Six people are seeking employment for every job opening in the United States.

And there aren’t many job openings as the new decade dawns, the result of the recession that strangled the nation’s economy in the past two years. In the Valley, more than 500 workers have been dislocated from seven companies in the four-county area since April, according to Shannon Miller, executive director of the Central Pennsylvania Workforce Development Corp.

Many other companies have laid-off smaller numbers of workers, reduced work hours for employees, failed to replace workers who retired, quit or moved on or found ways to increase productivity on “lean” operations with smaller staffs.

So, where are the jobs? Mainly in health care or social services, Miller said, referencing the state’s CareerLink Web site.

While there may eventually be a spike locally in welding, mechanics, maintenance and heavy equipment operations jobs, there has been a loss in the wood products industry.

“This is an area of the state where, for years, wood products have driven businesses to establish facilities here and hire local people,” said Charlie Ross, president and CEO of the Greater Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce in Shamokin Dam. But with nationwide construction falling off the past three years and global competition, “We’ve seen factory closings and layoffs as a result.”

Wood-Mode, the largest private employer in Snyder County and a manufacturer of custom cabinets for kitchens and bathrooms, has lost much of its workforce in the past two years. The company once employed 2,000, but after its most recent layoff of 95 workers in October, it now employs about 800.

Nine months earlier, 325 workers at the Fleetwood Enterprises plant in Paxinos, which made recreational vehicles, were furloughed when operations were moved to Decatur, Ind. More than 700 workers were employed at the Valley plant in 2005.

Also in December 2008, 100 workers learned they would lose their jobs when Crest Homes in Milton closed because of the “worsening economic condition and declining home orders.”

None of those furloughs were included in the 2,300 Valley jobs lost between January 2008 and January 2001, the result of free-trade agreements that opened up global markets.

“It is obvious that, like the nation, we have moved from a manufacturing to more of a service-oriented society, which is the result of markets being globalized,” said Maria Culp, president and CEO of the Central Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce in Milton.

Manufacturing has, for the most part, moved to where labor is cheapest, Culp said.

Certain items, such as food products and some wood-related industries, because of access to resources and a skilled labor force, have survived.

“Specifically in our area, (Interstate) 80 and the free access that it has given to those who work, manufacture and distribute here, is an advantage,” Culp said. “The tolling of I-80 is the single biggest threat to the continuation of that advantage.”

Like Culp, Ross said that a main objective is to market the Valley, and draw business to the area, which would then create jobs. He understands that, ultimately, jobs are what will drive the local economy.

The labor force numbers in the Valley are stark.

Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates in Snyder, Union and Northumberland counties decreased slightly in November, and that may be a positive sign that the economy has turned the corner.

But, said Scott Meckley, an industry analyst for the state Department of Labor, it is too soon to know whether the drop is completely positive news or just an indication that discouraged jobless people have given up hope and ceased looking for work.

The unemployment rate dropped from 10.8 percent to 8.9 percent in Snyder County; from 10.6 percent to 10.1 percent in Northumberland County; and from 9.3 percent to 9.1 percent in Union County. In Montour County, the unemployment rate held steady at 6.5 percent.

“We have some strong assets that I believe can draw businesses to the Valley,” Ross said.

Those assets include an able, well-educated workforce and existing structures that make excellent industrial and commercial sites, such as Philips Products in Selinsgrove, Valu City in Hummels Wharf, TRW in Danville, Great Stream Commons near Allenwood and the Celotex and Runnerless Knits buildings in Sunbury.

“And we have land with existing industrial infrastructure and tax benefits like Pawling Station Industrial Park, a KOZ- and KOEZ-designated site,” Ross said. “They also cover natural surroundings, heritage and cultural enhancements, arts and education, all aspects of great quality of life.”

Ross said the diversity of remaining industries means existing house sales and new sales have not fallen as far as many other areas of the state and country. And the Valley’s transportation infrastructure still carries a great deal of rail and truck cargo.

Ross wants to attract logistics and warehousing concerns to the Valley.

Due to the high cost of warehousing products, Culp said, most companies don’t stockpile finished goods or raw materials, so there has been a switch to just-in-time inventories for both raw and finished goods. Warehousing has become more about additional services, making in-time deliveries.

“The Northeastern U.S. is still growing,” Ross said, “and many Midwestern and West Coast concerns are looking to expand here. Their market already exists and is growing, but they need to move product distribution and storage facilities closer.”

The recent expansion of National Beef is an indicator of the trend. Special disciplines such as computer security are taught in the Valley and may attract more than just a cottage industry in the future. Many training schools, as well as Valley-based universities, feed information technology demands for a well-equipped workforce.

“The effects of clustering of industry concerns like wood products, manufactured housing and support services for Marcellus shale all offer the promise of more jobs here because the assets are here: natural gas and forests,” Ross said.

Culp is also optimistic.

“Smaller, specialized manufacturing is being done in our area,” she said, “and more people have stopped thinking about working in a factory for 40 years. I see more folks looking to be their own boss and start their dream jobs.”

She is also excited about the area’s coming solar project, which should bring jobs, and “a new project that we will be announcing soon.”



Don’t wait

Now is the time to seek those technical jobs such as welding and maintenance listed on the state CareerLink Web site, said Miller, of the Central Pennsylvania Workforce Development Corp.,

“Knowing this,” Miller said, “and with funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the state now has access to unprecedented resources to assist job-seekers in this economic climate.”

Miller advised job-seekers, even if they are not actively seeking immediate re-employment, to be proactive because many of these resources have time limits, and in the current state of the economy, finding a job will likely take much longer than it had in the past.



Early results

Since the announcement of federal stimulus funding in February, the Central Pennsylvania CareerLinks have paid for almost 400 job-seekers to earn WorkKeys Career Readiness Certificates, scholarships for 196 job-seekers to apply toward tuition and for training and wages for 684 youths to participate in a summer or fall work experience.

The most popular training programs that job-seekers have chosen to pursue include licensed practical nurse, registered nurse, sustainable energy technology, truck driving and welding.

Most job-seekers, Miller said, are pursuing training with the knowledge that employment may not be immediately available upon completion of the program, but they are pursuing careers that appear to offer the greatest opportunity for employment in the future.