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Sullivan County workforce office reports job fair turnout, small funding dip and training activity
Summary
County workforce staff reported a job fair for affected PepsiCo employees, a small program-year funding decline tied to unemployment figures, new training classes and summer youth hiring opportunities.
Laura, a representative of the Center for Workforce Development, told the Sullivan County Economic Development Committee that a job fair for impacted PepsiCo employees on March 28 drew eight employers and 35 job-seekers and that staff are following up with businesses and attendees.
The Center also reported a net loss of $52,000 in program-year 2025 workforce funds across the three streams — adult, dislocated worker and youth — which Laura said results from changes in the unemployment rate rather than a federal policy change. "This is not as a result of anything going on on the federal level because those funds are based on a formula," she said.
Laura said the New York State Department of Labor has extra funds available for a program that serves job-seekers with disabilities and that staff are working with state fiscal representatives to secure those dollars to fund on-the-job training contracts and neurodiversity training for staff. "That is a program that Scott Curry runs," she added, referring to an internal program lead.
New training offerings include an electrical training class that began March 25 with 15 students selected from about 70 applicants. The Center is also hosting a hiring event April 10 with employers including BOCES, Thompson Sanitation and Access Supports for Living at 50 North Street from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and is accepting applications for a summer youth employment program that can fund up to 50 positions; the application deadline is May 9.
On labor-market statistics, Laura reported a January unemployment rate of 4.1 percent and a February rate of 4.5 percent, with a total labor force of 36,600, about 35,000 of whom were employed and roughly 1,600 unemployed. She said overall nonfarm jobs increased by about 0.7 percent (200 jobs), with private-sector gains concentrated in manufacturing; trade, transportation and utilities; and private education and health services. Mining, logging and construction showed a reported decline of about 100 jobs.
A committee member thanked Laura and her staff for the outreach following the PepsiCo layoffs. "It's good that the county is showing up for the people who lost their jobs," the member said.
The workforce representative said she is working with the state labor analyst to understand how many federal employees are in the county and whether remote work trends could affect local employment numbers; she described the department as "kinda holding steady" for now.
The Center provided counts of services for January — seven new businesses served, 59 job orders listed and 480 participants visiting the career center — and closed by asking the committee for questions.
