Unemployment in the Lehigh Valley

CACLV executive director discusses unemployment in LV

Alan Jennings, executive director of the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley (CACLV), said the Lehigh Valley’s unemployment rate is higher than the state and national average unemployment rates.

Jennings has worked at CACLV since 1980, and he said he has seen four recessions within that time period. Jennings said this is the longest recession he has seen while working at CACLV, and though it is not the worst in terms of unemployment, the long sustained period with high unemployment has caused many people to fall out.

“Whatever savings they had is gone, whatever coping mechanism they might have had is wiped out and they are getting to the point where they are losing their homes in huge numbers,” Jennings said. 

Jennings said there has not been much of an upswing in the Lehigh Valley since the recession has begun, with the exception of the opening of Sands Casino. Jennings said that though the casino hires employees within the Lehigh Valley, many of the jobs do not offer wages that provide the ability to sustain a family.

“The Lehigh Valley continues to be challenged,” he said.

Before the recession, Jennings said the Lehigh Valley was fastest growing location in Pennsylvania and the fourth fastest growing location in the northeastern United States. Jennings said this growth was greatly contributed to the location of the Lehigh Valley, and its great proximity to major cities such as Philadelphia and New York.

Jennings said the recession is playing a large part in the lack of employment that exists within the Lehigh Valley currently. The most detrimental aspect of this recession is the foreclosure crisis that is currently affecting so many within the area, along with other parts of the US.

“People don’t have jobs, they don’t have income, they can’t keep up with the maintenance on their house, they can’t keep up with the payments on their house, it depresses the economy further,” Jennings said.

Jennings said as long as the foreclosure crisis remains so significant, economic growth will be stifled. Without equity within homes, people cannot start their own businesses, they cannot buy new homes and access to economic opportunity is severely limited.

“The old promise that if you work your tail off, you get a degree and you keep your nose to the grindstones because this is America after all, the land of opportunity doesn’t apply anymore,” Jennings said.

Jennings said CACLV runs 20 weeks of seminars four times a year for residents of Bethlehem and Allentown. He said in the past few years, they have seen a better quality of candidates interested in beginning new small businesses, but the economy has often prevented the qualified entrepreneurs from succeeding.

CACLV offers lending to people banks find to be ineligible, including start up companies. Jennings said they have helped create a good number of jobs as a result of this program. Jennings said people who have become victims of unemployment due to the economy’s state are not always eligible for help from agencies such as CACLV.  He said the government sets the eligibility criteria, and though some people cannot afford to pay their bills, CACLV cannot offer them the aid they need because the criteria is so low.

Currently, the unemployment rate in the Lehigh Valley is 8.1 percent, as reported by The Express-Times Tuesday.  which is a decrease since December when it was 8.4 percent.


 


Video by Dayna Geldwert, '12. Story by Mara Kievit, '13.

Lehigh University Career Services Battles Unemployment Rates

While the national economy and unemployment rate are still struggling, the Lehigh Valley has seen some improvement in recent months. Despite having its lowest unemployment rate of 8.1 percent in the past three years, many residents remain searching for jobs and resources to help them find employment.

Lehigh University’s Career Services provides many resources to provide aid to its students and alumni who have been negatively affected by the struggling economy. Although the services are only available to members of the Lehigh community, they do in fact help the local economy by placing qualified workers in job within the area. According to the office's Undergraduate Placement Summary, 24 percent of job placement by the Career Services happens in Pennsylvania. So, its effects are potentially helping the Lehigh Valley’s economy in a more indirect manner.

Donna Goldfeder, director of Career Services, said the resources she and other representatives provide have had an impact on helping recent graduates gain employment for after graduation. Even in the worse economic times, Goldfeder said the students were still finding jobs.

“In the first years, 2008, 2009, somewhat even 2010, I think what we were really seeing is the students were still getting the jobs almost that same percentages as always, but they didn’t have so many choices,” she said.

Goldfeder described that in 2006, a student could have received five or six job offers, but by 2008, students were glad to have a single employment option lined up. The first class to start having more options following graduation was the class of 2011, and future classes will start to see more as well.

The fact that graduates are seeking out entry-level jobs has also alleviated some of the job search woes of the ongoing economic downturn, Goldfeder said. Those positions become available much sooner than more advanced levels, which helps recent graduates who aren’t seeking higher positions within a company like their older, more experienced competition.

Among the center’s various resume, mock interview and job seeking services, one program stands out as having helped the largest percentage of students. LUCIE, an online database where Lehigh students can login to see current career listings, is how 59 percent of graduates found their jobs. Goldfeder also noted that most of the 13 percent of students who earned employment following an internship or co-op probably found those opportunities through LUCIE. The database post hundreds of available employment positions each month, and it is Career Services’ leading tool to helping students have success in their job search.

The statistics show popularity for LUCIE and other online resources, which is mirrored by the students’ feelings about them.

Kathleen Ryan, a junior finance and economics major, has found both LUCIE and the Career Services office helpful in searching for possible job opportunities.

