Potsdam, NY, Oct 03, 2012 — The New York Department of Labor is targeting counties with the highest unemployment - and trying to find jobs for the long term unemployed. The state sent email invitations to more than 600 people in St. Lawrence County to meet with the state's Mobile Unemployment Response Team at Clarkson University in Potsdam this week. About 24 showed up.

Teachers, manufacturing, and office workers were among those who've been out of work for more than six months - and looking for a job.

Reporter Julie Grant caught up with Karen Warriner, as she was finishing her session with the Response Team. The 41-year old single mother of three has been unemployed since last February.  Go to full article

Oct 03, 2012 — A new report from the New York Federal Reserve shows that advances in technology and globalization mean job opportunities are growing in high skill sectors like engineering, and also in lower skill sectors like childcare. But opportunities in between are declining.  Go to full article

Toronto, ON, Nov 29, 2011 — This week, as part of a partnership with WBEZ public radio in Chicago, Brian Mann is traveling in Ontario, talking about the very different impact of the recession north of the border. It turns out, workers living just a few miles away, in Canada, have experienced the economic downturn very differently than workers here.

While American cities along the Great Lakes like Buffalo and Rochester struggle and lose population, Toronto and Montreal are growing. They've even added jobs through the recession. Workers who do lose their jobs in Canada have a much more comprehensive social safety net and that may be helping to stabilize and boost the country's overall economy. Brian Mann speaks with Martha Foley from Toronto.  Go to full article

Sep 26, 2011 — The state department of labor last week released numbers that show unemployment is down in the North Country. Last year at this time, the unemployment rate was 8.8%--now it's 8.4%.

St. Lawrence County had the largest decline, with August unemployment down .8% from July.

Any good economic numbers sound like good news, but unemployment statistics don't necessarily give a complete picture.

For example, they don't count people who've given up looking, or who are working part-time but would like to work more--or people who can't afford to work. Nora Flaherty took a look at what the numbers do--and don't--tell us.  Go to full article

Dexter, NY, Jun 24, 2011 — The problem of high labour turnover on dairy farms was highlighted in late March when John Barney of Smithville was arrested for hiring Latinos who came here without documentation. Many farmers say they can't get their cows milked any other way, but the hiring of immigrants breeds resentment when unemployment in the region is so high.

Now, several Jefferson County agricultural organizations and the Cornell cooperative extension have created the Agricultural Workforce Development and Training program to train local people and match them with dairy farms looking for help.

Jay Matteson is Jefferson County Agricultural Coordinator. He told Nora Flaherty one of the biggest causes of high turnover is that people just don't know what they're getting into when they take a job at a dairy farm.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Jul 21, 2010 — Millions of Americans whose unemployment benefits have run out are breathing a sigh of relief. The Senate is poised to pass legislation today restoring the benefits. The measure would then go to the House for a final vote. It is expected to pass then go on to President Barack Obama later this week.

A continuing fear of social services folks is what happens when unemployment benefits do run out. The jobless rate still hovers around 10%, and that doesn't include people who have stopped looking for a job out of frustration. Last December, the staff at One Stop Career Center in Canton predicted "a tsunami of job seekers" this year. It turns out they were right. In our ongoing series Story 2.0, we'll revisit the One Stop Career Center. But first, here's an excerpt from David Sommerstein's story from last winter.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Dec 30, 2009 — Over the last year, the NCPR news team has been reporting on the impacts of the so-called Great Recession in our series, A Year of Hard Choices. What we didn't necessarily consider is that the year after the recession could be even tougher for many people. Unemployment remains around 10% throughout much of the North Country. The manufacturing sector has been hit hard with massive job losses, from General Motors and Corning in St. Lawrence County, to Pfizer in Clinton County, to New York Air Brake and Covidien in Watertown.

During 2010, those workers' jobless benefits will begin to run out. And they will join an already overcrowded market of job seekers. The situation is making for stressful times at the state-run career centers across the region. At the One Stop Career Center in Canton, the unemployed are trying to stay busy and keep their hopes up. David Sommerstein reports.

CORRECTION: The correct title of the employment center is "One Stop Career Center".  Go to full article

Heuvelton, NY, Dec 28, 2009 — At the beginning of this year, we began a series called A Year of Hard Choices, looking at the challenges posed by economic losses and budget deficits. You can review all of our coverage on our website, ncpr.org. One of those stories introduced us to the Carpenters. Sharlene and Randy are both in their late 40s. They live in Heuvelton. Sharlene lost her job three days before Christmas last year. She made high tech glass lenses at the Corning plant in Canton. She was collecting unemployment. Her husband, Randy, had been laid off from a pallet mill three months earlier. Randy was looking for work at Fort Drum. Recently, David Sommerstein visited the Carpenters again to see how 2009 treated them, and what next year may have in store.  Go to full article

Jan 27, 2009 — New numbers came out last week from the state Department of Labor. And the comparisons between December 2007 and 2008 are grim: Every county in northern New York reported at least a two percent rise in unemployment. In Clinton and Essex Counties, the rate went up by more than three and a half percent. These numbers mean that each county across northern New York added about a thousand people to its roster of unemployed. In some counties, it was more than 2,000 people. Martha Foley has more.  Go to full article

Jun 23, 2008 — More people across the state lost their jobs last month. Unemployment numbers released by the New York State Department of Labor showed the highest monthly percentage point increase since January of 1991. Todd Moe has more.  Go to full article