The Idaho Department of Labor is continuing extended hours at its Magic Valley office in Twin Falls amid the unemployment rate in the city jumping nearly a point and a half in September.
The office will remain open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Thursday. The normal closing time is 5 p.m. The extended hours began on Sept. 21.
In September, the unemployment rate for the city of Twin Falls rose to 9.1 percent from 7.7 percent in August as 300 more workers lost their jobs in just a month. Since April, the jobless rate for the Twin Falls area, which includes Jerome and Twin Falls counties, has risen two full points to 7 percent. Another 1,000 workers joined the ranks of the unemployed, pushing total unemployment to 3,500.
Construction, manufacturing and the hospitality sectors have shed 1,000 jobs combined in just the last year, and the region was hit hard by the September announcement that Dell Computers would close its call center where 500 people worked in Twin Falls.
“Total unemployment in this area has risen by 1,400 in the past year,” Magic Valley Office Manager Chris Orders said. “These workers need as much access as possible to the wide array of programs and services the Labor Department offers to help them collect the benefit checks they’re eligible for and find new jobs that will get them back to work. The normal workday just hasn’t been long enough.”
The local office provides job seekers with access to computers, fax machines, copiers and assistance in putting together résumés and sharpening interview skills as well as searching the database of job listings for the region, the state and the nation.
Workers can also access many programs and services through the Idaho Department of Labor Web site at http://labor.idaho.gov.