Newark Grapples with High Unemployment as Officials Help Secure Jobs

Michael Fuentes can't find a job. He's searched the classified ads, attended training classes and collected unemployment for nearly two-and-a-half years. But this ex-convict and Newark resident says the job market in the city is so bad he can't continue to live here.

"Right now, I'm struggling," said the 48-year-old during a visit to the One-Stop Career Center in Newark, a state-run hub for job seekers. "I got to make car payments … and I don't have no money."

Fuentes joins 17,100 Newark residents who are jobless, according to New Jersey Dept. of Labor and Workforce Development's most recent statistics that place the city at nearly 16 percent unemployment — about 7 points above the national average.

Fuentes said he had a "decent-paying" job as a licensed machine operate at Roselle Paper Company in Roselle, N.J., after he was released from prison in 2003. But as the economy soured in 2009, Fuentes joined millions of people nationwide without a job that September. "I worked 60 hours a week, then 20 hours … then got laid off and collected unemployment," he said.

An Aug. 5 report on jobs by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals employment nationwide stayed roughly the same in July at 9.1 percent with companies adding about 117,000 jobs. But Newarkers say they aren't seeing any gains.

Nationwide, Newark, New Jersey's largest city, ranks fifth at 15.7 percent unemployment with other cities that have a population between 200,000 and 500,000. The other four, in order, include Stockton, Calif., 20 percent, Hialeah, Fla., 17.3 percent, Oakland, Calif., 16.3 percent, and Fresno, Calif., 15.8 percent.

Newark's labor force population is 109,100. Its total population is roughly 277,000.

City Development

But Adam Goldfarb, policy director at Brick City Development Corporation — a nonprofit agency charged with bolstering Newark's economy — said the news isn't as bleak as it seems.

He said Newark is attracting businesses and developers and, as a result, is creating jobs for residents.

Goldfarb said 25 projects total will break ground in the city this year that will create nearly 2,500 temporary construction jobs and another 2,500 permanent jobs.

Some of those projects include construction of Panasonic headquarters and Courtyard by Marriott hotel and opening of Manischewitz' headquarters and Pacific Holdings Inc. headquarters.

"We work with developers to sign project labor agreements to guarantee certain characteristics are filled by certain unions to guarantee Newark residents jobs," he said.

And some have yielded success. Stacey Bender, a spokeswoman for Manischewitz, said the company has 193 full-time employees at its headquarters in Newark's East Ward. Of those, she said, 44 are Newark residents. Bender said the company also exclusively deals with temporary work agencies in Newark to assist with seasonal needs.

A spokesman with Pacific Group Holdings Inc., though, said the company has 12 employees — none from Newark.

City officials were vague when asked how many of the 2,500 construction jobs so far went to Newark residents. They said labor agreements with Panasonic and Courtyard by Marriott hotel have not been finalized and, therefore, employee numbers are not available. 

Kimberly DeHaarte, a spokeswoman for the city, said Courtyard by Marriott has agreed to a "first source agreement that will give Newarkers the first opportunity to compete for permanent jobs" and Panasonic's agreement "will likely be similar."

State Involvement

State Sen. Ronald L. Rice (D-Essex) said some city officials aren't doing enough, "The mayor is always talking about jobs, but he doesn't enforce jobs with contractors who are getting bids."

Rice said he's working to pass state legislation that would give companies incentives to hire local residents, but is running into road blocks, "Some people want to keep Newark people not working and Newark people poor. That's the reality I'm seeing and I'm living with."

Newark Mayor Cory Booker said the reality is, "The city has to do more." 

"When you're taking a city asset, whether it's city land … you need to look at local people first for employment," he said.

Morris Murray, manager of the state's One-Stop Career Center in Newark, said he's seen the city's job market improve the past couple years, "If one were to listen to the reports, you could easily become a Chicken Little and think the sky is falling, but there are days that are rosy."

A report provided to Patch shows a decrease in the number of people claiming unemployment at the One-Stop Career Center in Newark during the second quarter last year, compared to the same time period this year. In 2010, the total claimants during the second quarter was 20,820. This year, that number was 17,851.

Murray said the center sometimes has lines that snake twice along its walls for people waiting to file unemployment. He also said he's opened the center earlier than normal business hours and has closed later to accommodate an influx of job seekers.

Rice said, though, the center isn't helping much, "When people come in the one-stop shop, all they do is go on a computer and print out stuff, but they're supposed to be doing an assessment to put them in training programs."

Murray said his center is helping the nearly 200,000 people it sees each year — 90 percent of whom, he says, are unemployed. "We're like a restaurant with a buffet," he said. "There's testing for new skills, re-employment orientation and unemployment filing."

Education and Race

Carol Tank, 42, of Irvington, and a former Newark resident, is a One-Stop Career Center success story.

Tank, who said she was an unemployed, mother of four on welfare for 16 years, is now a certified nursing assistant in West Orange who's working to obtain her nursing license from Essex County College.

"I came to the center two years and nine months ago," she said, "and now I got a job."

Tank said education was key to her success — a factor many job experts say is needed in the current economy, but one that many Newark residents lack.

Matthew Segal, president and co-founder of Our Time, a national non-profit focused on young Americans, the economy and the job market, said bachelor's degrees now are a pre-requisite for nearly every job in the U.S.

But, in Newark, U.S. Census Bureau statistics show roughly 8.4 percent of the population has such an education.

Another factor for the city and its jobless rate is race — nearly half of the city's population is black.

The Aug. 5 report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows a 15.9 unemployment rate among blacks — that number nearly matches Newark's total unemployment rate.

Segal said the unemployment rate among blacks is linked to education, hiring priorities and "entrenched" poverty, "These make it difficult to earn employment."

Rice said despite lack of education among Newarkers, there are jobs in urban centers, "(There's jobs that) don't require as much education, such as in restaurants … but you don't see African-Americans getting those jobs."

Booker said that's not true. The mayor pointed to Loft 47, a restaurant and bar on Edison Place, across the street from the Prudential Center in the city's downtown.

Tami Brown, owner of Loft 47, said while she's not from Newark, she does employ Newark residents, "We have roughly 10 to 15 (Newarkers) in various positions, such as servers, bartenders and food runners."

Brown said she received $35,000 from Brick City Development Corporation to construct the more than $100,000 restaurant and bar.

Rice said, though, some Newark restaurants are run by people who only hire among their race, referencing the city's Portuguese Ironbound neighborhood, "We might not speak their language, but we can flip a hamburger."

Hire Me

Fuentes, who said he spent seven years in prison on an assault charge, doesn't blame his unemployment on race or education, but that he's an ex-felon.

"What's the matter with the country now is that people who've been incarcerated, when they come home, they can't find no work because every company is downgrading them because they're ex-felons," he said. "They don't want to take a chance on them … so, it makes it hard for the people who've served their time in prison."

Weldon Montague, a re-entry specialist at the One-Stop Career Center in Newark, helps individuals released from prison get jobs. He said he's helped at least 140 ex-offenders out of 2,000 from the city in the past year get jobs. Patch could not verify that number. Montague said race, education and even jail time are factors that can be overcome, "If they have the proper tools and training, I can get them jobs."

Segal, of Our Time, said the best advice for job seekers — despite any factors or residence — is to zero-in on a skill, "Most people excel at something — find how you can turn it into a job."

Tank, the nursing assistant, said that's what she did, but she's still wary if she'll have the same job in a year, "You come and you go with a job, (but) it's up to you to keep that job and (apply the) skills that you have."

Listen to Michael Fuentes and Carol Tank explain their unemployment struggles and how it relates to Newark by clicking: For Fuentes. For Tank.