A booming economy has given many workers the boost they need into better paying, full-time jobs, but has resulted in a shortage of entry-level and part-time employees in Freeborn County, experts say.

Tuesday, April 10, 2001

A booming economy has given many workers the boost they need into better paying, full-time jobs, but has resulted in a shortage of entry-level and part-time employees in Freeborn County, experts say.

Unemployment in Freeborn County fell again in February, from 4.3 percent to 4 percent. The rate was above the Minnesota average of 3.7 percent, but below the national 4.6 percent rate.

Surrounding counties also saw a slight drop in unemployment or a steady rate, according to the Minnesota Workforce Center.

Current job vacancies in Greater Minnesota are concentrated in entry-level and part-time areas of retail sales; nursing aides and and assistants; maids and housekeepers; and waiters and waitresses, according to a 2001 survey by the Workforce Center. The survey results are representative of Freeborn County’s employment situation, said Minnesota Workforce Center Job Service Program Specialist Curt Schoenrock.

&uot;They’re all what we might consider entry-level,&uot; Schoenrock said. &uot;They might be first jobs, they might be something that people take as they reenter the work force or as supplemental income.&uot;

Business expansion, restaurant development and increased service demands have contributed to the growth of service-sector jobs, Schoenrock said.

&uot;There’s more business, that’s probably the number one reason,&uot; he said. &uot;Stores are being built bigger, restaurants are being built faster.&uot;

Workforce shortages have allowed workers more options than they would have in a less profitable climate, he said.

&uot;The higher paying, the full-time jobs have kind of snapped up the people who would have had to choose these lower-paying jobs,&uot; Schoenrock said.