The Associated Press State & Local Wire
These materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The Associated Press
April 19, 2004, Monday, BC cycle
SECTION: State and Regional
LENGTH: 370 words
HEADLINE: Alaska ranks high for job growth in 2003
DATELINE: FAIRBANKS
Alaska was tied for third place with Florida for job growth last year, according to national employment figures.
The main reason for the strong showing is because Alaska doesn't have high-tech industries that laid off workers during the recent economic downturn like other states in the Lower 48, said Brigitta Windisch-Cole, an economist with the Department of Labor.
Also, Alaska didn't suffer as much as other states after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, she said.
Both Alaska and Florida had a 1.5 percent job growth in 2003.
"In essence, we just didn't lose as many jobs as other states did during the recession," she said.
Alaska's ranking fell from first place in 2002 when Alaska posted a 2 percent job growth, Windisch-Cole said. That's because states that depend on tourism, like Florida, have made a comeback from a slowdown of visitor travel following the terrorist attacks, she said.
The news isn't all good, however, as the increase barely covered lost jobs in trade and transportation.
The bright spot is construction. Private-sector work, construction of the new Bassett Army Replacement Hospital and elsewhere on Fort Wainwright, jobs at Eielson Air Force Base and missile defense work at Fort Greely in Delta Junction have added 200 jobs alone, Windisch-Cole said.
More jobs and increased work hours helped boost construction to providing 15 percent of the area-wide payroll, she said.
The boom has a downside. With almost every available person working, there's a labor shortage.
One reason is that the construction industry has an aging work force, said Roxanna Horschell, chair of the Associated General Contractors of Alaska. The younger workers haven't been interested in construction jobs, she said.
Another reason for the labor shortage is that construction is booming in the state, and the Interior particularly.
"This year is record-breaking," said Ward Isaac, business agent for the Sheetmetal Workers Union Local 23.
Isaac said that with the economy doing poorly in some Lower 48 states, many people are looking to Alaska for job opportunities.
"I field several calls a day from people looking for work," he said. "I try to maintain a list."
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The Associated Press State & Local Wire
These materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The Associated Press
April 17, 2004, Saturday, BC cycle
SECTION: State and Regional
LENGTH: 847 words
HEADLINE: Course connects MacLaren inmates with construction professionals
BYLINE: By JESSICA SWANSON, Daily Journal of Commerce
DATELINE: PORTLAND, Ore.
BODY:
Twenty-two-year-old Antonio James has been an inmate at MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Woodburn for six years. Soon, he will attempt to enter the Oregon workforce as a convicted felon with no work history. His framed "Tools for Success" certificate of completion may be his gateway into a career in construction.
A 12-week construction soft skills program, "Tools for Success" took nine graduates of MacLaren's William P. Lord High School through what it takes to land - and keep - a job in the construction industry.
"At first I thought the class was just another tool to have under my belt. Then I saw it was better than I thought," said James, who landed in MacLaren for selling drugs and other behavioral offenses as a teenager.
Despite taking a number of classes in the trades at MacLaren, he had a narrow view of the construction industry.
"We had a lot of people come out to explain it was broader than that. There's more to it than hammer and nails."
Bill Moe, chief operating officer of W.G. Moe & Sons, spearheaded the program after an acquaintance, Janice Dawson, asked him to tour the facility. Dawson, vice-president of sales and marketing for the Union Bank of California, had been volunteering at MacLaren for four years. She knew the inmates could benefit from a specified job-skills program, like one she had heard about through Associated General Contractors.
Within weeks of the four-hour tour, Moe had $5,000 from the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 701 to pay an instructor, and was collaborating with the Oregon Building Congress to put together a curriculum about construction job skills. Over three months, instructor and construction industry veteran John Martin met with nine students between the ages of 18 and 24 for three hours once a week.
He taught them about diversity on the job, the hierarchy of a construction site, how to prepare a resume, cover letter and application, and how to resolve conflict on a job site. Most captivating for the students was the succession of guest speakers who hailed from a variety of trades and organizations.
