Local job market looks good in spite of recent events

By the numbers, the Springfield area job market looks pretty positive. According to the latest statistics from the Missouri Department of Economic Development, unemployment in the Springfield metropolitan statistical area is right at 4 percent.

The Springfield MSA is comprised of Greene, Christian and Webster counties. By county, the unemployment rates stand at 3.7 percent, 4.8 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively.

Comparatively, the DED's numbers show that Missouri's overall unemployment rate is 5.2 percent and the national rate is 6.1 percent. All figures are not seasonally adjusted.

Coasting economy'

Greg Williams, vice president of economic development for the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, said 4 percent is considered near to full employment.

"Our economy has been coasting. I don't think that we've experienced the drastic downturn from the recession that other cities or metro areas in the country have," Williams said. "We continue to base that strictly on the diversity of the work force in this market."

Even with the recent announcement

of the closing of Springfield's Hawker plant and another round of layoffs at Northrop Grumman's Litton Interconnect Technologies, Williams believes the local job market is still pretty tight.

"We're beginning and I stress, just beginning to see improvement, even though we have seen the plant closing announcement at Hawker and additional layoffs at Northrop. Those are 60 and 90 positions in a work force of 180,000

people," Williams said.

"While it's unfortunate and it's regrettable that individual moms and dads have to lose their jobs and seek other opportunities, it has very little effect on our MSA's unemployment rate," he added.

"It's easy to sit back and think to yourself, well, the sky is falling in,' when you hear in the media that there are plant closings. Again, I stress that those are individuals that have car payments and mortgages to pay, and mouths to feed, and it is regrettable. But as an overall economy, we're very optimistic about our short- and our long-term viability and strength," Williams added.

Skilled workers

Williams said the workers left without jobs by the Hawker closing and the Northrop layoff "should not experience a lot of difficulty" in finding other work because "people, especially at Northrop and especially at Hawker, are talented and skilled people."

For those workers, and for others, Williams said, opportunities are out there.

"I know that there are employers in virtually all sectors that are continuing to aggressively seek talent not just bodies, but talent in certain areas," Williams said.

And, Williams noted, new opportunites are entering the marketplace, "with the development of our two industrial parks and continued expansion of the customer service market in Springfield, health care, other sectors I know retail ... is having a tremendous impact on our market."

The upswing that the local job market is beginning to see, Williams noted, doesn't extend to all sectors of the work force.

"I know telecom is still very tough, and it could be another year or so until that particular industry rebounds," he said.

The forecast

The growth of the Springfield-area work force is another factor that bodes well for the local job market. Williams said that according to chamber statistics, the local work force grew 27.8 percent between 1990 and 2000, compared to just less than 13 percent in statewide growth and just more than 9 percent national growth.

The Second Quarter Outlook Survey released in February by Manpower Inc., surveyed nearly 16,000 public and private employers in 478 U.S. markets, including Missouri and specifically the Springfield area. The Manpower survey indicated that at the national level, hiring activity is expected to improve slightly for the second quarter, as 21 percent of the companies polled across the United States expect to have personnel gains. At the same level, 10 percent of the polled companies expect cutbacks, 63 percent are satisfied with present employment levels and 6 percent are unsure of their staffing needs.

For the local market, the survey indicated that 27 percent of Springfield area companies expect to recruit more workers during April, May and June. Cutbacks are expected by 7 percent of the polled local companies, and 66 percent reported that no changes are expected for those months.

"We're beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel for this local economy, and we like what we see," Williams said.