Anyone needing even more proof that tough times are here should check out the statistics.
Schoharie County’s unemployment rate for January was 11.3 percent, the second highest in the state, according to figures released by the state Labor Department last week.
January’s unemployment rate is the highest for the county since the state started keeping such statistics in 1990, according to Jim Ross, the Capital Region labor market analyst with the Labor Department.
The jobless rate was 8.8 percent in January 2008 and 8.7 in December before jumping more than 2.5 points early this year.
Mr. Ross noted, however, that in counties with small populations, a slight swing in numbers translates to a big swing in percentages.
But the statistics still show that 400 fewer residents were working in January than in December.
Gail Breen, director of the Fulton, Montgomery, Schoharie Workforce Development Board, pointed out that those jobs were likely lost by residents who commute to the Capital Region.
“Over 40 percent of the workforce leaves the county for jobs,” Ms. Breen said, adding that labor statistics trace jobs by county of residence, not workplace.
“Schoharie County has had its share of lost jobs, but there haven’t been any major layoffs here,” she said.
Nonetheless, residents laid off from jobs elsewhere have an impact here, Ms. Breen added.
“If someone’s not commuting, that means they’re not stopping for gas, not stopping at Mobil Mart for coffee,” she said.
Alicia Terry, the county’s director of planning, agreed with Ms. Breen.
“People are contracting their spending, and that’s been a driver of our economy,” Ms. Terry said.
Working in Schoharie County’s favor is that much of its employment is in education and health care, said Jodie Rutt, executive director of the county Chamber of Commerce.
“We have the college, schools, the hospital. . .those segments lost the least number of jobs,” Ms. Rutt said. “It puts us on a little better footing.”
What’s ahead?
Mr. Ross said his office doesn’t make predictions, but he didn’t hold out much hope.
“There’s nothing on the horizon that make it look like things will get better soon,” he said. “We expect things to deteriorate further.”
Ms. Terry didn’t go that far, but she said that proposed projects coming through her office are on hold.
“Believe me, Wall Street has an effect here,” she said. “We have projects simmering, but they can’t get financing.”
Ms. Breen was more optimistic. On Monday, she was attending a conference of Workforce leaders in Washington and learned that their programs will get money from the federal stimulus package.
That money, Ms. Breen said, will go towards retraining those hunting for jobs.
“For some of the people who lost their jobs, their skills are out-moded,” she said. “You’d be surprised at the number of people who don’t have computer skills. This will help.”
Her office is developing new training courses with SUNY Cobleskill and Fulton-Montgomery Community College as part of the plan.
Ms. Breen warned, however, that the economic turn-around may not come soon.
“People who lost their jobs may think they’ll find something else right away,” she said. “It won’t happen that quickly. 2010 if we’re lucky.”