‘Sidney’s economy is strong’

Nebraska has been rated the third best-run state in the United States behind North Dakota and Wyoming and had the second lowest unemployment rate in the nation at 4.4 percent last year, according to a survey done by 24/7 Wall St.

In 2010 Nebraska also had the second-lowest debt per capita at $1,297. The average for states nationwide was $3, 614. Being one of the nation’s biggest agricultural producers, with that subdivision earning 8.3 percent of the states GDP last year.

The survey team members determined the results by reviewing each state’s debt, revenue, expenditures, deficit, taxes, exports, GDP growth, poverty, income, unemployment, high school graduations, violent crimes and foreclosure rates.

According to a Dec. 21 press release by the Nebraska Department of Labor the seasonally adjusted preliminary unemployment rate was 3.7 percent for the month of Nov., which is a .6 percent decrease from Nov. 2011.

The department of labor reported that excluding farm jobs, 6,400 jobs had been created in Nebraska within the previous year. The three areas of work that showed the most employment gain in Nebraska were mining and construction, manufacturing, and education and health services.

Commissioner of Labor Catherine D. Lang said that the unemployment rate has not been this low in Nebraska since Nov. 2008.

Lang said that labor force participation in Nebraska has stayed above 70 percent, and that ‘discouraged worker syndrome’, or workers who stop looking for work, is fairly nonexistent.

According to the Nebraska Department of Labor the unemployment rate in Cheyenne County’s was 3.1 percent in May 2012, down .6 percent from June 2011.

In a U.S. News and World report David Francis said that career counselors predict that hiring will pick up around New Years but that it’s undetermined whether or not the major hiring binge will be as hearty as previous years.

This has to do with suspicious about our economy’sstrength, Francis said.

However, last month 146,000 jobs were supplemented into the economy, when only 85,000 jobs were expected to be created, he said.

According to Francis, business unit president for CBIZ Payroll, Inc. Philip Noftsinger said that the result of the fiscal cliff, tax increases and spending cuts could still create a downsizing in the hiring market.

“If we don’t reach compromise [on the cliff], I think you’re looking at demand-driven hiring,” Noftsinger said. “It’s going to depend on how deep the cuts are and how they affect the overall macroeconomic picture.”

This month 3.5 million jobs are on the market in the United States while 12 million people are without jobs, Robert Meier president of Job Market Experts said via Francis.

“Just because we’re going to flip a calendar from 2012 to 2013 isn’t going to fix this problem,” Noftsinger said.

Even with the country’s economic stability in question after the final fiscal cliff decision, City of Sidney city manager Gary Person believes that Sidney’s economy will stay strong and prosperous.

“We believe the economy to have been quite strong here in 2012 and that is validated by our economic indicators,” Person said.

Person said that these indicators included retail sales, lodging statistics, low unemployment, help wanted signs all over town and a high demand for rental housing among other things.

“In fact I hear from employers all the time about the need for more qualified help, as well as finding a place for the help to live,” Person said.

Person said that even though the fiscal cliff may leave business owners worrisome in the next year, he believes that the job market in Sidney will still strive.

“Most of the major employers seem to have been quite optimistic this past year. There are obvious national concerns on the horizon as with the fiscal cliff, more regulations driven by the federal government, etcetera, so hiring will probably be conservative. But again I sense the local employers believe they are headed for another busy year,” Person said.

Person said that many of the proposed projects for the Sidney area could begin in 2013, creating a wealth of new jobs for the area.

Bell Lumber and Pole Co. will be adding another 30 new jobs in the Sidney area with their $40 million manufacturing plant construction site, he said.

Person said that he thinks services related to travelers and the local economy will always boom, such as restaurants, motels and other small businesses in the area.

Ralph Castner, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Cabela’s said that most of the company’s new hires are driven by the company’s strategy for regional expansion.

Castner said that company members are happy with the expansion and plan to recruit more employees heavily throughout the next year.

“Particularly in Sidney we expect to do a fair amount of hiring in 2013,” Castner said.

Castner said that nine new stores will be open across the United States next year and that most of the jobs in Sidney will support the latest stores.

“Unemployment is still far too high, even in Sidney. Our challenge is just finding the right skill sets and matching people’s skill sets with jobs,” Castner said.

Castner said that their Sidney offices currently hold 1,300 employees and the company is looking to increase that number by 4-6 percent this upcoming year.

Chris Rutt, a regional human resources manager for Progress Rail said that his company has been increasing employment over the last couple years and he hopes to advance that amount in the upcoming year.

Rutt said that even though coal mining appears to be “dying off” in the United States, his company is looking to sell the product overseas to countries such as China and Russia and therefore needs to step up their hiring.

The Progress Rail team would like to increase their employment level by 10 percent next year, Rutt said.