The Ohio applicants are rarely -- if ever -- interested in that deal. So you end up with ten perfectly employable people who are either unemployed or underemployed in a low-paying job in Ohio rather than working full time in a decent job in New Jersey.
Oh God. If the 10 Ohioans had accepted then there would be 10 New Jersians out of work.
The underlying problem is companies refusing to pay the going rate. There is a wage shortage not a labor shortage.
The "quality New Jersey employee" that could work in this type of job is earning upwards of $80,000/year as a public employee (police officer, custodian, public works department employee, etc.). That does two things: (1) it reduces the labor pool for private-sector employers, and (2) it drives up taxes for these employers.
In this particular case, the employer is likely to shut the New Jersey plant within the next five years and move all of its production to Ohio, Indiana, or North Carolina.
Rinse and repeat. This process is happening repeatedly in large metro areas in the Northeast and Midwest.
Please define the "going rate" for me.