BIZ BEAT: Trucking Industry Bucks Unemployment Blues

NOTE: The following story first appeared on WISC-TV. It combines industry sources with government economists to detail an ironic twist: while companies are hiring, unemployed workers aren’t interested in the jobs.

SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. — Glenn Perry decided to quit his own janitorial business for the benefits of climbing behind the wheel of a big rig.

“Now that I’m getting older, the body’s saying it’s time to switch careers,” said Perry, of New Auburn. “I thought it was going to be a lot easier than what it is.”

He’s been commuting 3 1/2 hours for training classes at the Diesel Driving School in Sun Prairie, with the promise of a well-paid, stable job to provide for his family of six. It’s a rarity in a state with a 7.9 percent August unemployment rate, as 240,000 Wisconsinites remained looking for work.

The trucking industry has bucked the negative employment trend, with companies complaining they don’t have enough applicants to fill tens of thousands of positions nationwide. The list includes 35 jobs in Dane County, but potential employees fear the time spent away from family, said Jerry Klabacka, president of the Diesel Driving School.

“Today, people are less prone to make those sacrifices for a job than they were 30 years ago,” Klabacka said. “However, the opportunities are there. The future is there, the stability is there, and that is starting to attract a lot of people.”

The Sun Prairie school trains drivers in four weeks for a state test, which Wisconsin requires drivers to pass before earning their commercial driver’s license, or CDL.

About 4 million Americans have truck driving jobs, Klabacka said. They earn $35,000-$40,000 as beginning drivers, but make more than $50,000 after only a few years on the job, he said.

“I don’t think (the driver shortage) is getting any better, to be honest with you,” Klabacka said. “This is not a cowboy business anymore. People have to have good driving records. Everybody gets drug screened, background checks. A lot of people can’t participate in this occupation.”

There are also plenty of jobs available outside the trucking industry, according to JobCenterOfWisconsin.com, the state’s job search website. Employers listed 1,953 openings in Dane County, as of Tuesday.

“There are a lot more job openings out there than people think,” said Dennis Winters, chief labor economist at the state Department of Workforce Development. “Keep your chin up, because it is hard looking for work. Keep at it, take advantage of the resources our department has, and if you can, get training.”

The job postings varied from entry-level clerical work to management positions.

But while Gov. Scott Walker promoted the creation of 30,000 jobs since he took office in January, about 14,000 additional Wisconsinites were looking for work in August, according to the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The state’s unemployment rate was 7.9 percent in August, also higher than when Walker became governor.

Walker promised 250,000 new jobs during his campaign for the governor’s office, but matching unemployed workers with employers remains a challenge, Winters said.

“We’re also hearing from people, ‘Where are those jobs, and what kind of jobs are they?’” Winters said. “And we’re hearing from employers that they have job openings but they can’t find people to fill them.”

That remains a problem in the trucking industry, but also in manufacturing, where welders and automated machinist students face a promising jobs outlook, WISC-TV reported earlier.

But now that he switched careers, trucking student Perry remained optimistic about his future.

“I’ve been filling out some applications, and I’ve been getting some callbacks already,” Perry said. “That sounds pretty promising.”