On the job in Durango
La Plata County boasts one of lowest unemployment rates

A ‘help wanted’ sign hangs in the front door of Stonehouse Subs earlier this week during the lunch rush. Service sector jobs such as these have always been plentiful in Durango, however, with a weakening economy, some of these opportunities may be drying up./Photo by David Halterman

by Stew Mosberg

Durango has one of the lowest rates of unemployment in the nation, according to the Department of Labor. At 3.2 percent, Durango and La Plata County continue to keep joblessness to a minimum. Indeed, if the available data is reliable, La Plata County has fewer than a thousand potential employees out of work.

Data, on the other hand, can often be misleading or obsolete by the time it is tabulated and released. At a time when economic conditions can change faster than mountain weather, job opportunities that were once prevalent seemingly vanish overnight. And because they often require months or even years to compile, posted unemployment statistics are often best taken lightly.

As elsewhere, the impact of high gasoline prices has already been felt by businesses and consumers throughout our area. For years, jobs in the service industry, including restaurant and retail establishments, were readily available here. Now, with fewer tourists in the forecast, and locals cutting back on restaurant attendance as well as their discretionary purchases, the previously high number of projected job opportunities in these industries is shriveling.

In order to evaluate the employment situation, it is important to keep in mind that available employment figures, as well as projections, are based only on the claims filed by employees and their employers.

According to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) for the month of May, there was a sharp decline statewide in residential housing permits in 2007 that carried over into the first four months of 2008. The fall-off dropped 4,400 people from construction payrolls, and the weak manufacturing sector added another 4,000 workers to the unemployed.

In Durango, the Colorado Workforce Center is a primary conduit for information and jobs. Located at 331 South Camino Del Rio, sandwiched between Office Depot and a satellite outpost for Durango Mountain
Resort, the innocuous storefront is the headquarters of the Durango Colorado Workforce Center, an extension of CDLE. The Workforce Center provides a host of free services paid for by tax dollars and federal grants. Its staff of four is available for consultation and advice to both employers and employees.

So how is the job market in Durango? As of the third quarter of 2007, the greatest number of jobs, for skilled and unskilled labor, continues to be for wait staff, cashiers and registered nurses. But growth trends indicate a need for support services in the mining industry, network systems and data communication analysts.

Servers work to expedite the morning breakfast rush at Carvers Brewing Co. this week. While waiting tables is always a sure bet for young workers, other areas of opportunity locally include health and assisted living, education and nursing./Photo by David Halterman

Yet, finding a job that pays enough to live on is another matter entirely. Even though the U.S. minimum wage going up to $6.55 an hour in July, and increasing to $7.25 in July of next year, that is barely possible to subsist on. However, CDLE statistics suggest that the average employee in Durango earns more than twice that hourly amount. Granted, many jobs in the professional services sector skew the resulting figures. At the same time, many hourly wages don’t reflect tips, and that can easily give an employee twice the earning potential, if not more.

Advocacy for La Plata, a program of the Women’s Resource Center, works with local families that unable to meet their basic needs, event through human service programs. Erin Maldegena, the group’s family advisor, and Eve Pressler, its program director, happily claim that all of their clients are working. However, it is difficult to find jobs that provide a livable wage in Durango.

What if a person can’t or doesn’t want to wait tables, tend bar or tidy tourists’ hotel rooms? How can they learn the skills for a better-paying job when they don’t have the money for additional education?

The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 enables the unemployment office to provide short-term financial assistance to help qualified people fill a job opening. The assistance, if necessary, might include initial training, uniforms and even work tools. At Workforce, “The Training Advantage” program offers just such a service. The Colorado Western and Southwestern region recently received a three-year, $2-million federal grant to help identify the skills needed for the growing mining industry. Those skills, once defined, might be learned through The Training Advantage program.

Chloe Wiebe, regional supervisor at the Durango office of Workforce, remarks that, “Employee retention is of great interest to Workforce.” However, she is quick to add that recent government funding and budget cuts are beginning to have an effect on her office. Wiebe notes that having a high school diploma, or equivalent, is of great help when seeking employment in La Plata County. She is upbeat about opportunities in Durango for people interested in finding work. “Most individuals who want to work are able to work,” she says. “Those who have the skills can find jobs. Employers are screaming for bodies!”

Wiebe also mentions the department’s interest in helping employers, not only to find staff, but to retain them. A number of programs are available to help train personnel in customer service for instance, as well as providing brush-up courses on computer and general office skills. “It’s less costly to retain an employee than to find a replacement,” she says.

Furthermore, the growing ranks of elderly people suggests increased employment opportunities in the health and assisted-living sectors, while the education profession is also targeted as an employment growth area. In spite of current economic conditions, these careers might prove wise choices for young people trying to decide what occupational path they can take.

At the end of May, there were 178 job listings on file at the Durango office of Workforce; slightly less than 10 percent of the number of unemployed people in Durango. But, as Wiebe says, the number of openings varies from day to day. Once a job seeker is in the system, he or she can search the Workforce website without having to come to the office, and after a job profile is added to the network, the job seeker can be automatically alerted by phone or e-mail of any new listing for which they are qualified.

For additional information on Colorado Workforce Center call 247-0308 or go to: www.yourworkforcecenter.com. •