While the rest of the nation mourns over unemployment rates, the percentage of the labor force employed in Talladega and St. Clair counties remains high.Don Smith, assistant director of the St. Clair Economic Development Council, said St. Clair County is doing well compared with national trends. Even though unemployment has increased to 4.8 percent this summer, that figure is still well below the national average of 5.7 percent and even below the state rate of 5.1 percent. And the percentage may soon drop even further.
“I expect the unemployment rate in St. Clair County will begin to decrease in the next few months as high school and college students return to school,” Smith said.
He added that the EDC has recruited manufacturing companies into the county that are now beginning to hire employees.
As of 2007, Talladega County has a similarly low annual unemployment rate of 4.6 percent, out of a work force numbering more than 40,000.
Calvin Miller, executive director of the Talladega County Economic Development Authority, said unemployment has increased a little this summer from its normal placement below the national average, putting it right at the national rate and a little bit higher than the state rate.
Miller attributes this increase to a number of things, one being the recent closing of Georgia-Pacific, which put approximately 350 people out of work.
“Additionally, unemployment benefits have been extended for another 13 weeks nationwide,” he said.
“This county (St. Clair) has always had a reputation of having hard-working, trainable citizens,” Smith said. “Our work force has been able to successfully evolve to meet the needs of an ever-changing economy.”
He said the elected officials on the St. Clair County Commission and in each of the municipalities have excelled at working together to create jobs and their aggressive approach to economic development and wealth creation is paying off.
He said the automotive industry has also contributed to labor force stability. Honda, for example, managed to reduce its inventories and production without layoffs.
Unemployment is not the only thermometer to measure the health of a labor force; Smith said population growth and household income are also good indicators, because household income “not only describes how well the work force is doing but also the quality of the employers in the area.”
And St. Clair has been the fastest growing county in the state, by percentage, for the past two years, Smith said.
St. Clair County’s median family income has also skyrocketed in recent years. In 1990, the median family income in the county was $43,152, compared with the national average of $50,046, Smith said. In 2006, that gap had narrowed substantially, with St. Clair County’s families making a median income of $57,134, compared with the national average of $58,526.
In Talladega County, the median household income was $31,628 in 2000, and in 2006 it was $38,761, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Per capita income has increased substantially as well in Talladega County, which now ranks 13th in the state (out of 67 counties) for per capita income, up from 53rd in 1994.
Miller said that is due in large part to the automotive industry’s direct and indirect influences.
“When they established themselves here, many of the current employers raised the wages and benefits of their employees in order to make working at their companies as attractive as working at some of the automotive plants,” he said.
Strengths and weaknesses of the labor force
The various industries have willingly made this contribution for the labor they receive, and they say the labor force here has its strengths, but it is not without weaknesses.
Scott Haywood, technical specialist in training and development at Honda, said the company frequently has trouble finding people to work in equipment services, because it involves a lot of robotics. He said the struggle is not due to lack of skill and ability, but rather a lack of a tradition in Alabama for automated manufacturing.
“I think all manufacturing is becoming more automated now,” he said. “We just need to stay on track and keep pace with technology.”
Haywood said Honda provides training to its employees to get their experience level up to par.
Hugo Molliston, vice president of human resources at ATAP, an Eastaboga plant specializing in overhaul services, said his company employs mechanics experienced in taking vehicles apart and putting them back together. Like Honda, ATAP also does a lot of in-house training.
Information technology manager Patrick Porteous said the company generally finds qualified workers to fill its needs, but sometimes it may take several weeks.
Lately, ATAP has had trouble finding an industrial electrician to work on its maintenance crew, he said.
But finding workers is not the largest challenge for area companies, it seems. It’s finding good ones.
Molliston said the primary weakness of the labor force, from his perspective, is lack of work ethic, which he said he thinks is a problem everywhere.
“It seems like people don’t have the same concentration on doing a good job that they did when I was younger,” he said.
Porteous concurred, adding that most people don’t regard their jobs with enough respect and commitment, citing the common practice of frequently switching jobs during short time periods.
“A long time ago, that was not a popular thing to do,” he said.
Honda communication manager Mark Morrison said his company has been pleased with the work force in the area.
Haywood said some of the strengths of workers at Honda include a strong work ethic, flexibility and teamwork.
“Teamwork and flexibility will never go away as needs,” Haywood said. “We’re always going to need great people.”
For more information on the economic development in your area, visit the Talladega Economic Development Authority at tceda.com or the St. Clair Economic Development Council at stclairedc.com.
For more economic statistics, visit the U.S. Census Bureau at census.gov.
