County jobless rate climbs
By Larry Meyer
Argus Observer
Sunday, March 1, 2009 1:41 AM PST
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| Larry Meyer | Argus Observer
Joe Buttice, grounds crew member at Treasure Valley Community College, works around the baseball field stadium Friday afternoon. Buttice is one of those workers that is counted in total government employment for the area. |
ONTARIO —There is not a lot of good news for Malheur County in the latest unemployment figures from the Oregon Employment Department.
There is, however, at least one ray of positive information regarding unemployment locally.
For example, the total overall employment for the county was flat in 2008 when compared to 2007.
The good news, though, begins to evaporate from there.
By the end of 2008, the often routine seasonal reductions in employment — which usually begin in November — were in full swing based on preliminary estimates from the Oregon Employment Department’s Eastern Oregon Labor Trends for January 2009.
“It wasn’t a great year,” Jason Yohannan, regional economist, based in La Grande, said.
November usually marks the seasonal employment downturn in Malheur County, but 2008’s November worker reductions proved more hurtful than normal, with a jobless mark of 7.9 percent. November’s statistics, according to the Eastern Oregon Labor Trends report, show 12,240 employed residents and 1,056 unemployed people in Malheur County.
According to the report, Malheur County’s monthly jobless rate through the first 11 months of 2008 was higher when compared to the first 11 months of 2007.
By industry, November’s largest over-the-month job cutbacks affected wholesale trade, professional and business services and the federal government, Yohannan reported.
For December, there was no explanation for a higher unemployment figure, except that it is part of the traditional job slowdown, coupled with the economic recession. The largest decrease in employment in December 2008, compared to December 2007, was in the manufacturing sector, with a loss of 90 jobs. The employment rate was flat in the manufacturing, trade and transportation from November to December 2008. The Oregon Employment Department office in Ontario is busy with people coming in to look for jobs for the first time, as well as those who have been looking for employment for an extended length of time, Nancy Alvarado, field office manager, said.
“We have had extended hours, including four hours on Saturday in January and February to assist job seekers. Most people are looking to get employed again,” Alvarado said.
However, job listings at the Ontario office are down 25 percent from the same period last year, Alvarado said. The office offers programs to help prospective workers obtain or improve their readiness skills.
This includes a new program which helps people obtain a certificate that tells employers the bearer has the proper skills in math, reading and in locating information.
“We’re trying promote that,” Alvarado said. “We are working with the community college.”
The occupation offering the most jobs is the health care field, Alvarado said.
“We have scholarships available for those who want to better their skills,” Alvarado said.
With Oregon’s unemployment rate at 9.9 percent, it is a first for Alvarado to have the county’s figure lower than the state.
Over at Treasure Valley Community College, Sheryl Romans has the wildlands firefighting program going. While there are a lot of people seeking to be certified or recertified, Romans also said economics may be cutting into the number of students, but she will not know for sure until next year.
“I train for a lot of agencies,” she said.
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