Unemployment below average

By Trisha Marczak (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Tuesday, November 25, 2008

More people are statistically working in Otter Tail County compared to the rest of the state.

Otter Tail County’s October unemployment rate fell below the state average, with 4.9 percent reported out of work in the county. Minnesota’s state average is 6.0 percent.

The unemployment outllook is brighter than it was just three months ago, however, when Otter Tail County unemployment hit 5.6 percent.

The news comes on the heels of announcements in Otter Tail County that about 75 people will lose their jobs at Fergus Falls-based Banner Engineering come March and that Lund Boats of New York Mills will lay off about 150 employees.

Nate Dorr, a labor market Analyst with the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), said a late summer dip in unemployment numbers is common for the area, considering many construction projects are wrapping up at that point.

Dorr also attributed the high numbers to a chain reaction from the national economic crisis, saying many retail jobs were cut due to a lack of consumer spending.

“With retail, people are just spending less...especially if they lost their jobs in other industries or other sectors,” he said. “People aren’t able to lend as much, so retail is suffering.”

Throughout Minnesota’s west central area, which includes Becker, Clay, Douglas, Grant, Otter Tail, Stevens, Traverse, Wilkins and Pope counties, 1,568 jobs are currently open — many of which are in the health care and social assistance industries.

Liscenced Practical Nurses (LPNs) are in fairly high demand, with a 4.8 percent vacancy rate, meaning that for every 100 LPN positions, roughly five are open. Throughout the west central area, the job vacancy rate is sitting at 1.9 percent.

Industries remaining stable in the area include manufacturing, healthcare and education, Dorr said.

The state’s unemployment rate of six percent is below the national rate of 6.5. Throughout the country in October, 240,000 jobs were lost.

“Being a half percent below the national average is fairly significant,” said DEED Commissioner Dan McElroy, who went on to say that the six percent unemployment is by no means good news for the state.

“We’re feeling it,” he said. “We would like to be further below that national average.”

increased unemployment rates have many looking toward the future in hopes things will change for the better. At this point, experts say there may still be a ways to go.

“National economic consultants are showing fairly high unemployment rates into 2010,” McElroy said.

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