NORWICH – In what analysts are saying could be a six-year low for the New York state unemployment rate in 2006, Department of Labor data shows that during the second half of the year, Chenango County kept pace with comparable figures to the statewide average.
“We’ve stayed pretty steady,” said Gary Waffle, the manager of the Chenango, Delaware, and Otsego Workforce office in Norwich.
Overall, without available data for December, the annual – yet to be seasonally adjusted – unemployment rate for the state so far has been 4.6 percent, with Chenango County at around 5.5 percent. However, from July on, Chenango County has averaged around a 4.6 percent rate, recouping from a January to June rough patch to almost match up with the state’s second-half average of 4.3 percent.
Waffle said that lower numbers of layoffs and retail business growth has resulted in the decreasing unemployment numbers in the county.
If anything, Waffle said more higher-paying jobs are becoming available in the manufacturing and technical sectors, with not enough labor force locally to fill the positions.
“Job openings are becoming available,” Waffle said. “Employers are having a hard time finding qualified candidates.”
On the state level, analyst Kevin Jack chalks up the lower number to relatively low interest and inflation rates, resulting in a more pro-business atmosphere than recent years.
“Corporate profits are at record highs,” Jack said. “They are in a better position to be able to hire people.”
For the month of October, the state saw an all-time low with a 3.8 percent unemployment rate. Chenango nearly equaled that at 3.9 percent.
According to Jack, 231,000 private sector jobs were created in the state, and from November 2005 to November 2006, the biggest increase in labor demand was seen in the educational and health services fields. He said that work in these areas increased with the rise in the college aged and baby-boomer populations.
Based on labor department data, in the Southern Tier, the current top five job categories available are cashiers, retail salespersons, waiters and waitresses, janitors and cleaners, and registered nurses.
Waffle said the health industry, along with the trucking industry, while not top-ranked for availability, are in need of qualified candidates.
“Younger people should be planning for the future,” Waffle said. “If they are not looking at attending college, they need to do some research, and find out what employers in the area are requiring for entry level, higher paying jobs.”
He added that having math skills is, and will continue to be, an important asset for the next generation of workers. Whether in school or out, developing those skills will be important, he said.
“People need to discover what resources are available to them,” Waffle said, explaining that through his office, training programs are available.
Since 2002, Chenango County has finished at, or better than the state unemployment average. Currently in the county, there are approximately 24,300 people in the workforce, and approximately 1,100 are unemployed.