As shaky economy finds its way to NNY, take steps to shore up job skills

If you have lost a job or found a new job and have any tips or advice for others, Greg Gardner would like to hear from you. You can e-mail him at ggardner@wdt.net.

David Beck, a labor leader, once said that the definition of a recession is when your neighbor loses his job. It becomes a depression when you lose your job.

These days, it is hard to smile even weakly at that joke. The global recession has found us here in the north country, and many of us have lost our jobs or seen friends and colleagues lose theirs. There is little in the way of a silver lining to this cloud, but there are things we can do to minimize the downsides and stay off the layoff list.

According to the state Department of Labor, unemployment in New York in May was 8.2 percent, up from 7.7 percent in April and significantly up from 5.2 percent in May 2008. The state has seen unemployment rise from the record low of August 2008 and we are now at the highest unemployment level we have seen since 1976.

The worst-hit sectors of the economy, not surprisingly, are trade and transportation, manufacturing, business services and financial services. The only sectors to see employment growth during this tough period have been education and health care.

As bad as this is, we are still doing better than the nation as a whole, which saw a 9.2 percent unemployment rate in May. New York City had a 9 percent unemployment rate in May while the rest of the state, including the north country, had an average of 7.7 percent. These are all seasonally adjusted numbers, to compensate for expected changes due to the arrival of summer.

Internationally, we have caught up to Western Europe, where unemployment rates are routinely between 7.5 percent and 8 percent. Only Ireland and Spain have seen unemployment rise faster than in the U.S., but that is because most other nations already had rates well above the United States' pre-recession rate of less than 5 percent. Other parts of the world, including Eastern Europe, are seeing unemployment rates of 20 percent or higher.

Locally, we are seeing unemployment rates similar to those in the rest of the state. Jefferson County had a May rate of 8.1 percent, Lewis County had a rate of 8.9 percent and St. Lawrence County, reeling from the loss of the GM plant and layoffs at Alcoa, reported an unemployment rate of 9.3 percent. These are the highest unemployment rates we have seen since 1993.

When we look at non-seasonally adjusted rates (which show the real impact of our warm weather-driven economy), we see that St. Lawrence and Jefferson counties are experiencing the usual summer boost in jobs, but at a much lower rate than in the past. The state Labor Department reports that Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties are losing jobs slower than the state rate, while Lewis County is losing jobs faster than the state rate.

If your company is struggling and you are facing unemployment, it probably isn't your fault. In its 2008 Survey of Employers, the Jefferson County Job Development Corp. found that most employers in the region are happy with their employees. Our work force gets good scores on skills, work ethic, low rates of absenteeism and low turnover rates. People in the north country work hard for their money, and their bosses generally appreciate it.

At the local level, there is nothing our economic development agencies or county legislatures can do to stave off the impact of the recession. New York and the nation have seen seven recessions since 1970. In New York, recessions typically last about two years and result in a drop in employment. Afterward, we always see strong economic growth for several years.

If this leaves you feeling worse, I'm sorry. If you can't address the problem at a global or national level, perhaps you can do something about your own circumstances. Here are some things that you can do to avoid losing your job, if not this time around, at least in the future:

nGo where the jobs are.In Northern New York, this means health care, education and professional services. It does not mean manufacturing. We have been shedding manufacturing jobs for years, along with the rest of the state and nation. The current recession has just accelerated the process.

The few "safe" jobs in manufacturing tend to be senior managers and engineers/technical specialists — and those are safe only if you are willing to move around the world to wherever the plants are.

If you need new skills to work in a new industry, you have five centers of higher education in Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties and a great BOCES program available in all three counties in the region. There are some exciting opportunities in health care in particular, including new programs at Jefferson Community College.

nGet more education.While the rates of general unemployment are very high, the rates for those with college degrees average 5 to 6 percentage points lower. Even graduates with less marketable degrees do better in the job market than those with no degrees.

More education means more income as well. The state Department of Labor has a calculator to show the effects of education on income by industry in the state. Check it out at www.labor.state.ny.us/workforceindustrydata/cen/calc1.asp?reg=cny if you want a personal look at the value of education to your paycheck.

nRead the newspaper.In the JCJDC Survey of Employers, newspaper ads were the primary recruitment tool businesses in our area used to attract new employees by 81 percent of the surveyed employers. The company Web site and online advertising services were number two at 64 percent, while other choices dropped off quickly.

nBe positive.Prepare yourself and your family for hard times, but don't let anyone lose hope. This recession, like all others, will end and jobs and economic growth will return to Northern New York, along with the rest of the world. Don't let a job loss destroy your self-esteem. Many of the top financial managers and CEOs in the country have lost their jobs, so don't be embarrassed about losing yours.

The message behind the weak joke at the beginning of this column makes a key point. National and regional economic and employment statistics can help us understand the big picture, but what we really care about is what happens to ourselves and our families. A recession is really a set of private stories of loss and courage. If you have lost a job or found a new job and have any tips or advice for others, please send me an e-mail. I think this is a good time for north country residents to stick together and get through this recession as best we can. We are a tough group and used to surviving tough winters, weak economies, foreign wars and black fly season. We can get through this. Good luck.

Greg Gardner is an associate professor of business at SUNY Potsdam. His column on business issues in the north country is published monthly in Money Matters. You can e-mail him at ggardner@wdt.net.