5/13/2009 - May 13.
The group working on sustainability from the community college and WIA collaboration forum last week asked me to do some research on Water/wastewater technology employment growth opportunities in rural Oregon. It looks like there will be steady, slow growth for this field – projected growth for water/wastewater technicians is 13%. The average projected growth for all occupations in the TOC/OWA region between 2009 and 2019 is also 13%, though. I suspect the group is hoping for a higher rate of growth.
We should be able to apply for some ARRA discretionary grants later this summer. There will be Regional Economic Impact NEG grants available later in the year. They are designed to supply reemployment -related services in regions hit hard by economic changes. The unemployment rate for the U.S. in March, 2009 is 8.5%; the unemployment rate for Oregon is 12.1%; in one of the rural counties in the TOC/OWA region, Crook County, the unemployment rate has reached 18.5%. That’s more than 1 out of every 6 people in the county on unemployment. There is a good possibility that real unemployment in much of rural Oregon has reached close to 25% (1 out of every 4 people out of work!). This very high unemployment supports the argument that rural Oregon has been hit hard by recent economic changes and thus should be eligible for these grants.
- Monty