Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 10, 1995 TAG: 9501100061
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 BUSINESS EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
``I told them, `I just don't think we can find anybody for you,''' said Marjorie Skidmore, job service manager at the VEC's Roanoke office.
With the unemployment |rate near rock-bottom, interest has been lagging in some openings for clerks, security guards, seamstresses and other jobs paying close to minimum wage and offering no benefits, Skidmore said.
``We are almost approaching a labor shortage,'' she said. ``We started seeing it in late summer. It's a shortage at the lower end of the salary scale.''
The Roanoke-area jobless rate fell to 3.4 percent in November, the VEC reported Monday. That's the lowest point since September 1989, when the rate was 3.2 percent. During the 12 months ending Nov. 30, the region's economy grew by 4,600 jobs, or 3.5 percent, the report said.
As work opportunities have widened, however, employers have become saddled with jobs that few people want.
Companies are having the hardest time filling positions paying less than $6 an hour, without benefits. In that pay bracket, ``It's an applicant's market. Applicants can basically pick and choose where they want to work,'' Skidmore said.
Some employers recently have taken steps to deal with the trend.
Halmode Apparel Inc. in Roanoke raised its minimum hourly wage to $5 from $4.25 on Jan. 1, the largest such increase in company history. ``I can vouch for the fact that there are very few people to be hired,'' said Eddie Shepherd, human resources director at the women's clothing manufacturer. The firm still needs 25 garment pressers.
Unable to hire all the help it needs, Halmode has had to farm out work to sometimes-costlier contractors, he said.
November's jobless rate was down slightly from 3.6 percent in October, according to preliminary estimates. All told, the ranks of the employed totaled 126,460 people in Roanoke and Roanoke County, Bedford and Bedford County, Salem, and Franklin and Botetourt counties. That compares to 125,610 in October 1994 and 122,490 in November 1993.
The state said 4,460 people were unemployed in November, down from 4,710 in October and from 5,370 in November 1993.
Sources of new jobs included business-services firms and the retail industry, which posted double-digit gains last year. The construction, communications and utilities sectors also grew noticeably.
by CNB