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| Attracting jobseekers during recession |
| By Bob Moen |
| Published: 04/20/2009 |
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Ruben Garcia likes the nightlife. Living in Bay City, Mich., a city of about 36,000 on the shores of Lake Huron, Garcia enjoyed dance clubs, concerts, comedy shows and art. Article Controls All that changed when the economic recession hit Michigan hard, leaving the 52-year-old Garcia jobless and jeopardizing his dreams of retirement in Florida. About nine months ago, Garcia moved to Wyoming and now lives in Lusk, a town of about 1,500 with two stop lights, a rodeo arena and a redwood water tank that is advertised as a point of interest. "They got two local pubs here, and once in a while I'll frequent them, but that's pretty much it," Garcia said. While his nightlife may be crimped from what he is used to, Garcia has a good-paying job with great retirement benefits as a correctional officer at the state women's prison in Lusk. Wyoming has had the nation's lowest unemployment rate for four months running. In February, the latest for which figures were available, Wyoming recorded a jobless rate of 3.9 percent. Michigan, on the other hand, had the nation's highest jobless rate at 12 percent. "We still have the fastest job growth of any of the 50 states even though that clearly has been slowing," said David Bullard, senior economist with the Wyoming Department of Employment. Across the nation, states facing billion-dollar budget deficits are cutting services, reducing contributions to public pension funds, cutting state worker pay, laying off or furloughing workers, and raising taxes and fees. Wyoming, too, has been feeling the effects of the recession. Jobless claims have risen more than 150 percent over the last year as energy producers have curtailed drilling because of low prices and excess supply. Also in response to low gas prices, Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal this month announced a partial state hiring freeze. Nevertheless, the Wyoming Legislature this year approved $164.4 million in new spending on top of its current $8 billion, two-year budget. The supplemental spending includes $68.6 million to build a new state laboratory complex in Cheyenne and $18 million to staff a new $128 million medium-security prison that is scheduled to open in January 2010. Besides the state corrections jobs, several private companies are going ahead with plans to erect thousands of wind turbines in Wyoming, creating hundreds of jobs when the projects get under way. Bullard said Wyoming has seen growth this year in job categories that include accounting, medicine, social services, car repair, and state and federal government. And, the state still has its seasonal peak employment period to come. The Wyoming Department of Corrections has 357 positions to fill at its new prison, which is under construction in Torrington near the Nebraska border. Cara Eastwood, spokeswoman for Gov. Freudenthal, said the prison jobs are considered to be public health and safety positions, which the governor says can be exempted from the state hiring restrictions. Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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