More takers for state jobs

LINCOLN — Bad news for Nebraska workers has been good news for at least some parts of state government.

The more layoffs, job cuts and plant closings in the private sector, the easier it has gotten for the state to fill job vacancies.

A year ago, when Nebraska unemployment rates hovered around 3 percent, the state was seeking employees to fill 155 jobs, according to the State Personnel Department.

Earlier this month, with unemployment rates around 5 percent, the state jobs list was down to 100 positions.

“We've seen a significant increase in the number of people applying for our vacancies,” said Mike McCrory, the state personnel director.

He said the slumping economy accounts for much of the surge in interest. He also credited state agencies' efforts in recent years to recruit applicants.

The economy's effect has been especially dramatic at Nebraska prisons and care facilities.

The Beatrice State Developmental Center, which once had 26 percent of its direct care jobs open, now is close to fully staffed.

Jodi Fenner, state developmental disabilities director, said unemployment rates “absolutely” have helped fill vacancies.

“We turn away lots of applicants now,” she said.

The new employees include several who were laid off from local manufacturing plants. Beatrice has been one of Nebraska's hardest-hit towns, with job losses topping 450 this spring.

Some of the new workers have told Fenner they would not have considered a job at the Beatrice center earlier. The center serves people with developmental and other disabilities.

“One told me, ‘I never would have applied for a job at BSDC, but I fully intend to retire here,'” she said.

The state correctional system also has benefited from the recession. Vacancies among prison guards and caseworkers dropped from 98 in January 2008 to 25 in January this year, according to the Department of Correctional Services.

“Certainly in the current economic downturn, folks are seeing the benefits of state employment,” said Dawn-Renee Smith, a department spokeswoman.

Two years ago, lawmakers were concerned enough about hiring and keeping employees at state institutions to hold an interim study hearing.

They were told that worker shortages had contributed to care problems at the Beatrice center and at Omaha's Thomas Fitzgerald Veterans Home (now the Eastern Nebraska Veterans Home in Bellevue).

They were told about mandatory and voluntary overtime and about workers forced to stay on the job for more than one shift.

Those problems have eased in recent months.

Julie Dake Abel, executive director of the Nebraska Association of Public Employees, said people have always been attracted to state government jobs for the benefits, even when the pay may be lower than they could get elsewhere.

The relative stability of government jobs also is a plus, especially during tough times.

That stability may be tested in coming weeks, as state lawmakers meet in special session to cut the state budget.

The size of the cuts will determine whether state workers wind up being laid off or whether agencies can manage by eliminating vacant positions and taking other steps.

Contact the writer:

402-473-9583, martha.stoddard@owh.com