With the Pittsburgh area jobless rate holding steady at 4.6% for September actual opportunity for job seekers still appears to remain robust compared to the past 5 years. Although this does not tie in to actual strong job growth for our area (job growth still remains stagnant in southwest Pennsylvania) demand for qualified workers in most hourly categories continues to outpace last year due primarily to the number of retirements and population outflow.
This sets up a dichotomy in Pittsburgh’s job market of at least temporarily increasing opportunity for those searching for jobs while not creating new positions that increase overall economic growth and stems the tide of population outflow, especially among young professionals.
Without getting into political debate about what could or should be done to turn the tide and create a spark that stimulates actual job growth (which is not the purpose of this blog) we are certainly at a juncture where decisive action has the potential of reaping greater rewards than at any time in the past decade.
Previous postings have touched on the causes of our long term job growth problems as reported by local media and experts. An excellent blog to follow is Harold Miller’s Pittsburgh’s Future blog. As Pittsburgh enters a long period of demand for the building trades and other opportunities, it is up to state and local government to take action and build on the momentum.
According to the Monster Local Employment Index Pittsburgh has become the second fastest growth market in the country for online recruitment. Particular strength was cited for the blue collar, hourly jobs arena including food prep, transportation and skilled technical jobs (mechanics, maintenance, repair).
This is inline with what we have seen, as well as healthcare, hospitality and sales. Although this does not directly translate into improved job growth overall, it does show a strengthening of opportunity for job seekers in our area.
Employers are telling us in Pittsburgh it has become noticeably more difficult to recruit qualified workers, while post secondary career schools are seeing a comprehensive slowdown in applications from job seekers seeking re-training. Both are symptoms of job supply and demand transitioning from a buyers market to a sellers market. Below is an excerpt from the actual report:
Online Job Demand in Pittsburgh Jumps in September, According to the Monster Local Employment Index
PITTSBURGH, October 18, 2007 – The Monster Local Employment Index for Pittsburgh notched a solid four-point gain in September as online recruitment activity and related job opportunities reached a new historical Index high. The 16-point, or 15-percent, over-the-year rise establishes Pittsburgh as the Index’s second-fastest growing major online recruitment market in the country, reflecting tight labor market conditions and sustained print-to-online migration of help-wanted advertising. Results for Pittsburgh over the past 13 months are as follows:
The food preparation and serving category registered the highest rate of increase in online job availability during September, and is the top growth category for Pittsburgh year-over-year. Pittsburgh remains the top growth market among the 28 tracked by the Index for this category, indicating high demand in the local accommodation and food services industry. Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media also posted a significant gain last month. During September, online job availability also continued to increase for major blue-collar occupations such as installation, maintenance, and repair; production; and transportation and material moving. In contrast, both protective services; and community and social services reported sharply fewer opportunities than last month. In the white-collar segment, the business and financial operations and legal categories both edged higher and remained moderately improved from a year ago. The only category showing reduced online job availability compared to a year ago is life, physical, and social science, which dipped two points, or two percent. In all, 15 occupational categories rose in September, while three declined one was flat.
On the job news front over the past month it has been a mixed bag for Pittsburgh job seekers. The announced decision by US Air to cut yet another forty plus flights a day and the resulting loss of another 450 Pittsburgh area jobs was bad news.
The good news out weighs the bad if measured on a job creation scale. Giant Eagle is purchasing Le Natures bottling plant in Latrobe. This will result in an immediate 75 jobs recreated, and the possibility of many more over the next two years. Also in the grocery business, Aldi’s Foods is in the process of adding 7 more locations around the southwest Pennsylvania area. No official job count has been released, but based on current per store staffing this should add more than 175 jobs over the next year. BONY / Mellon Bank has announced it will increase Pittsburgh area employment by at least 150 new jobs over the next year. Columbia Gas has announced it will be replacing more than 2,400 miles of aging gas lines over the next 20 year and create about 400 new jobs in southwest Pennsylvania.
Totaling up these headline reports, we have 450 jobs leaving town (all from US Air) but over 800 jobs coming in.
The Employment Guide and The Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh will host The 2007 Pittsburgh Diversity Employment and Career Education Expo at the Mellon Arena on Tuesday October 9th from 10:30AM to 3:00PM. The job fair is free for all job seekers and no prior registration is required. Geared toward hourly entry level to mid level skilled positions, approximately 30 companies are expected to be on hand looking for qualified and motivated job seekers in multiple categories. Categories such as healthcare, nursing, skilled trades, office / clerical, retail, drivers, law enforcement, customer service and more, with career training opportunities as well. Some of the companies attending include Manpower, Boscov's, Giant Eagle / Market District, SMG, CareerLink, Maronda Homes, Transitional Services, First Student, Leeds, Lenzner Coach Lines, Mainstay Life Services, Pennsylvania State Police, Best Buy, New Century Careers, Student Transportation of America, Inc., Kaplan Career institute, United States Post Office, Army National Guard, Sunrise Assisted Living, Academy of Court Reporting, All State Career School, Verizon Wireless and more. Stay tuned for more updates as we get closer to the event.
In what is being billed as the largest job fair event in Pittsburgh history, City County Career Day, or C3, will be held tomorrow at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh. Approximately 250 companies, including over 50 social service organizations, will be on hand offering employment, information and advice to what could be over 4,000 job seekers. Although centered on the building trades due to the large number of Pittsburgh area building projects slated to get underway over the next year, employment opportunities from all categories and skill levels will be available.
The event is a partnership between the Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board, PA CareerLink, the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, the Pittsburgh Partnership and the Western Pennsylvania Builders Guild. Hours will be 10AM until 3PM with free admission to all jobseekers. Services that will be offered include tips on resume writing, interviewing skills, finding community resources and even how to get the most out of a job fair.
If you plan on attending try to get there early and make it a point to smile and shake hands. This is an opportunity to make a good first impression.
We were reading other Pittsburgh related Blogs last night when we saw Pittsblog had endorsed the reading of a frustrated job seeker's blog outlining her search for a higher level position in the Pittsburgh area with nothing but frustration and unprofessionalism from the Pittsburgh recruitisphere to show for it. Our biggest interest came from Mary’s post concerning the attendance of a job fair that was held at PNC Park last June. We also decided to publicize her travail, because her experience relates to all job seekers and recruiters, whether entry level hourly jobs or highly experienced professional positions.
As an organization that also produces multiple large job fairs each year, we hear most often from the “other side”, that is, recruiters who have attended our job fairs. Though many successes have occurred for employers and job seekers at these events, we have seen a common thread running among the recruiters who complain the most about not finding qualified job candidates for the positions they have open. Mary makes the point very well from the job seekers standpoint.
Many recruiters, though with the best of intentions, simply are not people persons. That is, whether they are in Human Resources or head a department for their organization, they are not trained and are not good at engaging people in a public forum. We suppose most people who do this well are currently in Sales or Public Relations or Politics.
Unfortunately for Mary her disappointment in the behavior of recruiters came from expectations that were too high for what a job fair is all about (or of most value to job seekers). Job Fairs, especially for higher end positions, are more of a research mechanism than an actual interview opportunity. Also, she is correct that going to a job fair during the last hour of an event is less likely to get her quality time with the companies that remain (another bad habit of local recruiters is leaving before an event is over)
This does not offer to excuse the behavior of recruiters, only to explain them. Blog postings like Mary’s should go a long way in educating company decision makers about how much they are missing out on available Pittsburgh talent because they are so enthralled with their systems that they forget what their purpose is. Rude or belittling behavior is unprofessional. Period.
As for any other advice for Mary in her job search, please leave your comments and suggestions on her blog. It will be a shame for yet another intelligent professional job seeker to leave Pittsburgh for lack of opportunity (which are actually out there but unaccesable to those without connections). We suggest she contact The Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh, as they offer job search assistance for professionals as well as hourly.
To read Mary’s postings and blog, here is the link.
With the advent of multiple very large construction projects set to get under way within the next 4 months, southwestern Pennsylvania’s job market is poised to see its best quarter in over 5 years. This year to date has seen the first bit of growth for this market since 2001. Year to year growth (July to July) was just over 4,600 jobs created (only .4%).
The upcoming September to December time period should see that and more. Although paltry from a total percentage standpoint, it is the beginning of what should be decent economic news for at least the next 2 years, barring a major unforeseen shock to the economy.
In the hourly Pittsburgh jobs arena, we are seeing very strong demand in the hospitality market, retail, security and sales, along with the always growing plea for healthcare workers. Manufacturing, though anemic by historical standards, has stabilized in the region.
Another symptom of the improving job climate is the continued reduction in applicants for career training schools. As jobseekers gain employment they are less likely to seek retraining. We’re not talking about 4 year college degree programs but the 1 and 2 year programs favored by job seekers seeking retraining. This is something we have seen very strongly in the south and west as those job markets heated up in 2005 and 2006. Look for an announcement coming within the next 3 months of a major Pittsburgh career school closing it’s doors.
