Connecticut”™s recession recovery held steady in October, according to preliminary job statistics from the state, but the head of this region”™s workforce development board says the unemployment rate doesn”™t tell the whole story.
The state experienced its eighth consecutive month of employment growth in October, adding 3,600 jobs, the state Department of Labor reported. The unemployment rate was 6.4 percent in October, unchanged from September, when the jobless rate hit its lowest point since 2008, and down from 7.6 percent in October 2013. But according to Joseph Carbone, president and CEO of The WorkPlace, those statistics don”™t shed light on the important issues like financial instability and job dissatisfaction. He said that as he dug deeper into the data, he discovered the untold story of part-timers.
Carbone said that while part-timers are considered employed, they”™re struggling to make ends meet. They can”™t find full-time jobs, he said, because companies are becoming more selective about their hires and taking shortcuts to minimize risk and liability costs.
“About 40 percent of jobs created are part time because companies don”™t want to hire full time,” Carbone said. “A lot of companies are turning to staffing agencies and part-time employees to avoid the new regulations with the Affordable Care Act and to avoid risks and liabilities associated with becoming a company with more than 50 employees.” (Under the new health care law, companies with 50 or more employees are considered large businesses, which have their own set of insurance requirements.)
Carbone said that part-timers contribute to a relatively stable unemployment rate, yet many of them are not earning enough money to keep their own household stable.
“There are 28 million people in America who are working part time, and 7.5 million are doing so involuntarily because they can”™t find full-time work,” Carbone said. “But they can”™t quit because they still have to pay the bills. Part-time folks who are the main wage earners in their households are not earning sufficient money to provide for their families.”
Another nuance of the unemployment rate is the long-term unemployed demographic, which includes people with no immediate plans to start working after being out of a job for more than a year. About two-thirds, or 3 million, of the unemployed are in the long-term unemployed category, in which job search activity has significantly subsided and motivation has diminished, Carbone said.
“When your labor force numbers are diminishing with more people becoming unemployed long term, it says to a prospective employer who wishes to move to Connecticut or expand a company”™s footprint in the region that it”™ll become increasingly more difficult to hire new workers or find replacement workers,” Carbone said.
Although the employment number is increasing month to month, Carbone noted food services and retail are among the industries adding the most jobs ”“ often with low wages. The Department of Labor report said retail trade “was the strongest segment, possibly indicating an earlier-than-normal holiday buildup.” High-paying jobs in the finance, government and information markets were lost in October, with those industries cutting between 100 and 1,300 jobs since September.
In an effort to help the long-term unemployed, The WorkPlace recently announced a statewide launch of its Platform to Employment, a program that assists with job training and placement. The Bridgeport nonprofit has partnered with the state Departments of Labor and Vocational Rehabilitation and Connecticut”™s four other workforce investment boards to serve 500 state residents during the first program year. A total 27 participants in the first statewide cohort of 103 had jobs upon graduation from the program. More than 50 of them are now employed.
The Platform to Employment originated in Bridgeport. The platform rolled out nationally last year and has expanded into 11 cities, including Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Minneapolis, Newark, San Diego, San Francisco and Tampa. Last month, it launched in Las Vegas.
“We provide training and educational support so when folks come through the programs, they”™re empowered to take on job advancement,” Carbone said. “We make it very clear this program is just one step toward employment. You can”™t ever stop stepping. You have to keep moving forward because the intensity of the competition in the job market is a controlling factor that”™s going to keep growing. You”™ll be obsolete if you can”™t keep up.”
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