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LAS CRUCES - Carlos Duran hopes to find a job soon, maybe in the Chino copper mine near Silver City.
"But I'll take anything: warehousing, machining, construction," the 46-year-old Las Crucen said. "I can do a lot."
The latest jobless figures show the unemployment rate in the Las Cruces area is staying consistent at about 8.5 percent. Just two years before, it was 4.5 percent.
Nationwide, jobless claims jumped two weeks ago, but, the government reports that the national unemployment rate has fallen by eight-tenths of a percentage point in the past two months. the steepest two-month drop in nearly 53 years.
So what does that mean for area job seekers?
Richard Wagner, area director with the New Mexico Workforce Connection office in Las Cruces, warned it still might be a while until employers return to pre-recession hiring levels.
"The reality is that a lot of employers are getting by with less," Wagner said. "They're going to be very selective until they're sure about the economy."
Frank Jauregui, 40, recently graduated from Do-a Ana Community College with an associate's degree in computer technology.
"I've been looking (for work) ever since Dec. 10," he said. "I'm willing to travel. It's been hard."
There are jobs to be had, though.
"I don't want to make predictions, but I think this year is starting on more of a positive note than last year," Wagner said.
"We're likely to see modest growth in employment for the first time since '08," New Mexico State
Better off on unemployment?
Wagner said that it is true there are people who are not very serious about their job search. People on unemployment must apply for two jobs a week, but some job seekers only put in a half-hearted approach with only phone calls.
But he said most of the people he encounters are indeed making the effort.
"A small percentage don't want to (look for work), but the majority of people do," he said.
Is there any validity to the argument that some jobless workers are not motivated to look for work because they make more money on unemployment than they would at a minimum wage job? , "That's not necessarily true," Wagner said.
If you make the New Mexico weekly maximum of benefits - $386 a week, not counting dependent benefits - and you compare that to a 40-hour work week, that comes out to $9.65 an hour, more than $2 an hour more than the state's $7.50 minimum wage. But not everyone had a high-enough paying job in the first place to make the maximum, Wagner said.
And, "If you get a job, you get that work experience," he said.
Ticking clock for '99ers'
Sure, Congress passed unemployment extension legislation in December. But if you've been collecting for the better part of two years and your benefits are nearly exhausted, you still face a ticking clock.
The folks who face a 99-week deadline - often referred to as "the 99ers" - need to be prepared for benefits to run out.
Austan Gooslbee, the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, recently told examiner.com that he expects that to happen.
"I don't think there has been much sentiment in Congress to extend unemployment beyond 99 weeks, unfortunately," Goolsbee said.
"You see a lot of people getting desperate toward the end," Wagner said. "Some are doing anything they can."
Wagner suggests that people do not become picky about work. You might be better off taking a job in an area where you're not looking, than to end up with no work and no unemployment check. You can still continue your job search while working for someone else.
Brook Stockberger can be reached at (575) 541-5457
Looking for help?
• What: New Mexico Workforce Connection
• Where: 200 N. Church St.
• Phone: (575) 524-6250