Dick O'Connor, executive director of the Oregon Building Congress, was among the speakers. His topic was stress management.
"The students were very anxious about getting out and making it in the straight world," O'Connor said. "What I wanted them to recognize is that they have in themselves the right stuff to be successful on the outside."
In his hour, O'Connor led the students through a discussion of Carl Jung's archetypes of man. He asked the students to identify their positive and negative traits and then identify themselves as one of Jung's archetypes: a warrior, lover, king or magician. He tried to paint a picture of how a mature person handles conflict and everyday stress.
"So much in our society does nothing to inform each other what a mature woman or a mature man is. We have thousands of examples of immature men. We struggled to come up with good examples (of mature men)," O'Connor said.
James wants to work as an electrician or with heavy machinery. He collected business cards from all the speakers who came to the classes and, with his mom, had a chance to sit down with some of them at the completion ceremony. He said the face-to-face contact changed his attitude toward getting a job on the outside. He had been asking his brother to help him where he could when he is released. Now, even his brother sees the tables turning.
"(My brother) asked me, 'When you get out, can you put in a good word with these people?' " James said.
Marc Nicholls, also 22, has been designing his dream house for 10 years.
Another graduate of "Tools for Success," he has a desire to go into carpentry or architecture when he is released after his seventh year at MacLaren. During his stay, Nicholls has completed courses in computer-aided drafting, carpentry and computer technology.
"I'm very interested in succeeding out in the world when I leave here," he said. "I'm going to act like more of a professional and be responsible for my actions, like getting up early."
Chairman of the local AGC's Young Constructor's Forum, Tary Carlson is charged with finding mentors for the "Tools" graduates as they are released. He said some people are nervous about working with a felon, but that mentors are going to be key to preventing recidivism. He will act as a mentor himself.
"They need to be able to rely on us for key questions in their life, not just work related. They have to have that nice solid reliable support," said Carlson.
He mentioned that the economy for the industry is improving, and that is no small advantage.
"Things are changing for the better. This is a good time for them to get out."
The successful pilot program will be repeated in the fall at MacLaren, and Bill Moe said he will follow the students as they move into the world.
"Their success will not be measured by whether they get a job when they come out," he said. "What we'll measure as a success is how many of them don't come back."
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The Associated Press State & Local Wire
These materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The Associated Press
April 16, 2004, Friday, BC cycle
SECTION: State and Regional
LENGTH: 287 words
HEADLINE: Missouri unemployment edges down
DATELINE: JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.
BODY:
Missouri's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell one-tenth of a percentage point in March to 5 percent, as businesses added 18,000 jobs, the Department of Economic Development said Friday.
Except for the unusually low 4.7 percent unemployment rate in January, the new numbers put unemployment at its lowest level since September 2001, when the rate was 4.8 percent.
Missouri also is still below the national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, which rose a tenth of a percentage point in March to 5.7 percent.
"We are pleased with this latest data because it continues to reflect strong economic growth trends that we have been seeing in Missouri for some time," department director Kelvin Simmons said in a statement.
Simmons said the state has added almost 30,000 net jobs since July.
Industries that cut jobs in February generally bounced back in March, including 7,800 construction jobs, with growth also in the trade, transportation and utilities; professional and business services; and leisure and hospitality sectors.
During the past 12 months, the state gained 9,900 jobs - a 0.4 percent increase. Job growth was led by construction, food services and health care sectors.
However, other industries are still stuck in a recessionary problem, the department said. Transportation - primarily in the airline sector - along with telecommunications and professional, scientific and technical services still have fewer employees today than they did a year ago.
The highest unemployment rate in March was 14.3 percent in Stone County. Nodaway County had the lowest unemployment rate at 1.7 percent.
On the Net:
Department of Economic Development: http://www.missouridevelopment.org
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The Associated Press State & Local Wire
These materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The Associated Press
April 15, 2004, Thursday, BC cycle
SECTION: Business News; State and Regional
LENGTH: 188 words
HEADLINE: Arizona unemployment at 4.9 percent in March
DATELINE: PHOENIX
BODY:
Arizona's unemployment rate dropped to 4.9 percent in March, significantly below the national average of 5.7 percent.
