Reno employers scramble for workers
By Kristen Go, Outpost Staff
|
In this package: Reno man recounts his unemployment story Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation On the web: |
People looking for jobs in Reno have come to the right place. Reno's August 1997 unemployment rate was 3.7 percent, just below the national unemployment rate of 4.9 percent for the same month. And August isn't the exception. For the past year, area unemployment has dipped below the national rate.
"It's a real problem for employers to find people," says Tina Grefrath, deputy director of Reno's Job Opporunities in Nevada (JOIN). "Entry-level people don't need to do much to find something." Grefrath says nearly everyone who wants a job is already employed.
JOIN, which is federally funded, helps displaced and unemployed workers train and find jobs. Grefrath says Reno's population nearly doubles every 10 years.
"There's just growth everywhere and in everything," she says. "Employers are coming here to start their businesses and people are coming here to find work."
Karen West is the office manager of the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation Employment Security. Her state-funded office helps train and place people who are unemployed. West says many people who come into her office looking for work are from California, where it's harder to find jobs.
West predicts that the trend of people coming from out of state to find employment won't change. The Bureau of Research and Analysis predicts that 500,000 new jobs will be created in Nevada by the year 2005.
"We are more apt to hire people from outside the Reno area because the work ethic is higher," says Jacqueline P. Longnecker, president of Employment Verification Resources Inc.
Longnecker often works with West's office to help place or employ workers. She says people who come from larger markets are used to a more competitive environment and with the current trend of most Nevadans already employed, she has to look elsewhere.
While casino employment continues to be a draw, job openings in Reno aren't limited to the gaming industry.
|
Top 10 High Demand Occupations* |
Approximate Annual Openings |
|
Cashiers |
20,000 |
|
Waiters and waitresses |
24,000 |
|
Salespersons, retail |
23,000 |
|
Blackjack dealers |
17,000 |
|
Guards |
12,000 |
|
General managers and top executives |
16,000 |
|
Maids and housekeeping cleaners |
17,000 |
|
Janitors and cleaners |
18,000 |
|
General office clerks |
18,000 |
|
Marketing and sales supervisors |
13,000 |
|
*source Bureau of Research and Analysis, Fall 1996 |
|
The top 10 high-demand occupations in Nevada range from cashiers to marketing and sales and salaries range too depending on the occupation. However, West says people who are looking for jobs that pay $8 to $12 an hour often have an easier time finding a job than people looking for higher salaries.
copyright 11/15/97