Workforce Investment Executive Director M.A. Wiltse told ccSCOOP on Friday that the December unemployment rate in Columbia County was 5.9 percent, up from 4 percent in December 2007. In Greene County, the December rate reached 7.7 percent, up from 5.2 during the same month of 2007, she said.

Correspondingly, she said, the number of people seeking assistance through her office jumped dramatically. During a three-month period ending on September 30, the office provided assistance to 195 people. During the three-month period that ended on December 31, the office assisted 391 unemployed workers. “We have seen our numbers nearly double every month,” Wiltse said.

And more claims are likely to come. It is reported that over the next eight weeks, Kaz, which is restructuring and closing its manufacturing facility in Greenport, will be laying off another 212 employees. This past Friday, The Independent newspaper ceased publication, dismissing its staff.  

The increased unemployment claims coupled with federal budget cutbacks, Wiltse said, has forced the Workforce Investment Office to use its entire annual budget for job training—totaling approximately $250,000—with more than a third of the fiscal year still to go. That means that until the start of the new fiscal year on July 1 there is no money available for job training programs.

Wiltse explained that job training programs are typically provided to “dislocated workers who are unlikely to be able to return to their job and who could use new job skills.” Job training provides tuition for eligible people to enroll in certificate, BOCES, and college programs that train them for jobs that are in demand in the area at the time. In the past, these have included jobs in nursing, accounting, as truck drivers, and other positions area employers have had a hard time filling.

Wiltse said that at least one version of the federal stimulus plan now under debate in Washington contains funding that would allow new training to be offered through her office.

NOT ALL IS LOST

In the meantime, Wiltse said her agency continues to provide in-house assistance through seminars and one-on-one assistance. That includes career planning, interviewing skills, resume development, as well as training in:

• how to apply online for jobs
• finding job leads
• employment location
• identifying useful job skills that can be transferred to a new job

Wiltse said the office is open to all residents of the two counties looking for assistance in finding a job. For more information, the office can be reached at 828-4181 or by visiting the Workforce Investment website www.columbiagreeneworks.org.