Jobless rate continues low

Mercer Business, Dec 01, 1998

Boasting an unemployment rate of 4.5 percent, Mercer is in the midst of what county officials call "a decade of opportunity." Part of their strategy for continued economic success is to fine-tune an already healthy job market.

According to Frank Lucchesi, business representative for the Mercer County Division of Economic Development, there are several areas where future job growth looks especially promising. These are government, including schools and social services, retail trade, entertainment and restaurants, and science and health research and development.

Lucchesi adds that support services for these areas will also be vital to their continued growth. "Lots of little businesses can benefit these clusters of growth."

Jobs are moving back into Mercer, and opportunities are many and varied. The Trenton arena is expected to create about 200 jobs, Lucchesi points out, while such firms as Covance and Raytheon are adding their own positive statistics to the employment picture.

Some 1500 new jobs are anticipated once Merrill Lynch gets its Hopewell Township site off and running. Shiseido, a Japanese cosmetics firm, has settled into East Windsor and will be adding up to 250 new positions.

Although the issue of manufacturing jobs is said to be moribund, Lucchesi says that particular sector, while undeniably suffering losses, is still very much a presence in Mercer's job scene, and its level of employment is remaining fairly steady. He points out that the state government has been offering numerous incentives to bring back industrial jobs. "I think they are needed, because everything that we do in our lives has some type of manufacturing component to it," he notes. "Even pharmaceuticals involves the manufacture of prescription drugs for consumer sale."

Still, the world is changing. The "Trenton Makes, the World Takes" work environment has faded, replaced with jobs more in tune with current market developments.

"We're moving away from a manufacturing economy to one based primarily on technology and research," Lucchesi notes. "I see the employment scene being very positive for 1999. I think the job market will remain tight."

That's also the outlook as seen from the New Jersey Department of Labor's employment service, according to office manager Patricia Reed. "The market is great," she says. "Our problem is that there are more jobs than people. But we prefer it that way."

The Labor Department, along with the county's Workforce Investment Board, recently opened what it calls a one-stop center for both job seekers and job providers, adjacent to the Mercer County Administration Building in Trenton. Among the services offered at this facility is matching employees with employers at no fee to any of the parties involved. Also provided are labor market information, and assistance to employers in hiring and human resources areas, such as writing job descriptions.

For job applicants, the department offers self-help groups, plus the use of faxes, telephones, and the Internet to facilitate job, searches. "We have a resume bank on the Internet that employers can access directly," Reed explains. "We have PC sets for the public to use. They can come in and put resumes into our resume bank, and employers can hook in and find people. Employers can post jobs directly on the Internet or we can post them. There is no charge to either party."

For next year, Reed sees continued low unemployment, with the high demand for jobs continuing. "A lot of employers are looking. The job market is very good," she reports.

Some of the most active areas for job seekers, Reed reports, are the computer field, retail areas, pharmaceuticals, and customer service positions. This is an environment where those laid off from the manufacturing sector may find that they need training to ease them into new fields. Programs to accomplish this are among the services offered by the state's employment service.

Finding a new job may be almost instantaneous or may take awhile, depending on the individual, since each situation is unique. "Someone coming in and wanting a job as a computer analyst would not be out of work very long," Reed advises. "And the same goes for low end jobs like retail and warehousing. People can come in and start work right away."

It's the middle area where the job search may take longer. Down-sized middle managers can discover that they have to both re-skill and convince employers that they'll take less money to get into a new field.

But whether the jobs sought are low, middle, or high ended, help is available through the state's various services. "We're open to everybody," Reed says.

Help is also on hand at Mercer County Community College, which offers a wide array of opportunities, according to Lynn Coopersmith, director of business and community programs.

"We try to gear what we do to meet everyone's needs," she says, This may involve individuals seeking retraining on their own, or government-sponsored retraining through unemployment or welfare agencies, or the specific needs of certain industries.