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County's jobless rate down Holiday help boosts employment By DAVID PRESZLER Retailers hiring seasonal help kept November's unemployment rate extremely low in Jackson County. The county's jobless rate was 4.8 percent -- 1.1 percent lower than a year ago, according to figures released Thursday by the Oregon Employment Department. November marks the second straight month the county's unemployment rate has been below 5 percent. October's rate was revised from the originally reported 4.8 percent to 4.9 percent. Before this fall, the last time the unemployment rate fell below 5 percent was November 1987, when it was also 4.8 percent. The number of nonfarm jobs in Jackson County rose by 660 from October to November, led by gains in retail trade. November's total of 75,680 jobs is 2,430 higher than a year ago, with growth in the retail sector accounting for more than half that total. The low unemployment rates are tightening the county's labor market, making it harder for employers to find new workers. "There are definitely some jobs going begging," says Guy Tauer, a job market analyst with the Medford employment office. "There are definitely some people having a hard time filling jobs for some occupations." A leading reason for the tightness in the labor market is the valley's largest employer, Bear Creek Corp. The company has about 1,000 year-round employees but said it has hired 7,700 seasonal workers for its call center and gift packing operations this year, 800 more than a year ago. Based on the November employment statistics, those 7,700 seasonal workers account for 10.2 percent of the county's total employed nonfarm work force. The company says it didn't have trouble finding workers. "We experienced no problems this year," says Bear Creek spokesman Bill Ihle. Some Medford temporary services are also feeling the pinch. "It's very tight," says Gail Bradley, a staffing supervisor with Kelly Temporary Services. Bradley says her office has more openings than workers for a variety of occupations, from production jobs to office work. Nikki Jones of Express Personnel says it's always a bit tougher to find people this time of year but that her company hasn't had too much trouble. "We haven't felt a really big recruiting crunch like we anticipated," she says. Express recently opened a recruiting center in Grants Pass that Jones says has been consistently busy. Josephine County's unemployment rate for November was 7.2 percent. Bradley and Jones both say they haven't seen shortages driving up the wages employers are willing to pay. That's somewhat understandable because analysts and human resource professionals don't expect the tight market for employees to last beyond the holiday season. Jackson County's economy is highly seasonal. The lowest employment rates tend to come in the last few months of the year and the highest rates in the first few months. Last year, for instance, the unemployment rate went from 5.9 percent in November and 5.6 percent in December to 8.1 percent in January and 8.6 percent in February. "Those trends tend to stay fairly consistent year to year," said Tauer. "From my experience in the valley," says Bradley, "once Bear Creek lays off its seasonal employees (the job market) will open up." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA