Departing workers affect job numbers
Holly Kenner visits the McCain Foods booth during a previous Job and Career Fair at Big Bend Community College. Mary Bustos, of McCain Foods, is seated at left. Some job seekers have dropped out of the labor market because they haven't found work.
MOSES LAKE - With the total number of Grant County workers down by 240 from last year, it means some job seekers dropped out of the labor force because they couldn't find work.
It is also possible some job hunters relocated to find work or accept positions elsewhere, said Mark Berreth, regional labor economist with the state Employment Security Department, on Friday.
At a 0.6 percent decrease, the decline in workers is small, considering there was a total 41,250 people in Grant County's civilian labor force in April.
But, at the same time, the message is mixed, as the number of jobs increased by 1,980 this year from March to April, Berreth said.
"It's artificially good at this point," Berreth commented.
He defined "discouraged workers" as workers dropping out of the labor force because they couldn't find a position.
"They've basically given up looking," he commented. "We've seen that at the state and national level too. They've dropped out of the labor force as their unemployment benefits expire."
Grant County's unemployment rate was 9.8 percent in April, 1.8 percent lower than the March rate of 11.6 percent.
Although employment figures are picking up, it can be difficult to find work with everything growing slowly, he said.
The unemployment rate is lower because there are fewer people looking for work, he said.
The number of employees compared to April 2010 is down slightly.
"That drop in the unemployment rate is purely coming out of the people unemployed," he commented.
But there have been areas of growth, split evenly between the goods-providing and service-providing job categories.
"We're seeing more construction and seasonal employment in the area," Berreth said.
The uptick is starting to take off, with retail and information jobs increasing.
Consumer confidence made gains in April for the seventh month in a row.
"The confidence levels are still fairly low and continue to inch along, but the continued rise is a good sign," he commented.
"Consumer expectations, on the other hand, has been on an overall upward trend since February of 2009," according to Berreth. It recently made a significant drop in March, but has remained relatively level this month. Commodity prices have been on the rise, but the vast majority of inflation is coming from oil."
The state Employment Security Department announced recently that five months remain to sign up for free online Microsoft courses.
The training is also available to businesses and the employed, not only the unemployed.
"If you are working or trying to find a job, it's important to keep your skills up-to-date," according to Employment Security commissioner Paul Trause. "Microsoft software is a standard in many businesses, and you can increase your value by knowing how to use it."
Oct. 31 is the last day for Washington state residents to register. They can take 12 months to finish the courses.
For more information and to register online, visit Go2WorkSource.com and click on "Wow! Free Microsoft E-learning" icon on the right.
The courses teach computer literacy, provide instruction for Office and Windows products and training for information technology workers.
About 12,000 people have registered for the courses, according to the state.