Labor market

The Vermont Labor Market
Departments of Employment & Training / Labor & Industry
Vermont Department of
February, 2000
Vol. XXXVIII
Employment & Training
P.O. Box 488 • Montpelier, Vermont 05601-0488 • Tel.: (802) 828-4000 • FAX: (802) 828-4022
http://www.det.state.vt.us
Labor & Industry section
begins on page 10
Commissioner's Message
Recruitment Strategies
doing to augment traditionalrecruitment and retentionefforts.
Recruitment has historically been one of the greatest challenges for employers, and in a statewide, even nationwide tight labor market, the struggle to hire qualified workers can be overwhelming.
The familiar methods of “job fairs”, radio and newspaper advertising, even Internet recruiting are proving inadequate. The times require aggressive and innovative approaches, including identifying and alleviating potential barriers such as lack of transportation and In order to prevent the need for constantly refilling positions due to high turnover, retention strategies must be an integral part of the recruitment effort. Successful businesses recognize that retention starts with recruitment. The following initiative demonstrates what Unemployment Rates
January (SA) 2000 Rates
Vermont and U.S.
year, free bus transportation isprovided 7 days a week between Percent 3
Commissioner's
Allen upon completion, it is very likely that many will do so.
Message –
Employers are also banding together to offer training programs designed to increase the pool of skilled applicants. A consortium ofemployers in Chittenden County worked closely with the Lake Stratton Mountain. In other areas Champlain Workforce Investment Board to develop a program forwhere public transportation is manufacturing workers. The project recently received grant moneyalready available, efforts have to continue the program to train workers in many skill areasbeen successful in changing bus including print interpretation, shop math, quality assurance andschedules to better fit employers’ product and process control.
needs.
Many employers are bolstering recruitment by increasing the Employers throughout the flexibility of their work schedules. Willingness to accept job sharing, state have been offering flex schedules, and part-time work schedules can greatly increase thenumerous financial incentives to pool of available workers. One major southern Vermont manufacturerincrease the odds of hiring recently advertised for production workers who were available forqualified individuals. In partial shifts, or for as few as 2 full shifts per week. While suchChittenden County, a heating flexibility isn’t always feasible, it is very attractive to parents, students,and ventilating company is older workers, workers with disabilities, and those who simply desireoffering a $1,000.00 signing part-time work. The willingness of many employers to provide pro-bonus for any experienced HVAC rated benefits to part-time workers supports their value in thetechnician who accepts an offer workplace.
of employment. Other As employers expand their recruitment base, they may need to companies have offered assume responsibility for relocation assistance. Since a tight housingincentives to current workers who market usually accompanies a tight labor market, it may be necessaryrefer friends or relatives who are to provide more than a cursory referral to a real estate agent. Severalhired; employees are often given Vermont businesses own condominiums that are made available toa partial payment at the time of relocating workers while they look for permanent housing. Also, inhire and an additional amount if an effort to alleviate the stress on families that accompanies relocation,the workers stay on for a period efforts are made to make the spouse and family members moreof time.
comfortable. This may include taking the family to dinner, touring Partnerships between learning local schools and recreational facilities, etc. Helping the entire family institutions and employers have adjust can go a long way in recruiting and retaining employees fromalso been developed to help ease other parts of the country.
the critical shortage of workers.
Finally, recruitment must be viewed as a multi-faceted effort In the Burlington area, Fletcher requiring the coordination of all available resources. All VermontAllen Health Care is offering employers are urged to use the services of the Department of$4500.00 scholarships to any Employment & Training in their recruitment efforts. Employerapplicant who enrolls in the two- Resource Consultants are available at each of our 12 Career Resourceyear respiratory therapy program Centers to assist you in developing and implementing a comprehensiveat Champlain College. Although recruitment plan.
individuals who receive thescholarships are not required toaccept employment at Fletcher Notebook
Out-of-School
Task Force
Economic
Employment Trends
which gained 5,950 jobs. Whencompared to a year ago January, services Spotcheck
Local Unemployment
Rates (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Town/City*
Unemployment Trends
manufacturing, retail trade, and servicesand could be due to a continuing strong economy resulting in fewer seasonal after unemployment rate of 2.7 percent forJanuary remained unchanged from January unadjusted estimates decreasedby 6,400 jobs. This decrease is less than what is normally seen for this period due affected by the ski industry remainedstrong with higher than usual increases.
educational services in the private andgovernment sectors which had a combined loss of more than 3,500 job.
