S P R I N G
2 0 2 0
Sullivan County Partnership for Economic Development uSullivan County Industrial Development Agency uSullivan County Chamber of Commerce uSullivan Catskills Visitors AssociationuSullivan County Democrat
Businesses continue looking for employees as Sullivan County employment stays strong
To the people: Our window of opportunity is now page 2E 2020 and beyond: Tourism in the Catskills page 4E
BY FRED STABBERT III
T
oo many jobs – not enough employees. “It’s a problem we always said we wanted,” Laura Quigley, Director of the Center for Workforce Development in Monticello said last week. Quigley said the comparison of the last decade – from 2010 - 2019 – shows a dramatic picture of economic growth. “In 2010 the average unemployment rate for the year was 8.9 percent,”
INSIDE:
Good time to sell your property page 8E
DEMOCRAT FILE PHOTOS BY AUTUMN SCHANIL
Robert Green, right, of Robert Green Chevrolet in Monticello, interviewed candidates during a recent Sullivan County Job Fair.
The Sullivan County Job Fair 2020 will be held at the Kartrite Water Park in Monticello on May 5. Event organizers said a "private" entrance will lead job fair attendees right into the meeting room.
Quigley said. “And in 2019 the average unemployment rate was 3.7 percent. “Since 2010 the total labor force has increased by 8.8 percent – or 3,000 people from 34,000 to 37,000 – and the number of unemployed people has decreased by 50 percent – from 3,200 to 1,600,” she said. These numbers have shifted the Center for Workforce Development’s focus from the employees to the employers as more businesses are searching for qualified help. “All the work the Sullivan County Partnership for Economic Development has done in the past several years has happily given us this problem,” Quigley said of the workforce shortage. “Our focus shifts with the economy,” she said. Job fairs a must To that end Workforce Development has started mini job fairs one Saturday a month at the Ethelbert B. Crawford Pub-
Please see JOBS, page 3E
Looking to buy your first home? page 9E Tectonic looks to help Sullivan County move forward page 10E IDA update on payments to county, towns and schools page 12E Sullivan County Chamber is a good neighbor page 14E Minding our business page 16E Bethel Woods makes list of top amphitheaters page 18E