WCAX-TV: Assisting those wanting to get back to work
By Logan Crawford
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The latest unemployment numbers are out in Vermont. They come at a time when Governor Peter Shumlin is pushing to create jobs in the state.
“We have the fifth lowest unemployment rate in America, the lowest unemployment rate this side of the Mississippi, and we’ve grown almost 11,000 new jobs in the last three years,” says Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin.
Vermont’s current unemployment rate is 3.7 percent – compared to a 6.7 rate nation wide.
“We also happen to be – as of this year – more jobs per capita with folks that are expanding solar than any other state in America,” says Shumlin.
Duane Peterson, Co-President of the company “Sun Common” that build solar panels, is just one example of the many companies thriving in Vermont.
“When we began there were 1,500 solar systems built in Vermont over the prior decade, and in the past two years we’ve added 700,” says Peterson.
Peterson says Vermont’s supportive financial system for company’s like his is the reason for its success. Sun Common is the source of 64 jobs in Vermont, placing both experienced workers and those new to the work force.
“Next month we’ll bring on our sixty-fifth worker. So we’re creating those jobs, those green jobs that many of us have been longing for quite a while,” says Peterson.
According to the Vermont Department of Labor, some Vermonters did lose their jobs this year due to companies in the area making changes. The Department of Labor is actively assisting those wanting to get back to work.
“Unemployment and re-employment services through the Department of Labor to make their transition to employment as smooth as possible,” says Annie Noonan, the Vermont Labor Commissioner.
Officials in Vermont are working hard to keep Vermonters working.
