Thousands of temporary seasonal jobs with the Forest Service and its partners are available this summer and officials say now is the time to begin the application process.

“Due to the nature of much of our work, such as wildfire fighting and seasonal recreation programs, we anticipate hiring many temporary workers,” said U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell. “These jobs will provide economic relief for many unemployed Americans and help stimulate local rural communities.”

Annually, the Forest Service and its conservation partners hire over 15,000 people for summer positions. Of that total there are around 12,000 openings during the peak fire season months for those seeking temporary work in the fire and aviation management field. More about jobs in the Forest Service can be found online at http://www.fs.fed.us/fsjobs/openings.shtml

Seasonal job opportunities also provide first-hand knowledge of natural resource management to the new hires, many of whom are young adults. These work experiences may instill lasting and meaningful connections between the future stewards of our land and America’s great outdoors,” Tidwell said.

Many of the communities most affected by economic hard times are located near national forests and grasslands. By providing temporary jobs to a diverse group of applicants, the Forest Service is contributing to stronger communities and providing safe access to the forests and grasslands for their use and enjoyment by people of all abilities, Tidwell noted.

For example, through the Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry program some of these employment opportunities will engage students in the creation of a new generation of clean, accessible great urban parks and community green spaces, a goal of President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors Initiative — a plan to reconnect Americans to the forests and grasslands that sustain the nation.

An employment alternative offered through the Forest Service is enrollment in one of the agency’s 28 Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers. This rigorous vocational training program combines a demanding academic curriculum and prepares students to excel in the 21st century workforce.  One emphasis area focuses on “green-collar” jobs and clean energy issues. Recognizing the program’s efforts in green jobs training, President Obama has endorsed them as America’s Green Job Corps.

The Forest Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Parks Service, and the Employment and Training Administration share common goals regarding career development for young people. These goals include giving low income youth opportunities to gain valuable work experience, provide service to their nation, and contribute to much needed work projects on public lands.

Land management agencies and the land itself can benefit from increased employment of youth on the public lands, especially to address the backlog maintenance issues many agencies face. As these workers learn about the potential career pathways in these occupations, those who are interested can help meet the imminent demand for skilled workers as approximately 35 percent of Forest Service employees are eligible for retirement in the next four years, Tidwell said.

These jobs will also be part of the President’s White House Summer Jobs+ initiative to provide pathways to employment for low-income and disconnected youth in the summer of 2012.

The mission of the U.S. Forest Service is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. Recreational activities on our lands contribute $14.5 billion annually to the U.S. economy. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, and maintains the largest forestry research organization in the world.

USDA works with state, local and Tribal governments and private landowners to conserve and protect our nation’s natural resources – helping preserve our land, and clean our air and water. President Obama launched the America’s Great Outdoors initiative in 2010 to foster a 21st century approach to conservation that is designed by and accomplished in partnership with the American people. During the past two years, USDA’s conservation agencies— the U.S. Forest Service, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Farm Service Agency—have delivered technical assistance and implemented restoration practices on public and private lands. We are working to better target conservation investments: embracing locally driven conservation and entering partnerships that focus on large, landscape-scale conservation.

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In tough times, it’s rare that an agency faces criticism for not spending money fast enough.

But that is exactly what happened this week to Workforce Connections, which last year received more than $18 million in federal funds to coordinate local training and employment programs.

Several board members blasted the agency at a Tuesday meeting for falling behind on spending millions of dollars meant for programs to help young people prepare to enter the workforce.

“These young people are hurting all over the valley,” Clark County Commissioner and board member Lawrence Weekly said. “This is ridiculous.”

At issue was more than
$5 million in funding from 2010 and 2011 the agency had yet to spend on programs for young people up to 24 years of age.

Complicating matters is that Workforce Connections is set to soon receive its 2012 allocation of funds, too, millions of which will be earmarked for youth programs.

“That’s money that’s not obligated, not moving anywhere,” said Dennis Perea, deputy director of the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, which passes along federal Workforce Investment funds to Workforce Connections. Meanwhile, “we’ve got high-risk and other youth that need help now.”

Workforce Connections risks losing funds that aren’t spent within two years.

Any 2010 funding “would basically age out at the two-year mark on June 30,” Perea said. “The state could pull back those funds and reallocate the money.”

The funding pays for job readiness training and other programs, including the agency’s Ready for Life initiative that works to help at-risk teens graduate from high school.

Ardell Galbreth, deputy director of operations for Workforce Connections, acknowledged the lag and said problems are being addressed.

“A good planner would have expended at least 50 to 60 percent” of the more than $3.2 million in 2011 funds within a year, he said. “We have not expended any of those funds.”

