fall) Y The Michigan Daily - Friday, February 17, 1995 - 3 Iwe (c) ry aroun ""W er 'U,' high-tech industry, give A2 an economy unique in Michigan Ann Arbor, a city of more than 100,000 year-round residents, is deeply af fected by the University, which brings tens of thousands of students here every year. The economic indicator that makes Ann Arbor truly unique is the unemployment rate, which is one of Michigan's lowest. The University draws high-tech compa- nies to the area -- firms that tend to keep wages high and unemployment low. But low unemployment is not necessarily beneficial for local restaurants and stores. The areas around campus are also a chari- table environment for Ann Arbor's homeless population. In Ann Arbor, the number of people either working or looking for work - technically, the labor force - is more than 65,000. Of those, 1,225 are currently unemployed. At 1.8 percent, Ann Arbor's unem- ploymnent rate is half the state's average, which is 4.1 percent. The national average is even higher at 5.1 percent. The city's unemployed fall into two groups. Those in the first group are between jobs and can be expected to find work rapidly. Those in the second group have not been employed for longer periods of time, and are not expected to find jobs as quickly. According to Curt Gottleib of the Michi- gan Employment Security Commission, most of Ann Arbor's unemployed belong to the first group. He adds that very few people in Ann Arbor are "chronically unemployed." This means for people looking for work, the chances of getting a job are fairly good. On the other hand, businesses looking for em- ployees are forced to compete among them- selves. In general, businesses cannot find as many employees as they would like. To some employers, the low unemploy- ment is a crippling force preventing them from hiring employees at what they feel are reasonable wages. The problems of low unemployment Holly Downey, a West Quad Dining Ser- vices supervisor, said the low unemployment rates really are a "plague." "We have only about 85 percent of posi- tions filled right now," she said, "and we'd like to fill more." Though the University pays food service employees $5.60 to start, well above the minimum wage of $4.25, she sim- ply cannot keep fully staffed. "When we hire someone new, we always ask if they have any friends looking for work. They usually don't," Downey said. West Quad also posts signs throughout the dining hall encouraging students to come to work. West Quad isn't the only employer notic- ing the lack of students to employ. Corey Lefere, the assistant manager of Wendy's in the Michigan Union, cannot keep his roster full either. "We can use about 12 people per shift and often we have only eight," Lefere said. Wendy's recently raised its starting wage from $6.00 to $6.25, but only attracted four additional people, and is still understaffed. Lefere and Downey both said understaffing can compromise service. "It can result in long lines," Lefere said. "We don't serve people as well as we could if we had the people," Downey said. On South University Avenue, Elaine Pearlman is having similar problems manag- ing the Burger King in the Galleria. She estimates only 86 percent of the positions there are filled. She does, however, have a solution. "It's called Bucks for Books," she said. The pro- gram reimburses students employed at Burger King for up to $150 in textbooks. The offer, which is used by University students, local high school students and stu- dents at Washtenaw Community College, is designed to make Burger King a more attrac- tive place to work. Despite the offer, which has been in place for some time, and the starting pay of $5.50, Burger King is unable to maintain a full complement of workers. Since local businesses cannot attract em- ployees with benefits and pay well above the minimum wage, President Clinton's recent proposal to increase the minimum wage would have little effect in Ann Arbor. Vickie Crupper, a senior financial aid of- ficer at the University, called the minimum wage in Ann Arbor "a moot point." University and work/study The University work/study program is a financial-aid program designed to help stu- dents pay high tuition costs by employing them in various places around campus, from chemistry labs to the admissions office. The availability of other jobs may be harm- ing University employers who hire through work/study, as the program is not immune to the economic factors influencing business in Ann Arbor. Crupper estimated that 30 percent of the program's positions go unfilled. "Anyone who qualifies for work/study and wants to work will find a job." Work/study jobs function differently than other jobs on campus. Crupper said, the de- partment that hires the student only pays a fraction of the student's wages. The federal government pays the rest. "Departments don't always expect to find people to fill the jobs they post," Crupper said. A cure for the plague George Mecham, an economist at the De- troit MESC office, said Ann Arbor's unem- ployment situation should send people three messages. "First, it's a signal to get into the labor force to people who aren't there already. Second, it's a signal for people from outside - .yAnn Arbor to find a way to commute or work there. Third, it's a signal to employers