 “I find that the online services [and] LUCIE are really helpful because it’s easy to navigate, and you can upload your resume and cover letters right on the website,” she said.

Ben Hulac, a junior political science and journalism major, said he sees advantages to having a resource like LUCIE.

“It’s pretty helpful to see what’s out there,” he said. “[…] but it’s frustrating that opportunities aren’t close to campus.”

Hulac described that many of the internship and employment opportunities that are listed online are for jobs in locations like major cities. New York City and Washington, D.C., stand out as having the most job opportunities for jobs he's looking for.

Goldfeder agreed that many job prospects are looking to place employees in the major cities, but she has seen many graduates move back to the Lehigh Valley, or neighboring areas, after having been employed for a while in a different location. 

Also, the campus climate seems to relate that certain sectors, such as business and engineering, seem to offer more job possibilities on LUCIE.

“It’s just hard to deny that business and engineering majors and students have some sort of leg up [on the competition],” Hulac said.

In reference to the two percent of graduates who have to continue their job search following graduation, Goldfeder said Career Services continues to offer support to help those people get placed in appropriate companies.

“There are just certain majors that the types of employers don’t know as much in advance how many people they’re going to have to hire. A lawyer’s office, a hospital, a museum will hire just in time. And students who want to work for those types of employers might find themselves still seeking after graduation,” she said. “And we’ve always the LUCIE account to those students.”

While Goldfeder advocates the use of the resources Career Services has to offer, she has one other piece of advice for students and alumni: “You’re going to hear everywhere that the key to doing a successful job search at any level is networking. Lehigh alums are just amazing, and any and every student, and alum, should take advantage of that network and use it to get advice and leads.”

Story by Melissa Collins, '13

Unemployed in the Lehigh Valley

The Lehigh Valley, like the rest of the country, has been affected by the recession. Unemployment is often a telling factor in evaluating the state of the economy.  At the end of 2011, the Lehigh Valley’s unemployment rate was 8.1%, compared to the national rate of 8.7%.  Though this rate is lower than the national rate, unemployment has affected a large amount of people in a great way in the last few years.

Vanessa Williams and her husband Dan Morick are just two of the Lehigh Valley residents that are a part of that 8.1%.

Williams, who is in the public relations and social media field, has been unemployed since June 2011.  “It was really hard because at the time my husband was laid off as well and you kind of go into panic mode and, ‘What am I going to do?’” she said.  “But you kind of pick yourself up off the ground and you keep moving forward.” (See video below)

Williams definitely stresses the challenges that unemployment can present, which includes making daily sacrifices.  However, she has a positive outlook on her situation.  “It’s been difficult, you know, it hasn’t been easy, but at the same time I almost wouldn’t give it back because I feel like I’ve learned so much over the past two years,” she said.

Williams also remains proactive and continuously tries to update her skills in order to end her unemployment streak.  She focuses on moving forward and staying up to date with the market that she is trying to jump back in to.  “One thing my professor told me when I was in college is to always have your resume fresh,” she said.

Morick, also unemployed, is in the mechanical engineering field.  He has also felt the pressure of unemployment.  “It almost seems like the instability that I have been experiencing is the new normal,” he said.

However, though Morick has experienced ups and downs in his career in the Lehigh Valley, he is still optimistic of the valley’s situation.  “It seems like the Lehigh Valley is pretty resilient in comparison with the rest of the country in the recession,” he said.

It is evident that unemployment in the Lehigh Valley region (Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton) is actually improving at a faster rate than it is nationally. This can be contributed to more individuals finding work, or a growing proportion of individuals opting to remain unemployed, thus lowering the unemployment rate.

As Williams mentioned in our interview, a company called CareerLink Lehigh Valley was overwhelmed with calls especially around the peak of the recession from 2008-2009, and is still working hard to find jobs for all those unemployed in the area. CareerLink explains that the Lehigh Valley is aiming for growth in a few key industry clusters, including Healthcare and Life Sciences, Diversified Manufacturing and Services, Business and Professional Services, Information and Communication, Financial Services, and Energy/Green Manufacturing and Services. These areas are selected due to the belief that they will make the most improvement on the status of unemployment in the Lehigh Valley.

While the unemployment rate in Bethlehem has been lower than the national unemployment rate in the past year, it was still higher than that in Pennsylvania. Bethlehem had a 10% unemployment rate as of March 2011, whereas Pennsylvania had a rate of 8%.

The employment status of Bethlehem men in the labor force is 64.4% and women is 54%. The current unemployment status of Bethlehem men is 9% and women is 6.8%. As Williams and Morick discussed, things are looking up for the Lehigh Valley employment status, and locals are still more than willing and optimistic to continue to search for jobs in the Bethlehem area instead of spreading farther outside the district.

As long as the community is still able to come together and work to hold jobs in our area, it is looking more hopeful that the unemployment rate will continue to decrease until it is as close to zero as possible. Yet, it is becoming more common in today’s world to be let go from a job and have to look for another one, so it is recommended that everyone be on the constant lookout for openings, even if they are happy at their current job.