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1 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Guest Opinion: Water use at Southern Oregon University ... Herb Rothschild Jr.: Sharing our stories ... Guest Opinion: Guns: a down-under solution? ... Guest Opinion: Water use at Southern Oregon University ... Herb Rothschild Jr.: Sharing our stories ... Guest Opinion: Guns: a down-under solution? ... EMPLOYMENT Jackson County job recruiters find positions harder to fill County adds more than 1,000 jobs in May Comment By Greg Stiles For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Greg Stiles For the Tidings Posted Jun. 24, 2015 at 6:06 PM By Greg Stiles For the Tidings Posted Jun. 24, 2015 at 6:06 PM » Social News Jackson County employers added 1,060 new jobs in May. That's putting pressure on employment firms that help fill rank-and-file positions at larger companies. In one of those rare months when both the raw and seasonally adjusted jobless figures compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics were the same, the county's unemployment rate was 6.5 percent last month. During the past 12 months, payroll employment is up 3,000, a gain of 3.8 percent, with most industries showing notable job gains. For years, economist have considered 5 percent unemployment close to full employment. Nikki Jones, the owner of Express Employment, thinks many employers could be in for a rude awakening as they seek to fill additional positions. "At 6.5 percent, we're definitely feeling it," Jones said. "We can't get enough qualified individuals prepared to go to work for the job openings we have." The difficulty is two-fold, she said, with pay scales lower than competing markets on one hand, and the fact that some people simply are not prepared to show up for work every day. "Our valley has a couple big challenges," Jones said. "A lot of employers are struggling to keep expenses down because of the new health care requirements. We've encouraged a lot of our clients to re-evaluate pay structures and increases for jobs requiring greater skill so they can get the right people in place." New employees may have sufficient technical skills to fill roles but lack what she calls soft skills. "They're coming unprepared for work, having problems with attendance, and they're losing their jobs as fast as we're able to fill them. I'm hearing from multiple people across all industries they are just disinterested in work." Jones doesn't think raising the minimum wage to $15 would solve the issue. Rather, she suggests targeting certain positions. "There are positions, such as administrative assistant, where they were making $10 for years. Finally it got raised to $12, but now it needs to be $15 and eventually $17," she said. "The reality is that they are needing more skills and use more technology. There needs to be higher pay to be more to be competitive." The lost buying power provided by timber-mill wages has never been replaced, she said "The retail and service-related positions that replaced the mill jobs haven't replaced those wages," Jones said. "It's the same with Motorcycle Superstore and Musician's Friend jobs, where you had highly skilled Web page designers and developers. That's had an effect on the median wage here as well." Guy Tauer, a regional economist for the Oregon Employment Department, said occupations involving mathematics, technology, engineering and law studies tend to absorb larger numbers of qualified job-seekers than other areas. "Right now, we're outpacing our ability to place people in those other areas," he said. "On the other hand, it's a good time for college graduates with degrees in the right occupational fields." Professional and business services and accommodations and food services added 250 jobs over the month. Retail trade saw a gain of 170 jobs in May. Construction is struggling to regain pre-recession levels and is only up 50 jobs over the past year, Tauer said. Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 541-776-4463 or  [email protected] . Follow him on Twitter at  www.twitter.com/GregMTBusiness , on Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/greg.stiles.31 , and read his blog at  www.mailtribune.com/EconomicEdge   By Greg Stiles For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Greg Stiles For the Tidings Posted Jun. 24, 2015 at 6:06 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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