Unemployment high, but so is optimism about future jobs among Falls leaders

“December was very high, unacceptable, but we still have so much to do yet and can do to create a healthy viable community, and we will,” Mason said just prior to the latest figures’ release. “I think there’s optimism in a whole circle of people who are excited about our future.”

At the same time a year ago, the county’s “not seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate was 8.6 percent. Those numbers can be a bit deceiving, though, experts say, since it’s the only rate readily available online, and the percentages often vary by a few points since it utilizes temporary hires, too, like for Christmas.

Officials often release figures in a positive context. The federal Department of Labor on Tuesday announced that the U.S. unemployment rate is at a four-year low, or 7.7 percent for February.

And Minnesota’s most-recent seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 5.6 percent, according to DEED. The agency also announced that the state had recovered 90 percent of the jobs lost in the “Great Recession.”

And the findings and leaders also describe how Minnesota and cities, like the Falls, have a better grip today on how and where to invest in business and community development as well as what employment fields and institutions to support for future growth.

“Things are going to turn around, but will take all hands on deck, and there’s a lot of work that needs to be done,” Mason said. “There may be people who don’t believe it’s possible, and the trend will continue, but only if we don’t do something about it.”

In the big picture, International Falls and Koochiching County together looks to have endured the recession better than other outlying regions for several reasons, Mayor Bob Anderson said this week.

The area’s natural resources, solid ingrained businesses and steady employment opportunities with decent pay and benefits pulled many families through, Anderson said.

Although, U.S. Census Bureau data states that the county and cities populations continue to decline.

One DEED study found that 47 percent of the county worked part time and 18 percent had seasonal or temporary jobs, which is high but not too much out of step with the rest of the state. The median wage was lower as well, but so is the cost of living.

The needs remain great and should not be forgotten, social service and nonprofit experts have said. Underemployed folks can be anyone in this economy still, and often they hurt as much the unemployed, both of which often go without enough food, health and mental care and other basic needs.

One bright side is that the Falls established families and jobs helped keep at bay America’s foreclosure crisis, for the most part, real estate experts have said.

“I think that we fared very well through the recession,” said Anderson a former longtime Boise Inc. employee said. “We were very fortunate with the mill having continued with good employment.

“I do think we certainly did feel the effects of the downturn, especially in tourism,” he said. “Then we benefited from the timber industry staying strong, and it is still key to a great deal of employment from good operators like (International) Bildrite (Inc.) and Bergstrom (Wood Products Inc.).”

He said timber tremendously helped get Borderland through this havoc, and much of the region’s future continues to hinge on the industry.

“I really believe that there are many more jobs out there than are communicated to the public,” Mason added. “If you know of a job and could get the word out, that would really help... It’s very easy just to say how difficult it is now.”

And according to another DEED report, the county’s job vacancy rate, or job openings, is nearly twice that of the entire state.

“The latest Job Vacancy Survey is another sign that the Minnesota labor market is coming back strong,” said agency Commissioner Katie Clark Sieben. “We haven’t seen this many job openings since well before the Great Recession started.”

The seven-county Twin Cities metro area had 34,400 job openings, and 24,460 positions were in Greater Minnesota.

There’s also three unemployed people for each vacancy outside the metro, which is a steady decline in competition, Sieben said. And the percentage of openings has risen by double digits the past several months.

DEED lumped Koochiching County in with the entire Arrowhead region, which had 5,615 job openings by the start of this month. Local figures were not available from the Falls’ DEED WorkForce Center.

“The Minnesota labor market is staging a robust comeback, with all 11 industrial sectors showing year-over-year growth rates for the first time since 2000,” Sieben said.

And finally last week, DEED announced a study that found that almost half of the state’s job vacancies in the most in-demand fields were not being filled because both the employers and potential employees essentially couldn’t make it work. Issues included skill mismatches, poor wages and unattractive locations.

Local and other communities’ leaders have expressed awareness of these sticking points after years of examining how to properly position the area for growth.

Mason said for a lot of employers today need help to deliver jobs with benefits “so people can sustain a life here in International Falls. The challenge for us really is landing us some of those quality jobs that can support a family, like our parents had.”

EDA’s 2013-2014 goals not only include once again supporting tourism, but the creation of “a cohesive health care campus” as well as growing Rainy River Community College to prepare students and retrain adults for emerging fields. In addition, the EDA wrote it supports other increasingly common development goals, such as assisting existing businesses and entrepreneurs with local ties.

Anderson said while it would be great if a new manufacturer came here, “we aren’t really chasing smoke stacks as much anymore.”

The mayor said he and the EDA and county are looking to promote the region’s strengths, such as its workforce, school, hospital and clinic, natural beauty, lakes, parks and its good roads and airport. They’ll also have to be realistic and confront what some see as weaknesses, such as location, he said.

For instance, Anderson said he supports further improvements to U.S. Highway 53 along with creative endeavors, such as establishing a hub to unload semi-truck beds and cargo off of trains and ready them for road travel.

Anderson said certainly diversification “no doubt is a key to our future,” but again reminded people never to forget timber.

DEED is online at www.PositivelyMinnesota.com.