Arizona's economy added 8,500 jobs in March as the civilian labor force expanded and the rate of unemployment declined, according to the Department of Economic Security. The February unemployment rate was at 5.2 percent.
Private companies accounted for nearly 92 percent of the total gain in jobs last month. Those industries that benefited included the construction and leisure sectors.
Construction showed strong growth with the addition of 2,500 jobs, which pushed the industry's work force to a record high. Since March 2003, Arizona's economy has added more than 15,000 construction jobs, DES reported.
The leisure and hospitality industry also reached a new record of 239,400 jobs as it gained 3,900 jobs in March at the height of Arizona's winter visitor season.
Industries that suffered significant losses in March, include the professional and business services and employment services, which cut 1,200 and 1,800 jobs, respectively.
On the Net:
http://www.workforce.az.gov
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Copyright 2004 The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
April 14, 2004, Wednesday
SECTION: Final; Pg. E1
LENGTH: 458 words
HEADLINE: State's job growth surges; Job growth surges in Utah, to 1.4 percent
BYLINE: Lisa Carricaburu , The Salt Lake Tribune
BODY:
Utah created 14,900 jobs in the year that ended March 31 for a job-growth rate of 1.4 percent -- the highest rate the state has experienced in three years, the Utah Department of Workforce Services reported Tuesday.
Nearly all sectors of Utah's economy are adding jobs; the exception is natural resources, said Mark Knold, Workforce Services senior economist.
In addition, he expects job growth to continue, prompting him to revise an earlier estimate that Utah will end the year with 1.4 percent more jobs than it had in 2003. Knold now expects job growth to reach 1.7 percent, still below the 2 percent rate needed to accommodate normal population growth, but an improvement nonetheless.
"We've had three years of subpar activity that at some point had to run its course," he said.
Two categories, education-and-health services and business-and-professional services, led the state in job creation, with 3.5 percent growth rates. Health care-related industries, in particular, Knold said, continue to add jobs at a healthy pace.
The best news, however, may be in the state's manufacturing sector, which added 400 jobs in March compared with a year earlier after six years of declining employment.
Manufacturers hit hard by the nationwide economic downturn are slowly adding jobs, but Tom Bingham, president of the Utah Manufacturing Association, warned against reading too much into the gains.
"Certainly, we're encouraged, but many manufacturers remain cautious about jumping back into full production," he said. "A recovery is under way, but it is going to be slow."
Knold's report also notes Utah's construction sector is up 1,600 jobs, a gain that is important because new construction jobs signal an overall improvement in the state's economy.
The sector struggled after frenzied building related to the 2002 Olympics ceased, but "with this sector now growing, it appears the book may now be closed on that post-Olympic downturn," Knold's report says.
Sandy-based Layton Construction, one of Utah's largest commercial builders with 600 employees, is optimistic as a number of new projects proceed.
"We're projecting significant increased hiring in the next several weeks," said Tam Bevan, Layton's human resources director.
Despite job growth, Utah's unemployment rate climbed 0.3 percent in March to 5 percent.
Knold said the higher rate is not a cause for concern.
Some of the increase is due to normal statistical variation, he said, and some is due to the fact that as the job market improves, more Utahns are rejoining the labor force.
"As they return, they are once again counted in the statistics, and they are considered unemployed until they find a job," Knold said.
lisac@sltrib.com
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Copyright 2004 Albuquerque Journal
Albuquerque Journal (New Mexico)
April 12, 2004 Monday
SECTION: BUSINESS OUTLOOK; Pg. 1
LENGTH: 739 words
HEADLINE: Growth loses a bit of steam
BYLINE: Andrew Webb Journal Staff Writer
BODY:
* Job increase for 2003 ended below forecast at about 1.2 percent
New Mexico's construction-fueled job growth, which put it in second place nationwide in mid-2003, lost some of its luster by the end of the year thanks to job losses in manufacturing and call centers.
