Many East Contra Costa Residents Still Out of Work and Looking

According to the California Employment Development Department, unemployment rates in Contra Costa County have decreased to 7.3% in August (2013) which would suggest an improvement in the job market.  Contra Costa County’s unemployment rate is lower than the state level which is at 8.9% and equal to the U.S. Unemployment rate which is also at 7.3% for the month of August.

A more realistic look at the state of employment can be found by looking at underemployment rates.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the underemployment rate for the State of California is at 18.3%. Over one-fifth of California’s labor force is underemployed, meaning involuntarily employed part-time and/or overqualified for their current job. The underemployment rate suggests that a majority of new jobs being created are for the low-wage sector.

Many Contra Costa residents, who have been out of work for over six months are still having difficulty finding work.

When Lita Andino was laid off she worked for a construction company that reduced its workforce. “I filed as soon as possible for unemployment benefits and waited the one week period,” she says. “I was getting government assistance and thankfully ended up with Medi-cal.” Andino depleted her 401k’s to save her house. She was able to find a program that would help with her mortgage payment. She is currently receiving an extension of unemployment.

Andino is on the computer daily looking for work. She makes phone calls looking for work. She had an interview last week which turned out to be for two days a week at $8.00 per hour. When Andino worked for the construction company she was getting $21.00 per hour for her skills.

She has taken temporary jobs over the years to get by, but in the long run she wonders if her work history hurts is what is preventing her from getting a stable job. “

I thought about this and thought maybe it was because I have short periods of working but those were temporary jobs,” says Andino. “When I got laid off back in 2001 I took on temporary assignments which were about four months in length.”

Many people who are unemployed believe you have to have connections to get the right job.

Greg Gonzales has been out of work since 2010.  He has applied over 40 times for a position in a local school district that is exactly the same as a previous position he has held. “I have been told that I wasn’t qualified for a job that I was doing for a school,” says Gonzales. “I am convinced it’s not what you know, but who you know.”

Another argument many people make is that they are overqualified and have a received such substantial salaries in their past that companies are intimidated.

Luke Daniel Berman is an oncology nurse with a master’s degree in nursing. He has taught nursing at the local college, is board certified in his specialty, and has a decade of experience and has a fully registered and unrestricted nursing license. Berman, who went out on medical leave two years ago and was let go when he had exhausted his protected leave, has not been able to find any work. Employers state “that I have too much experience, I’m overqualified, and I made too much money in my last job that they can’t come anywhere near,” says Berman.

Corporate recruiters have many suggestions to deal with these issues. Many state that there is a reason individuals have not been hired and there are steps they can take to increase their chances of finding employment.

Michael VanMeter, a corporate recruiter, shares that “this last month alone I had 6 folks ready to hire, 4 of them had to have their drug tests send for further testing and three failed.”

VanMeter recommends that people who have been out of work should fill the time in with volunteer work or other duties.

“The longer a person has been out of work the more it will scare off the employer,” he says. “They should put down any volunteer work, school, anything, just don’t leave it blank.” VanMeter also recommends that people spend 8 plus hours a day looking for work, “this is their full time job now,” he says.

He suggests doing homework prior to an interview. Investigating the company will   show the employer you are serious. It is critical to be on time.  He suggests leaving your cell phone in the car, making eye contact and sticking to the facts.  “Most of all be happy,” says VanMeter.  “Don’t dwell on the negative such as ripping a past employer.” Most interviews are a personality test.  They know what they are getting based on the application or resume.  “You are there to sell yourself.”

Wendy Gillette, a high-tech corporate recruiter admits that companies will automatically discount someone overqualified. Gillette recommends getting creative.

“I hate to say it but yes, dumb down the resume,” she says. “Maybe that big title can be replaced with the company and a more general description of the function.”  Gillette also recommends putting emphasis on quantifiable job achievements instead of job duties and only listing the previous 10 years of work.

“Long employment histories spell big money to many recruiters,” she says. People who have had this history should “NEVER lead with salary expectations and always say you will be happy to discuss money when it’s determined whether you are a good fit or not.”

Elizabeth Lopez looks carefully at resumes when she hires employees. If you’ve had a job for less than 6 months it doesn’t need to be listed on your resume, “as most people do not consider you gaining experience in something unless you have done it for over six months,” she says. She also recommends people to use spell check on their resumes before sending them out.

Lopez feels it is important to attend interviews alone, dress neatly, and to firmly shake hands.  Lopez shares that many people looking for jobs feel entitled to a certain level of work or title.  She recommends that people be willing to accept jobs with different duties because everything will fall into place.

“I have had a few quit because they are too experienced to be filing,” says Lopez. “Nothing is beneath you as long as the position you applied for had more to it than that.”

Other recruiters cite that some people who are unemployed are not in touch with the market. They are looking for the same or greater salary, the same or greater title and flexible positions that do not exist in the current market.

Corporations let go of people with inflated salaries to save money. They are not going to give new hires, who require training and time the same outrageous salaries they paid expert employees with ten or fifteen years of experience.

Gillette states, “realize if you are overqualified it’s unlikely you are going to be paid at your level prior to unemployment. Salaries and expectations should be commensurate with the job requirements. The salary is always about your contribution to the role, not what you want to make or used to make. If the position is a lower level so will be the salary.”

The other opinion regarding unemployment is that some people take advantage of the system and have no desire to get a job. With welfare benefits conveniently being distributed on debit cards and unemployment benefits being extended after numerous extensions, some people are tired of footing the bill for people unwilling to work and feel that the government doesn’t compel anyone to get a job by offering such convenient and extended benefits.

“I absolutely think people become complacent if they have enough household income supplementing to keep them afloat,” says Gillette. “When the government provides a long term safety net they remove the motivation for many many people to really try to become reemployed.” Gillette states, “if you see work as a J.O.B. only for the money with no other benefits and then the government steps in and says, ‘Oh I’ll replace that income’ even in part, I think the response from many is “Cool, thanks for letting me off the hook.”

California’s Employment Development Department spent $22.9 billion dollars on unemployment benefits in 2010. The benefit is paid to 1.7 million people in California and costs the state $90 million per business day.  These benefits are so costly for the state that the state itself had to borrow from the federal government to pay the benefits for people who don’t have jobs. The state began borrowing $40 million a day from the federal government to provide assistance to jobless workers, but has resisted changing the formulas it uses to determine and fund those benefits. Today, the maximum unemployment payout if California is $450.

According to the State of California Employment Development Department, currently, there are more than 750,000 people certifying for benefits in California. Almost half of these customers are collecting on a federal extension claim while the remainder are somewhere in the midst of a regular unemployment claim.

Between regular and federal extension benefits, the EDD has paid a total of $17.1 billion in benefits for calendar year 2011, $13.8 billion for calendar year 2012, and about $5.8 billion through June 2013.

While the U.S. and Contra Costa County’s unemployment rates are dropping, the underemployment rate is still very high. Many unemployed and underemployed workers are struggling to find work in a market that requires them to change not only their perspective, but how they present themselves to potential employers.

Amy Schrader
Arts & Entertainment Editor
[email protected]