Laid off workers entering good job market
The plywood plant and lumber mill shut down last week.
Workers who lost their jobs last week as Weyerhaeuser shut down its sawmill and plywood plant in Columbia Falls won’t be facing a weak job market.
Trevor Gonser, employment services supervisor for the Montana Department of Labor and Industry Kalispell Job Service said there are currently 1,144 jobs posted right now for area employment.
He noted many of the jobs are good-paying positions, particularly if a person has skills that will transfer to another line of work.
“The construction industry is doing very well right now,” he said.
As an example, Gonser noted a local garage door installation firm was hiring workers starting at $18 an hour.
Other large county employers recently held job fairs. Applied Materials, for example, recently was looking for workers. Gonser said an valley-wide job fair is coming up Sept. 22 at Gateway West Mall, with about 100 employers attending.
“There’s a lot more jobs out there than just the hospitality industry,” Gonser said.
He said the best thing for a laid off worker to do is to stop by the Job Service offices where they can talk about their options with Job Service staff. Workers who qualify can even receive free training. Job Service and Flathead Valley Community College staffers met with workers when the layoffs were first announced. Some employers will even give on the job training if a person has some basic skills.
Flathead Valley Community College President Jane Karas said fall enrollment is up over last year, but it’s impossible to tell if it’s because of the layoffs. The college doesn’t have a way to track dislocated workers from the mills, she noted.
About 72 workers at the mills will lost their jobs. About 100 will lose their jobs later this year when the Cedar Palace is set to close.
The mills actually closed a day earlier than announced. The plywood mill ran its last piece of plywood on Thursday.
The company has not announced what it will do with the buildings and equipment. A small crew is still working until the last product is shipped.
The county currently has a workforce of just under 49,000, Gonser noted.
While the loss of jobs will have an impact in Columbia Falls, 72 jobs represents just one-tenth of one percent of the county’s current workforce.
Mills in other states are also looking for skilled workers and have been advertising for workers in the Hungry Horse News.