The number of jobs in New Mexico last year grew by about 1.2 percent -- the same rate at which employment grew in 2002, according to semiannual "Economy Watch" figures prepared for the Journal by the University of New Mexico's Bureau of Business and Economic Research.
"It had been originally estimated that the total growth for the year might be 1.6 or 1.7 percent," said BBER director Lee Reynis. "We were really picking up steam in 2002, but we lost a bit of that steam in 2003. Employment growth wasn't quite as fast as we thought."
The state's overall economy was buoyed by steady increases in residential building permits and in gross receipts from retail trade, especially in the second half of 2003, according to the BBER report. It is based on figures from the New Mexico Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Commerce and other sources.
"We did better than the national economy," said New Mexico Department of Labor economist Gerry Bradley. "It really wasn't a rapid job-growth year. But there was growth through most of the year, while the national economy was losing jobs, so we're real pleased. We're moving along at that kind of moderate to slow, steady pace."
Call center crunch
"The Philips (Semiconductors plant) shutdown occurred right at the end of 2003, so it's reflected in some of the year-end numbers," Reynis said.
Philips, which closed late last year at a cost of 600 jobs, was joined on its way out the door by Honeywell, which moved an Albuquerque plant that once employed 170 to Chihuahua, Mexico.
As of February of this year, manufacturing in New Mexico had lost about 1,400 jobs compared with the same month in 2002, Bradley said.
Besides manufacturing jobs, the state lost a few in other sectors -- most notably the sector that includes call centers, which lost about 1,400 jobs between 2002 and 2003.
Call centers closed in Silver City and Grants last year, Reynis said.
Jobs in the communication sector had no growth in 2003, Bradley said. But 100 jobs were added early this year, hinting at a possible silver lining in a telecom industry that has seen its share of dark clouds for more than two years.
By January, the state's job growth had slowed enough that New Mexico dropped from second place -- just under Hawaii -- to No. 12 in the country, Bradley said.
Growth areas
Though the state's job growth wasn't what BBER economists had predicted, it got a boost from several sectors, most notably construction and health care, the latter getting a boost from changes to Medicaid and growth of the state's rural areas.
"Plus, there was the opening of the new medical center in Las Cruces, and in Albuquerque, Presbyterian is expanding, so in general, that sector has done well," Reynis said.
After a slump at the end of the Big I project and the completion of Intel's new plant, construction jobs rebounded in 2003, thanks to a robust home-building market, Reynis said.
"It's been much stronger than what we're looking at nationally," she said.
The value of residential construction permits -- fueled by low interest rates -- continued to rise, though slowed from 2002. Their value increased by 16.57 percent over 2002. Figures for that year were 24.73 percent above 2001.
According to Department of Labor statistics, construction businesses added about 1,200 jobs in 2003.
Retail receipts rose steadily, likely thanks to new homeowners.
"Home building feeds into the Home Depots and home improvement stores," Bradley said.
Local government
The category of local government -- which includes casinos -- had a 2.6 percent increase in employment over 2002, thanks to large new projects.
"That's been one of the areas with the most job growth," Reynis said.
The plant closings will be felt for a while, Reynis says.
"Some of these things that happened in 2003 will be dragging down the 2004 numbers," she said. "Loss of very good jobs has a ripple effect in the economy, as it supports trade and retail."
But expansion of several sectors, including recovering telecom and manufacturing business that analysts predict will echo nationwide positive growth trends, will likely lead to growth, she said.
"For 2004, we're expecting a bit of an acceleration," she said.
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Copyright 2004 The Pantagraph
The Pantagraph (Bloomington, Illinois)
April 9, 2004 Friday
SECTION: EDITORIAL; Pg. A15
LENGTH: 297 words
HEADLINE: 'Opportunity Returns' will create many jobs
BODY:
I am responding to the article that appeared in your newspaper regarding the transportation bonding portion of Gov. Blagojevich's Opportunity Returns economic recovery program.
