You're right, Phil. I think that there is a
"double negative" in there that got me mixed up!! I think it has to do
with looking at an "un"employment rate where an increase is a negative thing and
a decrease is what we want--counter-intuitive, yes? I was thinking
that the percentage of people who have jobs is less
than or equal to the state average but always more than than the national
average. Sorry about the glitch. I was pretty tired last night when
composing that post!!
I agree with Linda that it is pretty hard to
survive on fast food or retail job wages, but many families and individuals do
try to make it with more than one of this type job. I'm not sure about how
graduates of our higher ed. institutions remaining in town is a factor, but
I do know that our social work program at WSU has graduates every year who end
up finding employment in the area. Some are originally from here and have
no desire to leave, but many are from other places and stay. I imagine
that the majority move on and are "replaced" by the "freshmen" the following
year. Actually, I find it impressive how many people go away to college
and return to Winona to settle and raise families here or the folks who have
lived here for a time, moved away, and return upon retirement. I'm not
sure how this all relates back to unemployment issues or retail and fast food
jobs other than to affirm that those kinds of jobs are probably
not the big attraction for those who come from elsewhere
to live in Winona!
Kathy Seifert
----- Original Message -----
From: Phil Carlson
To: Online
Democracy
Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2004 9:49 AM
Subject: RE:
[Winona] Unemployment
[Winona Online
Democracy]
Kathy and WOD,
I look at the numbers
that Kathy Seifert shared and I see a different conclusion than her statement
"Winona's unemployment rate has been less than or equal to the average for MN
for the past 4 years."
If I'm reading the table right it looks as
though Winona's rate has been HIGHER than or equal to MN for the last four
years, but always lower than the US average. Or put another way, Winona is
slightly better off than the US as a whole but slightly worse off than MN as a
whole. Perhaps Kathy meant to say Winona's rate has been "worse" rather
than "less".
Phil Carlson,
Mpls
-------------------------
UnemploymentComparative
Rates
YearMonthLabor ForceEmployment
NumberRate
MN
US
2003AnnAvg15,726
14,827 899
5.7%
5.0%
6.0%
2002AnnAvg15,384
14,701 683
4.4%
4.4%
5.8%
2001AnnAvg15,804
15,110 694
4.4%
3.7%
4.7%
2000AnnAvg15,597
15,012 585
3.8%
3.3% 4.0%
From the looks of this data,
it seems that Winona's unemployment rate has been less than or equal to the
average for MN for the past 4 years. Our labor force took a dive in 2002
and the number of jobs also fell. As Eric reported, the number of jobs had
risen again between 2002 and 2003, but the rate of growth of the labor force has
exceeded the jobs growth resulting in a net unemployment increase. It
looks like the figures for September of 2004 reflect a leveling out of this
again and an unemplyment rate of 4.4% with a labor force of 15,343 and 14,661
jobs. It seems we still have not recovered all of the jobs lost since the
recession. I don't point this out to assign blame, but only to provide
facts.
I think that it is positive that Winona is around the average for
the state and above average for the nation in employment. It would be
interesting to know what kind of jobs (i.e., manufacturing, professional,
retail, etc.) there are and if and how these may have changed over
time.
So this is one way of evaluating Winona economically. We seem
to be doing about average--I am satisfied with that, but is it possible for us
to be better?. What other ways do folks know of to assess our community
well-being? What do City or County officials think about this data?
What data do you all use to evaluate our community's vitality and make decisions
on our behalf?
Kathy
Seifert
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