NEWS

Thousands of jobs left unfilled in W.Va., and folks may soon be imported to fill them

Jenni Vincent
jvincent@herald-mail.com

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Call it a sign of the times here, good economic times.

Companies need employees, and they are using everything from billboards to the internet to find them.

Drivers traveling Interstate 81 see "Now Hiring" signs posted at individual companies.

One company's sign, located near the Spring Mills exit, is in both English and Spanish.

A little farther south near the Berkeley Springs exit, two tractor trailers are parked in the adjacent Shockey Commerce Center.

Their huge, colorful banners advertising job vacancies with Rust-Oleum and Quad Graphics are easily seen by travelers.

Simply put, Eastern Panhandle residents seeking employment are in the right place at the right time.

But what happens when there are too few people for too many jobs? Is there another way to address the problem, and help other West Virginia communities in the process?

While there's no magic wand, some officials are proactively looking at a way to help move people here to work.

It's appropriate, they said, since online searches show listings for nearly 5,000 jobs available within a 25-mile radius of Martinsburg.

Nationally-known companies, as well as regional and state-based businesses are hiring.

Warehouse associates, production technicians, material handlers, machine operators, delivery drivers and other general labor jobs are in demand.

Retail sales, education and other professional positions are also available in the Tri-State area stretching from Hagerstown to Winchester.

Not all of West Virginia is prospering

That's in sharp contrast to the rest of the state, however, according to the most recent Workforce West Virginia unemployment numbers.

The state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.2 percent in November, while the national rate remained unchanged at 3.7 percent.

Berkeley and Jefferson counties typically lead the state in lowest unemployment rates.

That trend continued with Jefferson posting the lowest unemployment rate for November among the state's 55 counties.

Jefferson had a 2.9 percent unemployment rate, followed by Pendleton at 2.8 percent and Berkeley was third with 3.5 percent.

The unemployment numbers from other regions continue to be bleak.

McDowell County had the highest unemployment rate for the month at 9.2 percent.

Calhoun County was second highest at 8.8 percent, followed by Wyoming County at 8 percent.

Sharing opportunities

None of this surprises Nic Diehl, who spent more than 10 years with the state Department of Commerce in workforce and economic development.

He was based in Berkeley County before resigning last year, and now heads up the Jefferson County Development Authority.

"We have typically almost a thousand open positions in the Eastern Panhandle in any given day of the week," he said.

"But what we need is a skilled workforce," he said.

Given the region's glut of jobs, officials are now revisiting an innovative plan — originally envisioned in 2016 — to help the unemployed move to the Eastern Panhandle to work, he said.

People in other parts of the state have skills needed for jobs here, he said.

"We found companies willing to offer employees with various skill sets a condensed work week. So they might work a three- or four-day work week to get in full-time hours, and be able to go back home for longer periods of time," he said.

Obstacles, remained however.

Diehl, a Raleigh County native, said he knew moving to a new location wouldn't be easy for most people even if it meant getting a job.

"Being from southern West Virginia I recognized it would be very difficult to just pick up and move your family to an area not knowing what to expect up here," he said.

Another issue was trying to temporarily cover some of the costs of moving and living here during the condensed work week, he said.

Apartments typically have long-term leases and motels were too expensive for three or four nights a week, he said.

Blair: Moving ahead in 2019

Fast forward to this past summer, when Diehl got a telephone call from Sen. Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, who remembered the earlier program.

Turns out Blair is more convinced than ever that a state-driven initiative is possible with involvement by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.

It is also envisioned as part of a legislative effort to improve the state's overall workforce participation levels, Blair said.

"We have to do something because right now less than 50 percent of West Virginians have a job," he said.

"One of our continuing legislative efforts, especially this year, is to look at additional avenues for job creation and to put people back to work," he said. "We are not leaving any stone unturned when it comes to this." 

Southern West Virginia is ripe for this kind of proactive effort, Blair pointed out.

Unemployed workers not only need jobs, but have transferable skills needed in other communities, he said.

State DHHR officials are aware of possible federal job-training funds, he said. They are also already looking at possible ways to assist with workforce development and relocations costs.

"What if we got creative and made it so they could work for a company in the Eastern Panhandle for a 10-day period? Then go home for 10 days, and then come back for 10," Blair said.

"You have to give them a taste of the Eastern Panhandle before they make a decision to move. This is a way to give them a job opportunity, but not have to pull up roots immediately." 

Providing jobs to hard-hit counties has not been easy nor always effective, he said.

"We've looked at building highways but it hasn't worked out like envisioned. Nor has it been easy to get companies to go into these areas," he said.

"Getting jobs to them hasn't always worked, but getting workers to where the jobs are is a much easier process," he said.

Blair said this is part of a bigger picture that includes right-sizing state government without raising taxes.

"To really right-size government, we need to get greater workforce participation and get businesses to locate here to grow the tax base," he said.

Additional work on the proposed program will take place in January, and continue to move forward, he said.

Staffing efforts

Not that lots of folks aren't looking and finding jobs locally now.

Tara Maynard, Axiom Staffing Group's Martinsburg branch manager, said her office is "crazy busy, but in a good way," with both employers and potential employees.

She said there's an ongoing need in certain fields, and that dovetails with her agency's specializations.

"The majority of our openings are in manufacturing or distribution centers, and we also handle any administrative positions that get called into us," she said.

Her office typically covers Berkeley and Jefferson counties as well as into Washington County, Md.

"We have tons of openings, and we have branches in this area from Winchester up through Pennsylvania," she said.

Candidates are located through a variety of ways, including the company participating in large job fairs and also hosting internal ones.

Jobs are posted online at the corporate site and also third-party sites like Indeed, she said.

"Due to the higher demand during the holidays, we expand our search for talent as far as places like Hagerstown and Cumberland, Md.," she said.

"For those communities we offer transportation to best accommodate," she said.

Hiring is still not complete but numbers and products being manufactured are ramping up at the Procter & Gamble Tabler Station plant south of Martinsburg, according to spokesman Jeff Leroy.

The plant now has about 700 employees on site or in training now, and will eventually have 900 workers, he said in an email.

Interested individuals can still apply online at www.pgcareers.com.

It's never too early to look ahead

James Ramsey Technical Institute Principal Donna VanMetre takes pride in the fact that companies put help-wanted signs on the school campus.

Currently, Quad Graphics has one along W.Va. 9 advertising jobs starting at $13 and hour. Macy's has previously had a sign there too, she said.

State Division of Highways data indicates approximately 16,000 vehicles travel that stretch of road daily in Hedgesville.

This visibility is good for the businesses, potential employees and also students, she said, adding that many area businesses hire JRTI graduates.

The center, which serves high school students from Morgan, Berkeley and Jefferson counties, also has post-graduate courses that attract adults from the four-state area.

"We all do our part in making sure we have a strong business community that will benefit the community as a whole," VanMetre said.

Companies such as Quad Graphics often take advantage of placing help-wanted signs in a spot on the James Rumsey Technical Institute campus bordering W.Va. 9 and easily visible to drivers on the busy highway.
Axiom Staffing Group posted this sign in an effort to fill positions at the Rust-Oleum plant in Martinsburg, W.Va.