7.3% | Maine's unemployment rate: One statistic as lived by three people

The state’s jobless rate has edged ever so slightly lower in recent months, leveling off at 7.3% in December after hitting a high of 8.3% in February. That would appear to bode well for Maine’s economy, until you take a closer look at what that headline-grabbing percentage really means.

As John Dorrer, the state Department of Labor’s statistics whiz, points out, the rate drops when people give up looking for a job, decide to go back to school or leave the labor pool for any number of reasons. Those who sought work over the previous year but recently threw up their hands are labeled, understatedly, “discouraged” workers, and disappear from the overall unemployment rate calculation. Were they included, the rate would tick up half a percentage point.

When the formerly defeated eventually start seeking work again, they fly back on the radar screen as among the more than 50,000 Mainers who want a job but can’t find one. “As job growth picks up in the months ahead, the unemployment rate could rise as thousands re-enter the labor force,” Dorrer says.

The jobless rate is based on a monthly U.S. Census telephone survey of about 60,000 households across the country, not, as many assume, on the number of people applying for unemployment benefits, explains Glenn Mills, director of economic research at the state DOL’s Center for Workforce Research and Information. And the number doesn’t tell the whole story. “There are a lot of aspects to why the unemployment rate is dropping,” he says. “It has less to do with rising employment and more to do with declining unemployment.”

A fine distinction for the thousands of people reflected in Maine’s jobless rate. We talked to three of them, whose unique circumstances reflect categories — long-term unemployed, recently hired and underemployed — within Maine’s jobless population. Here are their stories:

#1 KERRY CORTHELL, SCARBOROUGH

Category: Unemployed, approaching the exhaustion of benefits

The state estimates that 100 to 150 people per week over the coming month will reach the end of their unemployment benefits, unless Congress passes another extension. Nationally, those out of work long enough to exhaust the typical 99 weeks of benefits total 1.4 million, according to a January report from the Congressional Research Office.

Experience: Corthell began a career in financial services at the former Casco Northern Bank’s credit card dispute division in Portland, then transitioned to IT work for trust and estate administration. When the bank joined KeyBank, she became a senior business consultant and moved to Ohio. She left Key for National City Corp., where she most recently was VP of regulatory risk management and compliance.

Credentials: Bachelor’s degree in psychology and women’s studies from Ohio State University

Situation: In 2008, Corthell was laid off from National City and returned to Maine to care for her mother, who has Alzheimer’s. She has had about a dozen interviews but has been unable to find a full-time support or administrative job.

Kerry Corthell isn’t afraid to take risks. The 59-year-old Boston native went back to school as an adult and then spent two years in Ireland in the 1980s working for the women’s movement before launching a career in financial services. When KeyBank began reorganizing and cuts in her department loomed, she volunteered to leave, ready for the next challenge. Her layoff from National City led her to return to Maine, where she was eager to leave behind 60-hour work weeks — and her six-figure salary — and settle into a modest administrative position that would give her time to continue volunteering and serve on the Scarborough Planning Board.

But despite her decades-long experience in project management, budget planning and IT development, Corthell hasn’t been able to land a job in her 21-month-long search. “People really don’t believe I don’t want to keep going up the corporate ladder,” she says. “They’re concerned I’ll be bored, or I’ll leave when the economy turns around. I can’t convince them my life has changed, and it happened to coincide with the economic change.”

The list of companies she’s sent applications to is in the dozens and includes Hannaford, L.L.Bean, Idexx and even Netflix. The types of jobs she’s applied for also run the gamut, as do the industries: law, insurance, IT, technology and health care. A need for health insurance rules out part-time work, and health restraints keep her from spending hours on her feet in a retail position.

She admits she’s “way overqualified” to be an administrative assistant, but “dumbing down my resume feels too much like lying.” And she believes her age has dissuaded potential employers, who worry she’ll retire in three years, and intimidates young hiring managers.

She’s also frustrated that employers seem to want to hire people whose skill sets fit into a specific niche. One company looking for a loan processor told her she didn’t have the right experience because she’d never held that job title, though as a regulatory compliance officer, she’s processed just about every type of national, state and local loan to ensure they adhered to standards.

Until she finds a job, she’s doing some temp and contract work and lives in a house her sister owns, where they both plan to retire together in a few years. Her 99 weeks of unemployment benefits are set to expire this month, leaving her no money to pay her basic living expenses and entirely dependent on her sister, who currently lives in Virginia. And while she knows she has it better than many dealing with unemployment, “it doesn’t do a lot for your self-esteem.

“It’s easier to be angry,” she says of her situation. “It feels better than being hurt or depressed.”

Corthell’s considering applying for food stamps — and even something more drastic. “I may just take a hula hoop up to Route 114, a sandwich board and a sign and a stack of resumes,” she says. “If doing the right things doesn’t work … Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

Mindy Woerter

#2 AMANDA VICKERSON, GORHAM

Category: Recently hired

The unemployment rate in Maine has fallen compared to 2009. The ranks of Maine’s jobless population shrunk 5,800 to 51,200 in December 2010 compared with the same month in 2009.

Experience: Vickerson has been a receptionist at a doctor’s office in Wellesley, Mass., an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer at the University of Southern Maine, a substitute teacher and a summer camp counselor.

Credentials: Bachelor’s degree in women’s, gender and sexuality studies from Colby College, with a minor in education.