*16 Largest Towns in Vermont
This was due to the closing of schools for and the trade industries accounted formore than 1,100 new claims. Much of U.S. CONSUMER
reflect an annual growth rate of 2.5%.
PRICE INDEX --
ALL URBAN CONSUMERS
Base Period (1982 - 1984 = 100)
Vermont Seasonally Adjusted
All Items
168.7 168.3 164.3
Unemployment Rate
Percent Change
BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE CPI -The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is ameasure of the average change in prices over time of a fixed market basket of goods andservices. It is based on prices of food, clothing, Percent 2
shelter, fuels, transportation fares, and otheritems that people buy for day to day living.
The CPI shown above represents the U.S. city average and is not seasonally adjusted. There is no separate Consumer Price Index for Vermont or any area within the state. Labor Force Estimates (Seasonally Adjusted)
Changes from:
TOTAL LABOR FORCE1
TOTAL EMPLOYMENT
TOTAL UNEMPLOYMENT
1Includes proprietors, professionals, and unpaid family workers.
VCM Regression Methodology Labor Market Areas (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
BARRE-MONTPELIER
MORRISTOWN-STOWE
BENNINGTON-MANCHESTER
BURLINGTON
RANDOLPH
ENOSBURG
HARTFORD-LEBANON, VT-NH (Vt portion)
ST. JOHNSBURY
KEENE-BRATTLEBORO, NH-VT (entire area)
SPRINGFIELD
MIDDLEBURY
STATEWIDE
Monthly estimates are preliminary and subject to revision.
Detail may not add to totals due to rounding. Vermont Seasonally Adjusted Nonfarm Employment in Thousands
Changes From:
Vermont Department of Employment & Training in cooperation with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Only a limited number of detailed industries are seasonally adjusted. Residual industries cannot be derived from published industries. More detail is unavailable. Seasonal Adjustments based on X-12 Arima method; Factors available upon request. LMI ON THE WEB
If you have bookmarked the Labor Market Information section of the DET home page (on theInternet) you will notice a new address and a revised format. You can now go directly to LMI byusing www.det.state.vt.us/lmi This section will give you the opportunity to download files as well as see the latest employment,unemployment and wage information.
There has been no change to the address for the Department's home page.
Vermont Seasonally Adjusted Job Levels
All Industries
Manufacturing
(Thousands)
(Thousands)
(Thousands)
(Thousands)
Average Hours and Earnings of Production and Nonsupervisory Workers
Average Weekly Earnings($)
Average Weekly Hours
Average Hourly Earnings($)
Jan. '00 Dec. '99 Jan. '99
Revised Revised
STATEWIDE
MANUFACTURING
1/ Also includes primary metal prod., transp. equip., scientific & optical inst., and misc. manufacturing. 2/ Also includes textiles, chemicals, leather and leather products. Nonfarm Employment In Vermont (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Compiled by the Department of Employment and Training in cooperation with the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
U.S. Department of Labor
Changes From:
STATEWIDE
Nonfarm Employment By Area (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Note: Monthly estimates are preliminary and subject to revision. See Annual Employment & Earnings for details. Benchmark 3/99. Burlington
Preliminary
Changes From:
INDUSTRY
GOODS PRODUCING
SERVICE PRODUCING
Barre-Montpelier
GOODS PRODUCING
SERVICE PRODUCING
GOODS PRODUCING
SERVICE PRODUCING
DET Program Summary
December
Percent Change From
Last Month Last Year
UI Trust Fund Balance
$269,669,289
$273,261,052
$246,831,442
UI Regular Benefit Payments*
$6,074,831
$3,507,352
$5,291,619
UI Initial Claims
UI Weeks Claimed
Job Placements
New Active Applicants
*Includes benefit payments for reimbursable employers. Vermont Department of
Labor & Industry
Drawer 20 • Montpelier, Vermont 05620-3401 • Tel.: (802) 828-2288 • FAX: (802) 828-2195
Department of Labor & Industry
occupational injury who can performessential functions be able to returnto "full duty" if, because of the Commissioner’s Message
disability, s/he is unable to performmarginal functions of the positionor requires a reasonable accom- The January fire in St. Johnsbury that left three people dead has prompted increased interest in rental housing safety. For the past two years, we have made this issue the Fire Prevention Division’s priority adding staff last year to work May an employer refuse to return
exclusively on rental housing inspections. We are working with groups who have to work an employee with a
expressed interest in adopting new legislation in this area.
