By Times Staff
The unemployment rates for all four Cape Ann communities took new jumps between November and December, according to the latest figures from the state's Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
And while Gloucester, with a December 2009 jobless rate of 10.7 percent, is the only one with a rate above the statewide December figure of 9.1 percent, the rates in Gloucester, Rockport, Essex and Manchester all rose by double-figure percentages from the December rates for the previous year.
The report comes amid a mixed bag of industrial workplace news for Gloucester in recent weeks.
Gloucester Engineering confirmed last week it is no longer accepting any supply deliveries from vendors until further notice, and is carrying out minimal manufacturing and assembly work with a skeleton workforce compared to its norm of some 200.
But Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates last week reported $16.6 million in profits for the latest quarter, marking the second consecutive three-month period it finished in the black after three straight quarterly losses. And the company has brought in 144 new workers since last March, bringing total employment at the Blackburn Industrial Park company to 1,418.
Gloucester's 10.7 December jobless rate, however, is up from a November 2009 mark of 9.9 percent, and up by some 22 percent from the December 2008 rate of 8.8 percent.
Those figures are reflected across Cape Ann's towns.
Essex showed a December 2009 jobless rate of 8.2 percent, up from 7.6 percent in November, but up by nearly 30 percent from the 6.3 mark of December 2008.
Rockport's December 2009 figure of 8.0 percent is up from November's 7.1, and up by 14 percent from the November 2008 mark of 7.0.
Manchester's December 2009 rate is posted at 7.0, up from 6.0 in November 2009, and by 40 percent from the December 2008 figure of 5.0.
The figures are not adjusted for seasonal workforce conditions, state employment officials noted; that's why Cape Cod communities lead the state with marks of 36.4 percent in Provincetown and 23.4 percent in Truro.
But the December 2008-to-December 2009 comparisons are valid, and that's cause for concern, officials said. Aside from the heavily-seasonal Cape Cod communities, Lawrence has the state's highest mark at 17.8 percent, Fall River is at 16.9, and New Bedford is at 15.8.
"December was a really bad month for the state," said Mary Sarris, executive director of the North Shore Workforce Investment Board.
"First, things went up and then they went down again," said Sarris, whose board oversees federally funded employment and training services through the North Shore Career Center, headquartered in Salem and Lynn.
"We on the North Shore tend to follow that same pattern," Sarris said.
The retail sector seems to be taking a hit, she said. The state reported Jan. 21 that, overall, North Shore retail trade jobs were down 3,300 from November. Within the past six months, health care has overtaken retail as the North Shore's largest employer, Sarris said.
"Health care is a bright spot," Sarris said, "but even health care has slowed down a little bit."
Northeast Health System eliminated 22 administrative management jobs through a November layoff at Beverly Hospital and Gloucester's Addison Gilbert Hospital and other facilities. And while health care and social services added 500 jobs in December statewide, even those seeking nursing, health or radiation technician jobs have seen employment slow down — though the new Boston Children's North medical center, an expanded Lahey Clinic, both in Peabody, and two major outpatient centers in Danvers means health care should continue to hire more workers.
"We see the trends into the future," Sarris said.
The problem is people are holding on to their jobs and are either not retiring or not moving to new ones, creating little opportunity for recent graduates.
"The natural leavings in a labor market has really slowed down," Sarris said.
Statewide, the seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate rose from 8.3 percent in November to the 9.1 percent mark in December. The seasonally adjusted state rate rose from 8.7 percent to 9.4 percent.
One area that may hold promise for future work is green or clean technology.
North Shore Community College, the Career Center and the local Workforce Investment Board are piloting a four-week program to train 13 people as building analysts, a job that involves measuring the energy efficiency of a building.
Those seeking certification include skilled tradesmen, a person with an MBA and several veterans, Sarris said. The money for the training, $60,000, came from federal stimulus money, and Sarris credited Congressman John Tierney, D-Salem, for winning the grant. A breakfast reception for the program was held on Tuesday at the Cummings Center in Beverly.
"If nothing else, it's a good stop-gap measure," Sarris said of the push to train workers in clean technology.
"It really is a bellwether program," North Shore Community College President Wayne Burton said. "It's training 13 previously unemployed people for a job that will be available."
Burton said the college is also seeing a boom in enrollment as people seek to hone their skills in a down economy.
"Pretty impressive group," said Brian Cranney, president of the facility services and construction company Cranney Companies of Danvers. He also met with the prospective building analyst group.
"They are all very capable and sincere people," Cranney said.
"Once they get through this training there is opportunity for them to get" a job, Cranney said. "I actually have two résumés I picked up when I was there."
Staff writer Ethan Forman contributed to this story. He can be reached at 978-338-2673 or by e-mail at eforman@gloucestertimes.com.
Cape Ann Jobless Rates
Dec.'09 Nov.'09 Dec.'08
Gloucester 10.7 9.9 8.8
Essex 8.2 7.6 6.3
Rockport 8.0 7.1 7.0
Manchester 7.0 6.0 5.0
Source: Mass. Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
