Job Watch: A Tale of Two Sectors

September 30th, 2011

In total, Mississippi still has 61,400 fewer jobs than it did at the end of 2007.
The following post focuses in on the last two years and reviews public and private sector employment changes.

Overall, August’s job report showed little improvement in employment across the country. News of limited job growth has been followed by debate over what additional action can be taken to spur job creation and ensure families impacted by periods of unemployment have the resources they need to provide economic security for their families.

Over the last two years, Mississippi’s overall employment has not advanced substantially. However, the state has experienced an uptick in private sector employment- adding 5,400 jobs since July 2009 with growth throughout most of 2010. Private sector growth has occurred in industries like health care, transportation and business services. In contrast, manufacturing employment and construction employment continue to be at lower levels than two years ago.

While private sector employment subtly advances, public sector employment has fallen by an equal amount. Since July 2009, 5,200 jobs in local and state government have been lost as communities are forced to layoff individuals providing key services because of limited resources. Combining private sector and public sector jobs reveals little change in overall employment across the state since July 2009.

MEETING THE DEMANDS OF WORK, TRAINING AND FAMILY

As the private sector adds employment and shows job openings, training at community colleges can be a key vehicle to employment pathways with wages sufficient to keep a family safe and secure financially. However, adults balancing work and school may have to cut back work hours to attend class and find additional resources for added transportation and child care costs. Across Mississippi, many adults enroll and are academically prepared for courses but struggle to meet the costs of taking classes beyond tuition. To ensure adults can return to school to update skills, pursue new careers, and advance in the workforce, colleges need resources specifically targeted for child care, transportation, and broader wrap-around supports.

Beyond training, local governments will need to restore investments in jobs and public services that are now downsized in the wake of the economic downturn. Without adequate local resources for public investments, job loss in the public sector may weaken the state’s ability to recover the 64,100 jobs it still needs to reach pre-recession levels.

Author: Sarah Welker, Policy Analyst