disability-related occupational
Currently, the fifteen Assistant Fire marshals at the department who conduct injury simply because it assumes,
building inspections cover broad territories and inspect both new and existing correctly or incorrectly, that s/he
buildings. The plans for all new buildings and all major renovations are reviewed poses some increased risk of reinjury
at Labor and Industry. Inspectors visit buildings under construction to ensure and increased workers'
they are being built in accordance with approved plans. They also inspect compensation costs?
completed buildings in order to grant occupancy permits.
No, unless an employer can show
Assistant Fire Marshals generally only visit existing buildings without renova- tions when they receive a complaint from a tenant or a referral from a town official the position poses a "direct threat." or local fire department. These inspectors also visit existing buildings where they are aware of existing fire safety issues that have not been resolved. Often serious issues are identified as a result of these complaints and the inspectors work with building owners to resolve the issues.
Because there is no process for identifying and tracking rental units in the state, fire inspectors are often unaware of the location of rental units and are unable to work with these landlords to improve fire safety. The ability to locate and inspect rental units will be an important element of our policy discussions as we move to devote more resources and time to promoting safety in rental units.
Our goal is to ensure safer housing and to prevent unfortunate deaths from fire. We look forward to improving fire safety for all Vermonters and hope you will work with us on this important issue.
perform the essential functions ofthe job, with or without a reasonableaccommodation, unless it can showthat returning the person to theposition poses a "direct threat." RETURN TO WORK DECISIONS
a disability-related occupationalinjury does not, by itself, indicate May an employer require that an employee with a disability-related
occupational injury be able to return to "full duty" before allowing him/her
to return to work?
No. The term "full duty" may include marginal as well as essential job direct threat. In some circumstances,
functions or may mean performing job functions without any accommodation.
An employer may not require that an employee with a disability-related Labor & Industry
Example A: CP, a clerk/typist,
May an employer refuse to return
to work an employee with a
disability-related occupational
injury simply because of a workers'
compensation determination that
s/he has a "permanent disability"
or is "totally disabled"?
No. Workers' compensation laws
has a "disability" or whether s/he is (i.e., direct threat): (1) her injury was "permanent total disability," although Example B: CP, a maintenance
CP's ankles partially heal, she is unable Under the ADA, is a
rehabilitation counselor, physician,
or other specialist responsible for
deciding whether an employee with
a disability-related occupational
Additional information can be
injury is ready to return to work?
found on the U.S. Equal
No. The employer bears the
Employment Opportunity
Commission website
(www.eeoc.gov) and in
subsequent issues of
The Vermont Labor Market
newsletter.
Department of Employment & Training
we help ve
P.O. Box 488 • Montpelier, VT 05601-0488
Official Business • Penalty for Private Use $300
ANNOUNCEMENT
Vermont New Hire Reporting: A law employers need to know about.
For years, Vermont employers have made valuable contributions in the lives of children through their partnership with the child support community. Effective October 1, 1998, changes in Vermont child support legislation increasedemployer participation and expedited the wage withholding process by requiring a new hire reporting. New hirereporting is essential to the child support effort. By joining forces, employers and the new hire reporting program canwork together to reduce the burden on Vermont taxpayers and provide a better life for Vermont's children.
This legislation also helps employers by reducing and preventing fraudulent unemployment and workers' compen- sation payments. The Office of Child Support established a New Hire Help Line to assist employers in complying withthis law. Call toll-free at 1-888-541-0049 or (802) 244-7308 for additional information or to request an "EmployerGuide to New Hire Reporting".
This law requires employers doing business in Vermont to report information on new employees or rehired employees to the Department of Employment & Training (DET) within 20 days of hire. The required information is: Employer name, address, and Federal Identification Number; and Employee name, address, and Social Security Number.
For ease of reporting, employers can submit these reports to DET in several ways.
Mail to DET - New Hire Reporting, P.O. Box 488, Montpelier, VT 05601-0488 The child support enforcement community appreciates the strong partnership that exists today between employers andchild support programs across the country. The real beneficiaries are, of course, the millions of children whose lives aremade more secure because their parents are paying their child support through wage withholding.

Source: http://www.vtlmi.info/lmnews/lm200002.pdf