As economic woes continue, JVS prepares
Graduates of the medical office training program at Jewish Vocational Service.
Organization has seen dramatic spike in enrollment
Thursday, Sept. 18, was Massachusetts Career Day. But with national unemployment reaching a five-year high, serious questions remain about the stability of the Commonwealth's job market. Jewish Vocational Service of Greater Boston, a leading non-sectarian purveyor of job-related services to the New England area, is taking no chances.
"We know our services are going to grow and we're making preparations for it," said Jerry Rubin, president and CEO of JVS. "I would be very surprised if we didn't see as much growth as we saw this year. But we feel like we're very well prepared."
JVS has seen an across-the-board increase in people seeking career training. Last year, the organization served more than 14,000 individuals in the Greater Boston area. Its Career Moves division, which serves mostly qualified Jewish professionals, reported a 20 percent increase in clients from last year, a 10 percent growth over the organization's projected numbers.
And low-income job seekers saw the same 20 percent spike reflected in JVS' numbers, despite the Massachusetts unemployment rate holding steady at 5.3 percent -- nearly a point lower than the national average of 6.1 percent.
But the increase in the numbers of people seeking out JVS' training services is not unusual during uncertain times, according to Rubin. He said workers, even those currently employed, are attempting to position themselves for any possible drop-offs in the local job market.
"This happens whenever there is an economic slowdown among professionals," he explained. "You always see an uptick in graduate school enrollment, which has always climbed during recessions. What most people have to offer in a job market are their skills. Jobs can be taken away, but skills and credentials remain. So people are looking to both increase their credentials and skill level, and we're able to provide that training through our services."
In Aug. 2007, the national unemployment rate was at 4.7 percent. That number has risen dramatically as 605,000 jobs have been lost since the beginning of 2008, leaving people to wonder when, rather than if, Massachusetts will see a similar increase in unemployment. Certain job sectors, such as personal and financial services, as well as retail and housing, have seen a sharp fall in employment, which can be directly attributed to the economy.
Linnea Walsh, communications director for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, is taking a cautious approach to judging the state's economic and job market conditions.
"Certainly, the situation nationally is different from where we are in Massachusetts," said Walsh. "There is always a ripple effect, and we're seeing that in certain employment sectors. Massachusetts has held steady in terms of the nation, but we will have to continue to see what happens month to month."
To better protect the local Jewish population in case of significant job loss, JVS, alongside Combined Jewish Philanthropies, has begun to substantially increase their career advisory networks. These networks are comprised of several hundred professors, most of whom are from the Jewish community. If the downward slide continues, Rubin said, JVS and CJP are also considering implementing a job bank that allows employers who have jobs to offer them and those in need of jobs to seek those employers out.
Alan Clayton-Matthews, economist and professor of public policy at UMass Boston, said the debate over the economy and the slumping job market is still not settled.
"Some people would characterize this as a recession, others wouldn't," Clayton-Matthews said. "It depends on how you look at it. Even though we've had employment declines, some economists will say as long as output continues, it's not a recession. We also have an economy where part of it is working well and part of it isn't. Every time [the economy] runs into a problem like this, we learn a lesson. In another 10 years, there will be another big crisis."
But for now, JVS will continue its preparations, something Rubin sees as a necessary response to what could be a looming unemployment problem in the Bay State.
"I think [that] in some ways, we're just beginning to feel the impact," he said.
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