Tom Stephenson experiences the negative employment impact from two hard-hit job categories.
"The biggest problem is, the building industry is shot," Mr. Stephenson, 56, of Newton Twp., said during a break from a résumé-preparation workshop on Wednesday at CareerLink in Scranton.
Mr. Stephenson worked for more than 20 years in the region's modular home manufacturing industry. He was laid off in October from a quality-control manager's position and hopes to continue to work in the field.
He has tried unsuccessfully to find contract or temporary positions and contacted companies about work from home by email on design and drafting projects.
"I could do anything that needs to be done," Mr. Stephenson said. "I used to be able to find work all the time. It's unfortunate."
Manufacturing employment in the metro area was 18 percent lower in January than the same 2008 period, state data show. Construction employment was down 12 percent over the same span.
The region's jobless rate hit 9.8 percent in January - up three-tenths of a percentage point from December - and the area has had the state's highest unemployment since April 2010. The high figure partly reflects an increase in the labor force of more than 10,000 people over the last year and masks the addition of 7,100 jobs during the same period.
"The growth of the labor force is most welcome," said Satyajit Ghosh, Ph.D., a University of Scranton professor of economics and finance. "But the great recession was an equal-opportunity job destroyer. It lowered employment opportunities for both blue-collar and white-collar workers."
Jessica Lindsey hopes to work in a field experiencing regional growth, but needs training to qualify.
Ms. Lindsey, 21, of Scranton, wants to become a certified nurse's aide and attended a session at CareerLink last week so she may qualify financially for state assistance to pay for the eight-week nursing-training sessions.
She has been unemployed since late January after completing an active-duty stint in the Air Force Reserve. She last worked at a civilian job in June at chain restaurant in Dickson City.
"Funds are getting low," Ms. Lindsey said.
She sees opportunities in health care, a job sector combined with education that expanded by 1,600 positions regionally over the last five years.
But getting the certification is key to her job prospects, Ms. Lindsey admits.
"That would give me more options and then I can move on from there," she said.
Education and health care helped sustain employment in the region as other field shed workers through the recession, Dr. Ghosh said.
"Those are essentially the two pillars that have held us up," he said.
One blue-collar sector experiencing hiring growth is transportation and warehousing. The field added almost 3,000 jobs over the last five years, a 19 percent jump.
"Trucking and warehousing, you cannot outsource those jobs," Dr. Ghosh said. "They are immune from global competition."
For people like Mr. Stephenson, though, the prospects seem limited.
He has no interest in retraining and sees no value taking low-wage work to tide him over. His options include some unpleasant possibilities and he may pursue work in California, where there are more opportunities in his field .
"If things don't turn around, we may have to sell the house," Mr. Stephenson said. "I don't want to move. But I would move and the family will stay. I'll send them the money. You have to provide for the family."
He is getting by on his jobless benefits, but barely.
"My unemployment just covers my health insurance," Mr. Stephenson said.
He said he and his wife, Diane, live primarily now on her income as a real estate agent, he said.
"I'm going to have to go wherever there's a job." Mr. Stephenson said.
Contact the writer: jhaggerty@timesshamrock.com