Finding work during tough economic times

By Max Rouzier

Jean LaVerdure, 58, visits OneWorkSource daily to check his email, read current news and write.
LaVerdure is a union electrician out-of-work due to the nature of union work.

“The union work is intermittent,” says LaVerdure. “I’ll have three months of work, then time with unemployment. But I get by.”

LaVerdure has a spouse and maintains his lifestyle in spite of the employment downturn that has nearly 10% of Americans unemployed. He still eats well and pays his bills while his ample free time allow him to hike the high peaks in the area, write creatively and read.

“[Unemployment] if it’s something you’ve never experienced this, it is traumatic, but for people in union work, we’re used to it,” says LaVerdure. “we know how to scramble and handle ourselves.”

This is when Susan Gallagher comes into play. As the community service center manager, she oversees the job-finding opportunities available at the OneWorkSource office. She notices noticing simple trends becoming available for people looking for work.

“Right now there is a strong emphasis on green jobs. Some jobs aren’t considered green at first, but now anything that reduces a carbon footprint- is green,” says Gallagher. “That means occupations like mass transit or windmill production and even some construction.”

Besides construction and mass transit, Clinton County is seeing considerable job gains and in March, 27,600 citizens became newly employed in local education, health, leisure and hospitality services. Unfortunately, the losses are still high and overshadow the recent gains.

These statistics contrast the national and state numbers being reported by the Department of Labor. New York State lost more than 300-thousand jobs over the past two years and the North Country accounts for nearly a third of these numbers with major job losses in manufacturing, information services, government and business services.

According to the Department of Labor the North Country has the highest rate of unemployment outside of New York City at 8.9% (recorded in Nov 2009). In Clinton County, unemployment is a high 10.6% as of February 2010.

The WorkStopSorce staff works hard to engage unemployed citizens with free services to get them prepared for the process of finding the right work and applying to specific jobs. Each month the office hosts workshops on resume-building, computer skills, interviewing skills, ability tests, e-mail usage and a host of other skills to build individual marketability in the new competitive workforce.

Paul Grasso, executive director of the Work Force Investment Board, works alongside Gallagher to ensure local employers uphold state and federal laws and makes sure that the center reaches employment targets.

Grasso stands by the work of the whole team and says, “this location exemplifies the idea of spreading hope for citizens out of work. In a nut shell, that is what OneWorkSource is all about- hope. The counselors here are well-versed to help you out and to give you the right resources to handle unemployment.”

The counselors at OneWorkSorce handle any citizens social, financial and overall well-being because it all comes into play whether someone is newly unemployed or has been out of work for years. The staff devotes all their resources to the public on a first-come, first serve basis, while senior citizens get priority service always.

Although the services available are not only offered to the unemployed; dozens of employed people come by to improve their hiring marketability. These people also get the chance and place their resumes within the database where local employers search regularly for matching profiles they would like to hire.

Peter A. Neenan, Director of the Division of Research and Statistics, says our losses in New York State are leveling off. “However, following previous recessions, it has taken the state about five years, on average, to regain all of the jobs lost during a downturn.”

LaVerdure makes himself at home in the computer lab and in his calm and refreshing manner shares advice with me that he hopes can comfort people struggling. “I started as a college drop-out, got my drivers license at 36 in 1989. Then went back to school for a degree in American history. So I keep reminding myself to count my blessings. Look on the bright side. The weight of the world works itself out.”