising metrics, the best way to reach consumers with higher education is on Detroit radio.