The Job Hunt - Niagara Falls Review Article

THE JOB HUNT: 'It seems no one is willing to give a rookie a chance”

Falls woman one of many looking for new career

By DAN DAKIN Niagara Falls Review

The statistics can say whatever they want about Niagara’s improving unemployment rate. It doesn’t mean much to Nancy Gaumond.

The 43-year-old single mom would like to think Niagara’s 7.3% unemployment rate means it’s getting easier to find a job, but that’s not what she has experienced.

Injured on the job three years ago, the Niagara Falls woman was forced to give up her career and find something less physical to do in life. She went back to school to become a social worker and in November, started the job hunt in her new line of work.

She’s been working with counsellors at the Niagara Employment Help Centre on Thorold Stone Rd. to update her resume and apply for jobs.

Three months later, she’s still looking and, with her worker’s compensation settlement about to expire in March, Gaumond is worried about the future.

“Right now it’s frightening. I have a deadline and if it’s not met, I don’t know what I’ll do,” said Gaumond, who has three teenage children. “I’ve applied for every job in the field I’ve taken, but most companies want three to five years experience. It seems no one is willing to give a rookie a chance.”

On paper, things aren’t looking too bad for Niagara. Though the national unemployment rate moved up slightly in January from 7.5% to 7.6%, Niagara’s jobless rate dropped from 7.4% to 7.3%. Across the province, the statistics are disappointing — rising to 8.1% in January from 7.7% the previous month.

At the NEHC, employment consultant Andrew Bassingthwaighte said the unemployment rates in Niagara Falls typically match the regional figures. However, he said foot traffic at the centre has more to do with the time of year.

“The busiest times of the year for us are the end of February and early March, when a lot of seasonal jobs start to open up,” he said. “Then around September, there’s the lead up to Christmas and the seasonal workers are coming in looking for work.”

The employment centre has been operating for 27 years and has helped out of work Niagara Falls residents through numerous recessions and tough economic times.

Bassingthwaighte said lately the trend is for people looking for new careers after being laid off.

“What we’re seeing is a lot of people coming here looking for retraining,” he said. “They’re saying I can’t find a job with the skills I have, so now I need something new.”

That’s what happened to Gaumond. She’s been looking for work for months in the career she is now trained in, but if necessary, she said she’ll take whatever kind of work she can get.

“I refuse to apply for any type of social assistance,” she said. “I’m full-time looking for work right now.

ddakin@nfreview.com