Many state jobs in Nevada go begging

CARSON CITY - State jobs used to be in great demand in Nevada.

Working for the state used to mean a decent paycheck, good benefits and never worrying about the future. Work 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for 30 years, and take a nice retirement.

But at a time when Nevada leads the nation in un­employment, the state is having trouble filling its government jobs. It has 1,456 openings. That's almost one in 11 state jobs, 8.8 percent of the government's total permanent authorized workforce.

Why?

State officials cite a variety of reasons, such as low pay, bleak prospects for future pay raises, even competition from higher paying mines in rural areas.

But the main reason appears to be a misconception that state government has a hiring freeze.

State officials are trying to get the word out. They said they have seen an increase in applications in recent months, but nothing phenomenal.

A small group of job seekers showed up for testing Friday at the Sawyer Building in downtown Las Vegas.

Las Vegas resident Renee Lindquist, 29, planned to test for an auditor's position. She found out about the job opening on the state website.

Lindquist had an accounts receivable position at a company in New Jersey but quit that job in October 2010 because her husband, who is in the Air Force, received orders to go to Korea. She decided to go home to Washington.

The couple moved to Las Vegas in February, and Lindquist has been looking for work since then.

She has been interviewed for two other state accounting jobs. She did not get one but still is in the running for the other.

"The process is quite lengthy," she said.

Las Vegas resident Larry Swift, 58, also came to test for an auditor's position Friday.

He is employed as a janitor at University Medical Center but was injured on the job and is receiving workers' compensation.

"Not being one to sit around, I signed up for this," he said.

Like Lindquist, he learned about the job opening on the state website. He also has tested for several accounting positions.

"I'm just going to keep applying," he said. "We'll see what happens."

The goal of his job search: "To make enough money to pay my bills with as little aggravation as possible."

Swift speculated that others aren't seeking state jobs because either they aren't qualified, or they don't know they're qualified.

JOBS GO BEGGING

There are 79 openings at the Nevada Highway Patrol. A lot of veteran troopers retired recently, and there is no quick method of replacing them, said Chris Perry, director of the Department of Public Safety.

A trooper can retire after 25 years, and they realize pay raises are unlikely in the near future, so they see no value in continuing, he said.

Perry added that only 2 percent to 3 percent of the applicants end up as troopers.

"It is a terrific job, but there are a myriad of reasons why they don't qualify. No felonies, no gross misdemeanors, financial problems, no use of narcotics. We want the best the state has to offer."

And the Nevada Department of Transportation has 121 vacancies and can't even fill all the highway maintenance positions needed in rural Nevada.

"We can't compete with the mines," said Scott Magruder, a spokesman for the Department of Transportation. "They go to the mines because they pay three times as much."

For the record, highway maintenance workers earn $27,000 a year. All state workers, including the Highway Patrol, where the staring pay is $46,624, have taken pay cuts for three straight years. In the current two-year budget period, all state employees must take a pay reduction and six furlough days, cutting their pay by 4.8 percent per year. Eighteen troopers will graduate from a training academy this summer, but the next class won't be conducted until winter.

But more than pay, the reason more people don't apply is they are under the false impression the state isn't hiring, according to Lee-Ann Easton, administrator of the state Human Resource Management Division.

"There is a perception that there is a hiring freeze," he said.

The state had a hiring freeze for three years.

But no longer.

BATTLING MISPERCEPTION

Easton is trying to change that perception. She is increasing advertising on state job openings and has put the state's help wanted list on several websites.

State Budget Director Jeff Mohlenkamp also has sent memos to agency directors telling them they can hire workers on their own, meaning without going through a centralized process.

To reduce state vacancies, he hired a full-time recruitment officer whose job is to work with state agencies to fill open positions.

As budget director, Mohlenkamp heads the state Department of Administration, which oversees the Human Resources Management Division. Until last year, that agency was known as the Department of Personnel.

The division also has expanded testing hours in Las Vegas and Carson City for applicants taking job tests and has reduced the number of tests they must take.

Mohlenkamp said state agencies no longer have to fill jobs only with candidates who scored in the top three or five on tests. Administrators now are allowed to fill jobs with candidates of their own choice who pass the tests.

While that might allow directors to start filling jobs with friends, Mohlenkamp said, "Some people just aren't good at taking tests." The change will lead to filling positions more quickly, although filling medical jobs always will be difficult, he added.

LEGISLATIVE PRESSURE

Mohlenkamp is under pressure from legislators to reduce the number of vacancies.

He was criticized by state Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, during an April 24 legislative hearing for contributing to the 12 percent statewide unemployment rate by not filling state jobs.

Mohlenkamp promised a "marked improvement" would come quickly. That improvement apparently has begun.

He pointed out the number of vacancies in permanent, full-time jobs stood at 1,456 as of Monday, down 74 from 1,530 three weeks earlier.

Besides these vacancies, there are about an additional 1,000 vacancies in seasonal and temporary jobs. The Transportation Department hired 100 temporary workers for seasonal highway projects last week. Counting them, the number of current vacancies is more than 2,000. But states do not consider seasonal and temporary workers in figuring their job vacancy rates, only permanent, authorized employees.

The current 8.8 percent state job vacancy rate is lower than the rates at this time of the year in four of the past five years, In May 2011, the vacancy rate was 9.63 percent.

While Mohlenkamp believes the state can fill several hundred jobs in the next few months, he doubts the vacancy rate will get much lower. A 7 percent to 8 percent vacancy rate is reasonable, according to Mohlenkamp.

"We have turnover. We have retirements. We are moving in the right direction, but it is not reasonable to expect us to fill all the positions. I think you will see the same rate of vacancies in large private companies."

That may not be the case.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported May 8 that there is an overall 2.5 percent job vacancy rate for businesses in Western states. Vacancy rates in the 7 percent range were common in the 1970s and 1980s.

One state agency that has reduced its vacancies is the Department of Corrections. It filled 44 jobs in the past three weeks, although it still has 178 openings.

Back in January, Deputy Director Sheryl Foster complained during a legislative hearing about the department's difficulty in filling 200 correctional officer positions. Officers did not want to work in prisons in Ely and Lovelock and the starting pay of $37,563, was too low, she said.

But Easton said filling rural prison correctional officer positions isn't as hard as finding applicants for professional positions in rural prisons, such as psychologists, nurses and caseworkers. Her agency now is seeking psychiatric nurses throughout the state and their pay ranges from $52,817 to $79,114 a year. Licensed psychologists are paid $66,002 to $99,684. Clinical social workers' pay ranges from $44,412 to $66,002.

The number of current vacancies in other agencies include: Division of Child and Family Services, 146; Division of Mental Health and Development Services, 128; Health Division, 74, Division of Welfare and Supportive Services, 71; Department of Motor Vehicles, 63; Rehabilitation Division, 56; Parole and Probation; and attorney general's office, 20