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May 17, 2007
SAUGATUCK -- Unemployment is on the rise in Michigan at 7.1 percent. At 2.5 percent above the national average, only Mississippi fares worse.
That does not take into account those who are no longer eligible for benefits.
In all, the state has lost 45,000 jobs since April of last year.
"I'd like a medical assistant job, since that's what I went to school for," said Kavonne Johnson, a job seeker.
Like many here in Michigan, Johnson cannot seem to land a job. She is 28 years old with a high school diploma, cosmetology license and vocational training in the medical field.
"But nobody's giving me a chance," she said.
It is not for lack of trying that Johnson cannot find a job. She spends her days at Michigan Works, searching the Internet and faxing resumes.
"It's very hard because everybody wants you to have 2 to 3 years of experience," Johnson said.
Experience she cannot get until she finds a job.
Maureen Downer is the program manager at Michigan Works. She sees the effects of a dismal economy on the faces of people looking to her for help.
Michigan Works is in the business of finding jobs and providing job training, but with the state unemployment rate soaring at 7.1 percent, it is obvious not many employers are hiring. The only exceptions are a few temp agencies and customer service jobs.
"I really don't know where the end of this very dark situation is," Downer said.
Help wanted signs do exist, however. Many tourist towns, like Saugatuck, are hiring seasonal help at bars, restaurants, ice cream and beach shops.
"There's positions all over town right now," said David Barton, who owns the White House Bistro and Capitol Lounge.
His business is expanding, but before he was granted a resort license he had to figure out how to create jobs.
"We were happy to say that by adding the Capitol Lounge to the White House Bistro we were able to double the amount of people on our payroll," Barton said.
Officials at the Department of Labor and Economic Growth told 24 Hour News 8 that seasonal hiring increases are already factored into the unemployment statistics.
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