Jobs and labor not always interconnected

The job fair at Mat-Su College on Wednesday revealed some peculiarities about jobs and the workforce. Sometimes there are jobs, but filling them isn’t that easy.

First, a local insurance company had 20 openings, but had some reasonable demands from candidates: speak coherently and present yourself well. As was observed, at least in the morning portion, there was nary a suit to be found. One fellow apparently did spend the time to don a tie.

If you really want a job, the least you can do is dress like you want a job at the interview. Granted, this is a community of Wranglers and Carhartts, but there’s no excuse for not wearing your best pants. Or your best outfit.

Then there was a man in his 50s who was offered a job digging ditches, but at his age he felt like he’d dug enough ditches and maybe wasn’t physically able to dig trenches anymore.

So where are the 20-year-olds with good backs and strong hearts?

Apparently there were quite a few young people in line looking for work. That’s always a good sign.

One of the younger people came up from Outside where he said the fast food places — long a last resort for some job seekers — were turning people away. He heard there were opportunities here. He wouldn’t be the first one to make the trip north in search of a better life.

And considering the stories of gloom and doom regarding the economy in the Lower 48, he probably made a good choice. By and large, Alaska seems to be weathering the economic storm better than many states.

At last year’s fair, about 500 people showed up. This year, before noon, more than 400 had already signed in, so the 2008 count likely was shattered.

On the other hand, there were 59 vendors on hand with openings and opportunities. Sure, some were colleges and other schools that cost money rather than make money in the short term. In the long term those institutions could pay off.

The military and even the FBI were there in force. With a couple of wars going on, the military might not appeal to some, but the services offer great benefits and help with education. For young people who aren’t sure of their future, there are worse ideas than joining one of the armed services. As for the FBI, the line was long, but background checks can be revealing.

The overall picture of the job fair can be bittersweet. It’s too bad so many people need and want jobs, but it should be encouraging to the community that there are plenty of people who want to work, rather than those we hear too much about: People who could work, but don’t make the effort.