It's Your Community - May 22, 2016

Vanessa interviewed Greg Pitoniak, CEO of SEMCA, about Michigan Works and its efforts to help the state's LTU (long-term unemployed). According to a study released in 2015, by the State of Michigan, one in three job seekers today are LTU, which translates into nearly 100,000 individuals, and that three in four have been looking for work more than a year. In comparison, the LTU stats were one in twenty during the Great Recession. They talked about how there is a disconnect between a job shortage and employee talent pool. This disconnection is often seen when those who are unemployed lack the necessary skills to fill the shortages that employer face. They also discussed how Michigan Works helps people find jobs in the region and which skill sets are needed more in metro Detroit. With Michigan’s unemployment rate falling to its current level of 4.8 percent, there is a population that no longer appears in these statistics, which is the LTU that have been looking for work for 27 weeks or more. Finally, they discussed the challenges they face in getting people to take advantage of Michigan Works. For more information on SEMCA, log on to: www.semca.org/