In the nation’s poorest state with the highest unemployment rate, employees at the WIN Job Center face a big challenge: finding work for the unemployed in Pike, Amite and Walthall counties.
McComb WIN Job Center director Joanna Anderson-Boss sees a number of them at the center on Marion Avenue. She has been on the front lines to get jobs for southwest Mississippi workers since 1982. She has seen the economy grow over the years, but she said her office has been overwhelmed with job applicants in recent months.
“I have been here a long time. And I have never seen it this busy here. We are overwhelmed, so much so that we could use more help on our end,” Anderson-Boss said.
On a typical day the center sees close to 100 applicants lining up for work. Applicants at the center cross all economic, social and educational levels.
“We see everyone in here,” she said. “There are applicants with master’s level degrees to those that dropped out of high school. We see all races, people of all backgrounds. Unemployment is an issue for everyone. No one is safe from it.”
The staff at the center are doing the best they can. Recently, the center received a No. 1 ranking out of 10 medium-sized centers in the state for job placement.
While the staff is pleased to achieve such an accomplishment, they said several factors come into play for unemployed residents that hinder their ability to find work.
Education level, or gaps in education, can keep employers from hiring a worker.
Roger Tobias has been to the center five or six times since June. The biggest barrier that he has faced so far, one that he says has prevented employers from hiring him on several occasions, is his lack of a high school education. Tobias says he has learned from this lesson and expressed interest in getting his GED.
Anderson-Boss said it’s the biggest barrier between him and employment. But, as she also knows, not everyone who says they plan on getting their GED always does.
“We give applicants all the information we can. Whether they decide to take us up on it is another story,” Anderson-Boss said.
Other barriers can stand in the way of job applicants, making finding a job difficult, staff members said. Older applicants or those that have had limited job experience can have a difficult time adjusting to new technology.
“Someone that has worked at one place for 20 to 30 years, then were let go, they’ve never had to use what many of us take for granted today,” Jackson said. “And the job market is a different world. Jobs are posted online. If the applicant doesn’t know how to use a computer, they are less likely to find a job.”
Some applicants also find it tough to put their relevant job skills on paper.
“Some people have a ton of experience but don’t know exactly how to put it into words. They don’t know that their work experience can be used by several employers in several positions,” Anderson-Boss said.
It is the task of job center workers to determine what skill level the applicant has. It also is their job to remove as many of an applicant’s barriers as possible,
“First, we find out precisely what job responsibilities were performed,” said WIN center representative Mary Ashley. “Then we line that up with what the employer wants. The longer the employee has been with the company usually translates into a lot of skills. It’s our job to identify them.”
On Wednesday, Janicka Robinson visited the center to look into her options. Robinson, 22, a cashier at a grocery store, said she wants to work in the banking industry and is looking to begin her career as a teller. She said she is certain that with the new job would come two things dear to the heart of job-seekers: better pay and opportunity.
“I just want to move up and work in a better environment with more responsibilities,” she said.
Another obstacle to increasing the area’s economic health is the poverty rate.
In Pike County, 22.8 percent of the working population lives below the poverty level, well above the national average of 13.7 percent and the state level of 19.8 percent.
Kevin Brothern is one of those workers.
He had his own construction business in Brookhaven and finds it a struggle to get by, despite working close to 40 hours a week.
Brothern was lucky to find a job as a jack-of-all-trades handyman at a lumber yard in town. Yet despite working a full week’s work, his low wages prevent him from affording the things that would lead to upward mobility. Without a car, he must rely on a co-worker to get to work, the laundromat and grocery store.
Nearly all the money he makes goes towards renting a small cabin where he, his wife and wife’s daughter live. Some of his pay is taken out by the boss who provided Brothern his first month’s rent.
Brothern said he was lucky to find a job, but hundreds of other applicants can find it difficult to even get started.
It is a situation thousands of residents face across the state who are living paycheck to paycheck. On most occasions, employees do not have the good fortune to rely upon the good nature of their employer.
Brothern is hopeful that his hard work at the company will impress the boss. Maybe it will lead to him being trained for a higher-paying position, he said. Despite the difficulty of making a living, Brothern offers perspective.
“It’s not just about the money. It’s about dignity,” he said. “It’s about supporting my wife and putting food on the table. I have a job, and they are hard to come by today. I’m thankful.”
For information concerning jobs, visit www.mdes.ms.gov of call the WIN Job Center to set up an appointment at 684-4421.