The proposed is a $1.5 billion bonding program to be repaid with existing revenues, spread out over three years and repaid, like most transportation bonds, through revenues from our motor fuel taxes, vehicle licensing and registrations.
Under Opportunity Returns, the Illinois Department of Transportation will execute an infrastructure and economic development program of $500 million per year over the next three years.
The projects for Opportunity Returns must meet specific criteria for future job growth and economic development. Additionally, the $1.5 billion transportation portion of Opportunity Returns will create 36,000 construction jobs building the roads and bridges that will lead our state to economic recovery.
Transportation projects take months to develop, from drawing board to construction. Because so many Illinois residents are currently out of work, Gov. Blagojevich is authorizing the Department to begin $200 million of improvements that will begin and be completed this year. This investment will allow 4,800 men and women to earn paychecks for their families now.
Critics argue that bonding for projects is asking future generations to pay for improvements made now. The lifetime of a road project is roughly equivalent to the lifetime of the bonds.
We will pay for projects constructed now during the time we, and future drivers, will use them. Furthermore, because these projects will create jobs in the future, the state will see an increase in revenue because more men and women will be working in the future thanks to these improvements made today.
Timothy W. Martin
Chatham
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The Associated Press State & Local Wire
These materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The Associated Press
April 8, 2004, Thursday, BC cycle
SECTION: Business News; State and Regional
LENGTH: 442 words
HEADLINE: Louisiana's non-farm employment up by 6,400
BYLINE: By ALAN SAYRE, AP Business Writer
DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS
BODY:
Louisiana registered 6,400 more non-farm jobs in February, compared with a year ago, but the gain was tempered by the continuing loss of manufacturing positions and a stall in petroleum jobs, despite high oil and natural gas prices.
Without seasonal adjustments, the service-providing sector had 8,000 more jobs than in February 2003, while the goods-producing sector dropped 1,600 jobs, the state labor department reported Thursday.
In the goods-producing sector, the petroleum sector was unchanged, manufacturing dropped 2,500 jobs and construction gained 900 positions.
Educational and health services led the gain in the service sector by recording an increase of 5,700 jobs over the year. The hospitality sector added another 4,400.
The unemployment rate, on a seasonally adjusted basis, was 5.8 percent in February, compared with 6.1 percent in January and 6.4 percent in February 2003. That rate is subject to several factors, including the number of people actively seeking work and those receiving jobless benefits.
In February, there were 12,936 new and renewed claims for unemployment insurance in Louisiana, compared with 16,584 in January and 18,117 in February 2003.
There were 2,976 unemployment insurance recipients who exhausted their benefits in February, compared with 3,173 in January and 3,164 in February 2003.
Among the state's metropolitan areas:
- Baton Rouge recorded 5,800 more non-farm jobs in February 2004 than in February 2003, including 1,600 in the goods-producing sector and 4,200 in the service-producing sector. The goods-producing sector was fueled entirely by a gain of 2,800 construction jobs.
- New Orleans was down 3,200 non-farm jobs in the February-to-February comparison, including 2,500 in the service-providing sector and 700 in the goods-producing sector.
- Shreveport-Bossier City gained 2,000 non-farm jobs, including 1,800 in the in the service-providing sector and 200 in the goods-producing sector.
- Alexandria was up by 900 non-farm jobs, all in the service-providing sector.
- Houma-Thibodaux dropped 600 non-farm jobs in the February-to-February comparison - 500 in the service-providing sector and 100 in the goods-producing sector.
- Lafayette fell by 300 non-farm jobs. Goods-producing jobs fell by 1,200, while the service-providing sector gained 900.
- Lake Charles had 1,600 fewer non-farm jobs in February 2004 than in February 2003. The region lost 1,700 goods-producing jobs and 200 service-providing jobs.
- Monroe had 100 fewer non-farm jobs, all the goods-producing sector.
On the Net:
Louisiana Department of Labor: http://www.laworks.net
