RSS
 Roger Bell | Daily Herald Job seekers use computers to help find work at the Employment Security Commission on Park Avenue in Roanoke Rapids. |
Wilkins’ assertions reflects the bleak numbers. Unemployment in Halifax County is 13.7 percent, with Northampton not faring much better at 11.1 percent. Data like this does little to encourage the outlook of those in the business of helping people find work.
“We’ve seen no improvement as far as jobs,” Wilkins says. “We’ve had some calls about things shutting down.”
Local residents are feeling the pinch and taking unemployment benefits. Unfortunately, many are due to lose those benefits soon unless the federal government approves extensions. According to numbers released by the state, 102 job seekers in Halifax County and 36 in Northampton County will lose their benefits in fewer than 60 days.
And even with all the Employment Security Commission’s services, if the jobs aren’t there, they aren’t there.
Such news does little to help the outlook of 32-year-old Alexis Lee of Roanoke Rapids, who’s been looking for work for four months. “I’ve been going between here and C.A.D.A. (Choanoke Area Development Association ) and there’s pretty much nothing.”
Lee says the ESC hasn’t been much help. He’s done the Human Resources Development class and obtained the Career Readiness Certificate and still hasn’t been hired. “I’m trying to just get some income coming in,” said Lee.
Cedric Smith of Gaston, 26, has been out of work for a year and comes to use the computers at the commission to find a job. He says so far he has not found work through the commission’s resources.
Unemployment isn’t just affecting young people either. Fifty-two year-old Randolph Kirton has been unemployed since April 10th, when his employer asserted he’d abandoned his job after he totaled his car in an accident. “I haven’t been choosy,” says Kirton. “I’m looking for anything.”
A telecommunications company released 54-year-old Joel Ricks of Roanoke Rapids in January after he hurt his knee. “I can no longer climb and kneel and all that,” he says. “Workman’s compensation pays some of the bills, but thank God I’m pretty thrifty with money. I’ve been driving the same car for 19 years.”
“There’s nothing around here since the mills and stuff have closed,” Ricks adds. “And the theater was a flop. I remember growing up in this town and it was a pretty bustling town at one time.”
There is some help available through the federally funded Reemployment Services Program. Employment consultant Taylor Hawkins says the program’s aim is to “get people back to work. We give them an assessment, then classes are set up through Halifax Community College.”
The program then tracks these clients for 12 weeks. “They come in mostly every week,” Hawkins adds. “We look at the job openings and try to answer any questions they have.”
Hawkins believes the college’s assistance has been vital to the program. “Halifax Community College has been a great help to us,” he says. “We also have career coaching and I do employer visits. I go out and talk to employers and tell them about this program. They’re always willing to help us if they can.”
While some like Lee and Smith do not believe they’ve gotten much help from the commission, Kirton disagrees. “The assistance has been good,” he says. “It’s just that some of the jobs I’ve applied for I haven’t had the experience.”
With the unemployment numbers so high, and the job market showing no signs of improvement, it’s difficult for anyone to maintain a positive outlook. Still, Hawkins wants everyone to know the commission is here to assist them.
“We’re here to help and we’re doing all we can to get people back to work.”
Comments