GREENSBURG – The Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Development Corporation hosted a job fair from 1 to 7 p.m. for the residents of Decatur County on Thursday, and, at door opening, participation was somewhat slow.
“I am pleased with what this says about the unemployment rate in Decatur County, but when we did this 5 years ago, there were people lining up all the way down the sidewalk to the City Hall when we opened the doors,” said Chamber Director Jeff Emsweller.
“With unemployment as low as it is, I would expect the people who are working today will come later this evening. And that’s a good thing. It just means that this will provide an opportunity for people to pick and choose, and better themselves by finding a job for more money, or better hours,” said EDC Director Bryan Robbins. “But there was a great turnout of students this morning, so I’m looking forward to doing it again at a later date. And with the companies represented here today, this is a great opportunity for the few unemployed workers we DO have,” he finished.
According to Emsweller, for the first job fair in 2013, the unemployment rate was 6 percent. “We opened at 1, and people were lined up all the way to the street. By 300, we had helped almost 300 people,” he said. “It was a different time then, but according to the employers, people have jobs, but the problem is that they don’t report for work on a faithful basis,” he said.
“People have a different attitude today about jobs, I am so grateful to these employers, but the problem is that people feel that if they lose this job, another is relatively easy to find,” he added.
“It’s good to know that if you want to work, there’s a job for you in Decatur County,” Emsweller finished.
Earlier in the day, the fair hosted a job application period and discussions on job acquisition for high school students. The morning vent was well attended. High school students were given an excellent opportunity to learn more about the job application process, and were able to submit applications to over 15 employers in the county, and a few from the surrounding counties as well.
Representatives from Decatur County Memorial Hospital, Kelly Services, Nipro Pharma Packaging, Elwood Staffing, ATC Healthcare, Hitachi Powdered Metals (USA), Inc., WalMart , Delta Faucet, Honda Manufacturing of Indiana, One Solution Logistics, Susie Ricke State Farm Insurance, KB Specialty Foods, Enneking Auto Body, Lowes Distribution, Aspen Place Health Campus, Morning Breeze, Arbor Grove Village and Developmental Services were all available for the fair, which ran from 1 to 7 p.m.
Decatur County Memorial Hospital Human Resources Coordinator Dennis Vogel had an interesting assessment of the unemployment rates in the county. “We are having an issue keeping quality people to a degree. The unemployment rate in the county is so low that we almost in an “employee’s choice” situation. I feel like the thing we need to do the most in the community is to groom the students and groom the unemployed for success. We need to teach them what it means to hold a job and train them very early to hold on to that job,” he said.
“We’ll have a good attendance at the end of the day, but I just wish I knew why employers are having such a time finding people who want to come to work,” Emsweller said.
Contact Bill Rethlake at 812-663-3111, ext. 7011 or email at bill.rethlake@greensburgdailynews.com