Situation: After graduating from college in 2007, Vickerson worked briefly as a receptionist, followed by a year-long stint as an Americorps VISTA volunteer. When her VISTA appointment ended in July 2009, Vickerson was unemployed and underemployed for about 18 months, living with her parents in Scarborough and burning through her savings. She got a full-time job as an ed-tech at Portland High School in December.

After more than year of futile job searching, Amanda Vickerson reached a low point, telling her parents, “I don’t see a way out of this. I’m college educated and I’m never going to find a job.” Sleeping until 11 a.m., rousing herself to shower and eat, and then endlessly checking job sites and sending out resumes was getting Vickerson no closer to a job, let alone a career.

“I didn’t know what to do with myself,” she says. “I was applying everywhere — doctor’s offices, schools, Borders. Whole Foods wouldn’t call me back. No one would call me back.”

She remembers telling herself, “I need a life plan. I need to get out of this rut.”

The 26-year-old stayed busy and stayed connected. She networked through the New Girls’ Network, a 10-month program for women between 20 and 30 years old who meet monthly in Portland. She volunteered at United Way and Maine Women’s Fund. She also baked and cooked a lot for her parents, with whom she was living. And in the fall of 2009, she enrolled in a Dale Carnegie class that she says “changed my life.”

The course built up her self-confidence and improved her communication skills. It also asked participants to identify what they are passionate about, and Vickerson realized she wanted to be a teacher.

In the middle of the program, she got her first substitute-teaching gig, which blossomed into almost full-time work for the rest of the year. She also joined Portland’s roller derby team where she met her life partner, Erin. They moved in together last spring, and Erin has been financially supportive, encouraging Vickerson to contribute to household expenses when she can.

Vickerson says her close relationships helped her through the harder times. “I talked to my parents a lot,” she recalls. Her dad is an attorney and her mom an active volunteer. “We had a lot of life chats.”

This fall, while keeping up her substitute teaching and volunteering regimen, she got a call. Portland High School was looking for two ed-techs, and asked whether she was interested.

“Five minutes into my interview, I said, ‘I’ve got this,’” she says. Vickerson started her job as a RESULTS coordinator Dec. 1. She oversees a ninth-grade study hall, helping students stay on track academically. The position is full time, pays $16 an hour, and comes with benefits. But she’s worried because the position is temporary, funded only through June unless the school can come up with more money. She’s also planning to start graduate classes in education at the University of Southern Maine next fall.

After her experience, Vickerson says her advice for others struggling to find work is to “find someone who can empathize with you, someone you can bounce ideas off of,” she says. “If you keep putting yourself out into the world, something will happen.”

Rebecca Goldfine

#3 BILL RAMIREZ, LEWISTON

Category: Underemployed, seeking steady work

The state defines the “underemployed” as people working fewer hours than they want, typically in part-time jobs as they seek full-time employment. They’re not reflected in the overall unemployment rate, but a sense of their numbers can be gleaned from state data. A recent Gallup poll found 20% of the U.S. work force, or 30 million people, lacked sufficient employment in January, a much bleaker estimate than official estimates.

Experience: 20 years in production management; more than 15 years as a supervisor

Credentials: Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering

Situation: Laid off from Tambrands in Auburn in May 2009, after managing a group of skilled subcontractors for four years. He has taken temporary jobs intermittently, including a stint teaching employment workshops at the Lewiston CareerCenter and seasonal work at L.L.Bean. He recently expanded his job search to New Hampshire.

The irony is not lost on Bill Ramirez, a mechanical engineer and production manager who has been seeking full-time work in his field since being laid off 21 months ago. One of his temporary jobs was teaching people how to find employment.

“I worked for the state Department of Labor for a couple of months last year,” says Ramirez, “counseling people on how to get jobs.” The assignment was financed by a one-year grant that supported Ramirez’s seminars for three months. His job was to connect long-term unemployed people with CareerCenter resources, teach them new job-search techniques and help them re-enter the work force. Unfortunately, he’s been less successful in his own search, despite 10 years as a frontline manufacturing supervisor and six years in senior management. “It’s been quiet up here in Maine for that,” he says.

Ramirez, 54, transferred from Ohio, where he worked as a consultant with Cates, a management services company that Tambrands hired in 2005 to oversee the operation of some of its production lines. When rumors started to circulate about layoffs, Ramirez assured his staff their jobs would be safe.

“I was the site manager, I ran their machinery and delivered their product to them,” says Ramirez. “When there was talk of downsizing, I told my machine operators that I was the only person whose job was in jeopardy, and I was right. There aren’t any hard feelings.”

Ramirez registered with seven staffing agencies for temporary work while conducting his job search. He recently expanded his search into New Hampshire, where he said a lower unemployment rate means there might be more opportunities in his field. But he acknowledges his depth of experience can be a hindrance for the jobs that are available. “Employers can be choosy — it’s a buyer’s market,” he says.

“I’m overqualified for a lot of the positions out there,” he says of the manufacturing job market. “I’d say about 99% of the people I counseled in those [DOL] workshops were over 50. There’s a lot of us in the same boat.”

But he remains optimistic. He’d had good interviews recently with prospective employers and is waiting to hear back from three.

“I just want to be able to contribute again,” he says of his time unemployed.

Carol Coultas