Employers Weigh Merits And Risks Of Hiring Long-Term Unemployed
In 2008, there were 183,000 unemployed workers in Massachusetts, with 9 percent of them having been out of work for at least a year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Two years later, unemployment was up to 298,000, and nearly 30 percent—89,000 people—had spent a year or longer out of work.
The sheer number of long-term unemployed has shifted employer attitudes in several ways, according to recruiters and others who follow the labor market. Some companies have become more understanding about the larger forces behind a job candidate’s unemployment. Others view stacks of resumes from the unemployed as something to wade through to reach more attractive—and employed—applicants. And still others see people who have been without jobs for months as potentially great bargains.
Kathy Barron, founder and president of the Accurate Resource Group Inc. staffing firm in Westborough, said there’s still truth in the old rule that you can get a job much more easily if you already have one.
“The longer someone is out of work, the companies sometimes will look at them and question them a little more closely,” she said.
President Obama’s proposed jobs plan would attempt to help with that issue by offering a tax credit of up to $4,000 to employers that hire people who have been out of work for six months or more.
Job Market Still Slow
But the issue may be less about which people companies are hiring than whether they’re hiring at all. Jo-Ann Gladstone, president of Framingham-based Select Staff, said the main barrier she encounters in placing applicants is simply that employers aren’t adding many workers. She finds companies understand that many people are out of work and the firms are able to overlook an applicant’s unemployed status if they see talent.
“Since this recession, it’s more the person and their skills and their work ethic than anything else,” she said.
Of course, it can be difficult to keep skills strong and demonstrate a strong work ethic when you’re unemployed, so people who advise the jobless almost universally tell them to keep taking classes or doing other work-related activities.
George Moriarty, director of career services at the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, said that’s especially important when it comes to fast-moving technology like smartphones and social networks.
“If you’ve been out of the workplace for two years, you’ve been out of the flow of that technological change,” he said.
Moriarty said some people who lose their jobs may wait too long to get help from the state career centers or other sources, and some employers may be unfairly prejudiced against the unemployed, but another significant reason unemployed people tend to stay that way is their areas of expertise. He said there are dozens of unemployed construction workers for every job in that field, while employers can’t find qualified applicants for certain technical jobs.
Free Tryout?
Audrey Brava, senior vice president of the health care division at Management Recruiters Inc. in Westborough, said while some employers are reluctant to consider the unemployed, others see it as a savvy move.
“They can possibly save a little money on their salary,” she said.
Brava said some workers are even volunteering to work for free for several months, in what amounts to an internship or extended interview.
“I’ve never really seen it happen before,” she said. “I think there are people out there who are desperate and they’re willing to do anything to get a leg up.”
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