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Is there a reluctance to hire local? I almost feel like WV is getting screwed even worse during this energy boom. During the coal thing, all of the money went to NY and Richmond executives. Now that we're having a gas boom, I hate to think that everyone making any money off of it also resides out of state..
It isn't that there is a reluctance to hire local. It is they are just hiring the most experienced workers in the field they can get, and since exploration is going on less in LA and TX these days than it is around here, some of the experienced workers from those areas are going where they can find work... which is here. You really can't blame them for going for the experience. That is a dangerous line of work, and having experienced workers is important. As more of our workers gain experience, there will be more of them working in the field.
But, those out of towners working here are spending lots of money here too. One thing I have noticed is when our athletic teams play teams from Texas and Oklahoma, they are well attended by folks from those areas too... thousands of them.
It definitely doesn't seem to be helping the unemployment rates in the northern panhandle, which is where the gas industry is supposed to be centered in WV.
The Panhandle was hit far harder by the loss of heavy industry than any other area since the 1980s, and is lagging in catching up. But, they will do so, especially when downstream industry comes into play because it is located right between where two crackers will be built, and it is relatively close to very large population centers. No area loses 25,000 heavy industry jobs and recovers easily, and the area didn't have the buffer of a large educational institution, or a large state government presence to help offset the losses.
That said, the figures are misleading on the map. The heavy industry jobs are gone... that is true, but the oilfield jobs pay a lot more than call center jobs, and clerical intensive jobs, that are often found elsewhere. Also, there are thousands of oil and gas workers living and working in the Panhandle, spending money there, that are not reflected in the statistics because they are technically residents of other states.
The figures on the map aren't misleading, they are simply a reflection of the employment situation in the state. The title of this thread was how gas employment growth was quickly making a difference in WV, and specifically the northern panhandle. The employment numbers don't seem to support this for local employment growth.
There is benefit from the out of state workers being there, no doubt. It certainly doesn't have a positive effect on the employment situation to bring out of state workers in to fill local jobs though. Especially if they send most of that money back home.
Anecdote: I was told by a New Martinsville resident a couple of years ago to forget about finding a motel room. The Marcellus Shale Gas workers had them all booked up. That would indicate a lot of visiting workers. The employment statistics are consistent with that observation.
I usually return to Wetzel County once a year, for my HS Alumni Weekend. In the past, I would get a motel room in New Martinsville for the weekend (there being no motels on the Shortline).
The last couple of years, however, as mensaguy noted, there were no motel rooms to be had. I ended up driving down and back both nights from WPa.
The figures on the map aren't misleading, they are simply a reflection of the employment situation in the state. The title of this thread was how gas employment growth was quickly making a difference in WV, and specifically the northern panhandle. The employment numbers don't seem to support this for local employment growth.
There is benefit from the out of state workers being there, no doubt. It certainly doesn't have a positive effect on the employment situation to bring out of state workers in to fill local jobs though. Especially if they send most of that money back home.
Here's where they are misleading, Tim. The figures reflect those actively looking for work as a percentage of the resident workforce. The thousands of oil and gas workers working in the Panhandle are reflected in neither figure, so the map doesn't give a truly accurate account of the number of people actually working in comparison with those actively seeking work. Those folks are carried by their employers as transients... much like if you were to go to Louisville for a temporary assignment and work for 7 or 8 months. They don't even show up in the statistics, but they are there working and by extension renting hotel rooms or apartments and spending money none-the-less.
Here's why the numbers aren't misleading. They are a reflection of the employment of the people living in a particular county. It doesn't matter if they work at a job in another county or state, their employment is counted in the county in which they reside. The total number of jobs available in a county has nothing to do with it, only the employment status of the people living there. So in Huntington, for example, the people who live in KY and OH but work in Huntington or do not work at all have no bearing on the unemployment rate of Cabell County.
The lower the unemployment rate, the more job opportunities in the area. This data reflects that even though there are more jobs in those counties due to the gas industry, they are not readily available for the local person. Thus, the unemployment rates remain high.
Here's why the numbers aren't misleading. They are a reflection of the employment of the people living in a particular county. It doesn't matter if they work at a job in another county or state, their employment is counted in the county in which they reside. The total number of jobs available in a county has nothing to do with it, only the employment status of the people living there. So in Huntington, for example, the people who live in KY and OH but work in Huntington or do not work at all have no bearing on the unemployment rate of Cabell County.
The lower the unemployment rate, the more job opportunities in the area. This data reflects that even though there are more jobs in those counties due to the gas industry, they are not readily available for the local person. Thus, the unemployment rates remain high.
Tim, you would be correct if it weren't for the fact that the specialized jobs being performed by many of the oil and gas workers are not counted in the statistics. Some of those jobs open up, and are filled with temp workers from Oklahoma without anybody in West Virginia being involved. They hire the guy based on a recommendation from a Chesapeake foreman in Lawton, and the guy drives up and goes to work a couple days later... staying in an extended stay hotel if the job will last only a month or two, or actually renting an apartment if it will last 3 months or longer. WV Employment security is not involved, so those workers don't impact the statistics. Local folks generally are not filling those jobs, and they are still looking for work so they are reflected in the statistics. Unemployment for locals is still an issue in the Panhandle due to that fact. So, in that sense you are correct.
My point is those oil and gas jobs are having a great impact on the overall economies of the affected areas, even though they have had only a limited impact on local unemployment rates. There are thousands more workers living and working in the Panhandle. They just are mostly not local workers.
There are, however, some locals who are working their way into those specialized positions little by little. There are training programs for them at the community colleges in New Martinsville and Fairmont, and some of those guys are getting hired. Still... experience counts for a whole lot and they are not hiring the locals unless they can't get more experience from the usual places. Looking at it from their point of view, it makes sense. That is very dangerous work, and one slipup can have catastrophic consequences. Consequences like this, which happened just north of Morgantown... More remains found at Greene Co. well blast site | www.wpxi.com
Last edited by CTMountaineer; 03-11-2014 at 03:30 PM..
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