• 
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES

Some are hiring, but workers face difficult choices

JANESVILLE — The state’s unemployment rate hit a 22-year high in December as employers continued paring payrolls.

Fueled by losses in the automotive sector, unemployment in the Janesville area again tops the state.

While it might seem that every area employer is laying off, some are hiring.

But many jobseekers—particularly those from the devastated auto sector—are in a difficult position. They’re overqualified for some of the open positions and not ready to take a significant pay cut. Or they’re not qualified for higher-paying jobs and need time to pick up additional skills.

“That’s why training is so important,” said Shannon Moe, manager of the Rock County Job Center in Janesville. “These people have the work ethic and the work history. They were born with it, and that’s good, because we can’t teach that.

“But what they don’t often have is the skill set to earn the kind of money they once made.”

Who is hiring?

Moe said a few companies are looking for one, two or a handful of people. But few, if any, are hiring waves of workers.

“We’re seeing pockets of hiring here and there, but a lot of them are for extremely skilled labor,” Moe said.

US Distribution recently sought 15 to 20 people for its warehouse and distribution operation on Janesville’s south side.

“They had more than 200 applicants,” Moe said.

The hiring was in anticipation of a busy spring and summer at the facility, which ships tractors for John Deere Co.

Companies such as Patch Products, Prent Corp. and Fairbanks Morse have done some hiring, but it’s been to replace rather than add positions for any significant increase in work, Moe said.

The Job Center of Wisconsin maintains an online database of job openings around the state. Since the start of the year, about 70 job openings have been posted for Rock County.

Recent examples include:

-- Goex Corp. in Janesville looking for a grinder/utility operator at $12.06 per hour.

-- LKQ Star Auto Parts, Janesville, looking for an outside parts puller to be paid a minimum of $10.50 per hour.

-- Regal-Beloit Corp. willing to pay a quality director $75,000 a year.

-- Sara Lee offering $18.95 per hour for a fleet mechanic.

-- TJ Maxx needing a sales merchandise associate for an hourly rate of $6.55 to $7.

Career laddering

The Janesville area is unique in that many of those joining the unemployment rolls are coming from jobs in the auto-manufacturing sector that paid above-average wages.

In 2008, General Motors laid off more than 2,000 employees whose hourly pay was about $28 per hour. Local supplier companies, which laid off hundreds more, typically paid between $10 and $20 per hour.

On the state Web site, Birds Eye Foods has an opening for an electromechanical technician, a position that pays $19.20 to $23.76. Candidates must have journeyman electrician status and a two-year degree in industrial electronics or electromechanical technology.

Not many laid off autoworkers qualify, but many are going back to school to upgrade their skills in a wide variety of sectors.

That’s where Moe and the job center come in. They are a one-stop resource for dislocated workers in search of a job.

“We’re not training for positions in underwater basket weaving,” Moe said. “We’re training for high growth, high-wage opportunities.”

Training, however, takes time.

In job center-speak, it’s called career laddering.

“Not everyone has four years to take off to become an accountant,” Moe said. “But maybe they can take a one-year certificate course that moves them forward so they can reach their goal in chunks.”