He blamed the agency’s “program design” for the delays. That design included holding a good chunk of the funds in reserve instead of spending it.

“It was not conducive to rolling out the money sooner,” Galbreth said.

The agency has changed the way it manages the money and developed a plan to spend 2011 and 2012 funds in a timely manner, he said.

The nearly $2 million in combination 2010-2011 funds have been allocated and will be spent on youth programming by June 30, he said.

“That money certainly should have been expended by now.”

Ken LoBene, a board member who is chairman of Workforce Connection’s youth council, said the agency has struggled to spend what is allocated while holding enough funds in reserve to make sure “no kids get dropped from the program.”

“We can’t just get to the end of one fiscal year and say, ‘We have no more money,’ and drop them,” he said. “It’s a balancing act trying to make all this work.”

LoBene, who also is director of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Las Vegas field office, said the agency has new software that will help address spending problems earlier in the future.

Weekly was not so confident. He also said communication between agency staff and the board has been poor in the past.

“They tell the board what they want the board to hear,” he said. “That’s going to change.”

North Las Vegas Councilwoman Anita Wood, who also serves on the board, said Workforce staffers on Thursday showed her a spending plan to catch the agency up.

“They’re finally getting a handle on it,” she said, adding that the agency’s accounting department recently underwent a major personnel overhaul.

Elected officials who serve on Workforce Connection’s board, including Wood and Weekly, are working to choose an interim executive director to replace John Ball, whose last day was Friday.

Ball had reached the end of a five-year employment period and decided to move on, Wood said.

There also has been talk of merging Workforce Connections in Southern Nevada and Nevadaworks in Northern Nevada, which oversee the federal funds, to save on administrative costs. The idea is unpopular with some board members, including Wood and Weekly, who want to maintain local oversight.

Contact reporter Lynnette Curtis at
lcurtis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0285.

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AUSTIN, Texas

Texas’ unemployment rate fell for a sixth consecutive month to 7.1 percent in February, and monthly job growth exceeded 20,000 positions for the third straight time, according to state employment agency figures released Friday.

The state’s jobless rate was down from 7.3 percent in January and has dropped a full percentage point since August, the Texas Workforce Commission said. February’s unemployment rate is the lowest since March 2009.

The commission says Texas added 27,900 nonfarm jobs in February, and new claims for unemployment dropped 28 percent from January to 69,955.

“Texas’ job growth over the past year points to a steady and sustained expansion of our state’s economy,” said commission chairman Tom Pauken.

Government was the leading industry in job gains with a jump of 12,800 positions in February, followed by trade, transportation and utilities at 8,300. Education and health services grew by 3,800 jobs for the sector’s 19th straight month of job growth.

Eight of the 11 major job sectors gained positions, “indicating that many different skill sets are in demand,” said commissioner for labor Ronny Congleton.

The national unemployment rate has been falling fast as well and is now 8.3 percent.

Unemployment rates are adjusted for seasonal trends in hiring and firing, which most economists believe give a more accurate picture of the job market. Without the seasonal adjustment, the jobless rate in Texas fell to 7.2 percent from 7.6 in January.

Midland had the only local unemployment rate below 4 percent for February at 3.8 percent. The McAllen-Edinburg-Mission area had the highest at 11.1 percent, which is down from 11.7 percent in January. Local figures are not seasonally adjusted.

The preliminary local jobless rates for February, with revised January numbers in parentheses, were:

–Abilene 5.8 (6.2)

–Amarillo 5.0 (5.3)

–Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 6.1 (6.5)

–Beaumont-Port Arthur 10.2 (10.7)

–Brownsville-Harlingen 10.9 (11.5)

–College Station-Bryan 5.8 (6.3)

–Corpus Christi 6.8 (7.3)

–Dallas-Plano-Irving 7.1 (7.5)

–El Paso 9.6 (10.0)

–Fort Worth-Arlington 7.0 (7.3)

–Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown 7.2 (7.6)

–Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood 7.7 (8.3)

–Laredo 7.2 (7.6)

–Longview 6.1 (6.5)

–Lubbock 5.5 (5.9)

–McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 11.1 (11.7)

–Midland 3.8 (4.1)

–Odessa 4.5 (4.9)

–San Angelo 5.5 (5.9)

–San Antonio-New Braunfels 6.8 (7.3)

–Sherman-Denison 7.7 (8.0)

–Texarkana 7.1 (7.5)

–Tyler 7.2 (7.7)

–Victoria 6.2 (6.6)

–Waco 6.9 (7.3)

–Wichita Falls 6.4 (6.9)

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