Unemployment Levels Stagnant in Boone and Winnebago Counties

Rockford- A billboard along West State Street reads now hiring for a plant in Belvidere. The Illinois Department of Employment Security just released another dismal jobs report for the Stateline.

John Strandin with Workforce Connections says those help wanted signs can be misleading. Strandin explains "you drive around town and you see a lot of signs, help wanted, and help wanted here, help wanted there. Maybe are hiring one or two people. What we're not seeing is the company that's coming in and they're going to hire 100 people at an entry level position."

Strandin says a GED is the basic level of education to get your foot in the door for an entry-level job. Many applicants he sees don't have the computer, literacy or technical skills needed.

Strandin says "I think one of the disconnects between available jobs and people who are looking for jobs is that they don't have the skills required for the jobs."

Opportunities for those without a high school education are far and few between.

Director of Rock River training Mike Williams explains "very few opportunities maybe in the landscaping or roofing or fields like those that wouldn't necessarily require a high school diploma, but there aren't very many jobs like that open."

So are employers being too picky, or job seekers?

Williams says "employers want individuals who are going to be productive and they have a pretty good sense of what it takes to get the job done."

It's just one reason why there are more than 600 Rockford job openings on www.Illinoisjoblink.com. Meanwhile many file for unemployment every week.