to look into automa- < # 4 tion- , JUs ,DIksAdyKIyNs/sdiyy Unlike many cities its size, Ann Arbor has maintained low unemployment and a vital downtown, which bustls along Main Street. economy is the climate it provides for high- tech businesses, said Curt Gottleib of the Ypsilanti MESC office. The University attracts the technology- oriented companies that Gottleib says pro- vide "good steady jobs." Firms like Ann Ar- bor Software and Arbor Technologies take their name from the town and flourish in the areas surrounding the University, benefiting from University facilities and a steady stream of graduates to hire. According to the MESC's December fig- ures, Ann Arbor's unemployment rate dis- torts the figure for Washtenaw County, which is pulled down to 2.1 percent. Gottleib said Ypsilanti is the other major influence on the Washtenaw Community, and has a different sort of economy. "It's more blue collar," he said. Gottleib said a blue-collar economy is more prone to unemployment than the "high- tech" economy created by the technology- oriented firms the University attracts. In addition, the University itself employs more than 32,000 people, making it the larg- est employer in Washtenaw County. The happily unemployed The University also creates an odd set of economic conditions for people outside the labor force. To be outside the labor force, one needs simply stop looking for a job, as some of the homeless people of Ann Arbor have done. "Why work?" asked one man who fre- quents the University campus. "Students and teachers here are some of the most generous people around. They keep me fed, they keep me warm, and they're my friends." One student with many good "friends" among the Ann Arbor homeless described his relationship with them. "Well, they have to eat, so I'll buy them some food, or smuggle stuff out of the dining hall. One night it got really cold, so I let (my friend) sleep in my room." "The (recreation building) is a good place to get a shower, or use a sauna, or whatever you want, if you can pass for a student. Once you get in, you can use all that stuff as much as you want," said one homeless man. Department of Public Safety Officer Bob Pifer said the department deals with non- students in University buildings on a regular basis. "We from time to time get calls to remove (non-students) and we have leave to do so," he said. According to Pifer, some of the University's major concerns include the possibility these individuals would "commit larceny, start fires or damage property." According to DPS incident logs, the po- lice average one or two calls per day about non-affiliates in University buildings. The standard procedure is to check for outstand- ing warrants, and then escort the individual from the building. Students also claimed several of the Ann Arbor homeless are good sources of drugs like marijuana and LSD. One homeless man said, "I ain't getting rich off it. I help them get high, they help me get by." And Ann Arbor is apparently a good place Unemployment Stays Low The University, combined with the pharmaceutical and engineering industries, keep Ann Arbor's unemployment rate well below state and national averages. mmOm Ann Arbor mCm Washtenaw County mum Michigan Nation 9 ' .21% 8' 5.4% 5 2% 4 1 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _21% 1 0 s k z s - £ 3 , lh- Jan. 93 May 93 Sept. 93V Jan. 94 May 94 Dec.94 JONATHAN BERNDT/Daily can benefit from low unemployment and has a good chance of finding a 40-hour-per-week job that pays $6 per hour. With a monthly income of more than $1,000, fitting the cost of housing into the one-third of in- come traditionally viewed as an accept- able fraction would not be difficult in many parts of the country. But Ann Arbor is not many parts of the country. Ac- cording to the Ann Arbor Tenants Union, rent prices in Ann Arbor are ex- tremely high when compared to rates in similar areas. The University Off-Campus Hous- ing Office places the average monthly rent for a local one- room efficiency at $489, an 8-percent increase over the 1993 rate. This is Earning Money Ann Arborites also earn more than the state and county averages. Median Family Income Ann Arbor Washtenaw Michigan $50,92 Per Capita Income Ann Arbor Washtenaw Cour Michigan M ' : "b ' 1 Here is a breakdown of how people in the Ann Arbor region, which includes all of Washtenaw, Livingston and Lenawee counties, Local Construction Government: and Mining: 21 6600 v , Govemmentl {uacs Federal Government: 3,500 Private Sector Service: 119,500 Source: University Housing Division He speculated that eventually labor from Ypsilanti, where unemploy- ment figures are higher, will find its way into the Ann Ar- bor market. If it does not, Ann Arbor em- ployers will need to JONATHAN BERNDT/Daily nearly one-half of that $1,000 income. A one-bedroom apartment costs on average $559, well over half of the income. Adding roommates lowers the price, but for multiple-occupancy units, the per-person rent is on average above $350. Ann Arbor's is almost as low as unemploy- ment can get. As a result, local business is starved for labor, and must compete to em- ploy workers who in other cities would make minimum wage. Minimum wage, a matter of debate throughout the rest of the country, is not an issue in Ann Arbor. ... ::;:; .:,:.