Employment
better on West Coast
LAS VEGAS (AP) - For 10 years, Bryan Davis
has trudged through dusty construction sites
and prepared new Las Vegas homes for insulation.
Before residents even move in, he's off
to work in another neighborhood. He is never
unemployed.
Life
is good for construction workers in Nevada,
the fastest-growing state in the country,
where homes are cranked out in assembly-line
fashion. In the past three years, construction
jobs here have increased by 16,000 or almost
19 percent, according to estimates of the
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
But
Nevada is a bright spot in a national economy
that has lost 2.2 million jobs since President
Bush took office in January 2001 - the worst
job-creation record of any president since
Herbert Hoover.
The
West has fared slightly better than the
rest of the country, led by job growth in
Alaska, Nevada and Wyoming. From January
2001 to January 2004, the West's job loss
was less than half the national rate, and
the West accounted for the top five states
in job growth.
''It's
some testament to the West that in general
the states have done a little bit better,''
said Richard Wobbekind, an economist at
the University of Colorado-Boulder. ''It
shows they have a little bit more balance
than they did in the past.''
February
saw a slight upturn in jobs in the West
that exceeded the national improvement from
the month before, but the pattern was typical
for that time of year. The 13 Western states
added 161,500 jobs, a 0.6 percent increase,
topping the country's 0.4 percent growth.
All but one Western state had increases
- Wyoming lost an estimated 300 jobs. Alaska
had the most robust February growth rate
at 1.4 percent, or 4,100 jobs.
Colorado
had the most dismal job report - down 97,300
jobs or 4.4 percent the last three years.
The recession and dot-com fallout hit that
state hard - a 26.7 percent loss in information
jobs. Colorado, Oregon, Utah and Washington
each lost jobs in six of nine categories,
mostly because of layoffs in construction,
information and manufacturing. California
and Idaho had losses in five categories.
Jobs
in manufacturing, information, natural resources,
mining, trade, transportation and utilities
are hard to come by in the West. Colorado,
Oregon, Washington and California are the
worst places to look for a job.
Utah
had a meager job growth of 0.1 percent,
but that's little consolation to electrician
Boyce Christensen of American Fork, Utah.
He's been out of work since November and
has only worked 12 months in the past two
years.
He
used to earn $23 an hour, but now borrows
from his mother and retirement savings to
make his mortgage payments. Food comes from
a food pantry. He took away allowances from
his four children and they no longer get
birthday presents.
''I
stay busy,'' said Christensen, 39. ''I'm
doing yard work, planting my garden so I've
got some more food to eat.''
Christensen
blames his unemployment on outsourcing of
jobs and Bush.
''I
honestly think if we get George Bush re-elected
again we can just wipe the whole middle
class off the United States,'' he said.
One
reason the West had more jobs than the rest
of the country is because it is less reliant
on manufacturing than the Midwest, said
Jeff Chapman, analyst for the Economic Policy
Institute in Washington, D.C. Washington,
Colorado and California still had substantial
losses in that category, but the West's
job diversity helped it avoid even more.
So
where are the jobs?
Go
West, and put Nevada and Wyoming at the
top of the job hunt. Those states added
jobs during the last three years in seven
of nine sectors. Alaska, Arizona and Hawaii
weren't far behind - six of nine industries
adding jobs between January 2001 and January
2004.
Leisure-hospitality
and government are the main sources of new
jobs. Every Western state except Colorado
showed growth in hospitality jobs. Only
Montana lost government jobs.
Many
jobs are fueled by the huge population boom
in the West. From 1990 to 2000, the region
had the largest growth in the country -
19.7 percent, to 63.2 million people.
''Population
growth is probably the No. 1 factor that
creates a dynamic economy,'' said Lee McPheters,
associate dean at Arizona State University's
business school. ''What is making the West
still more dynamic than the rest of the
country is people are willing to come to
the West and start anew, perhaps a new business.''
It's
not gangbusters, he said. But it's better
than most places.
But
economists say the industries doing well
are ones that don't pay well.
''There's
jobs being added in leisure and hospitality
in those states,'' Chapman said. ''The jobs
that pay better - manufacturing and information
- those still haven't rebounded.''
After
being out of work since May 2003, Steve
Brooke, a site acquisition specialist and
right-of-way agent, finally decided he had
to leave Colorado because there were no
jobs in telecommunications. He's blown through
his savings, lived on credit cards and taken
a truck-driving job to earn money for Christmas.
He
blames outsourcing of jobs and overspending
by telecommunication companies.
''They
were just trying to build out so much faster.
There's just so much fiber out there, nobody's
using it. They just all ran out of money.''
He
has started a new job in San Diego, but
the effect of his unemployment lingers.
''I
was once doing really good,'' Brooke said.
''I had about $30,000 in savings and no
debt. Now that's not the case. We're about
the opposite. I've got about $30,000 in
debt.''
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