Lincoln’s unemployment stats misleading, officials say
By Neil Feldman__
Staff Reporter
Deceptive labor statistics could be painting
an economic portrait of Lincoln that is too
rosy, state and city officials say.
Although the city has proven its ability to
weather national economic turbulence better
than most U.S. cities, officials say some eco
nomic statistics may be skewed.
In its September 1994 issue, Money maga
zine said Lincoln’s 2.4 percent unemployment
rate was the lowest in the nation.
But that figure, Lincoln government offi
cials say, is skewed because the U.S. Depart
ment of Labor, which dictates the process by
which unemployment data is computed, does
not differ from city to city.
Richard Garnet, spokesman for Lincoln’s
Department of Labor, said the way the U.S.
Department of Labor figured economic statis
tics only worked for large cities, such as New
York and Los Angeles.
Data for those cities, which have large
economies with broad industrial bases and
sprawling metropolitan areas, needs to be fig
ured differently for cities like Lincoln, Garnet
said.
“Lincoln has a diverse
economy, so if one sector
falters, others will pick up the
slack. ”
m
RICHARD GAMET
Spokesman for Lincoln's Department of
Labor
Garnet, who is responsible for reporting
Nebraska’s monthly employment data, said
the criteria for evaluating urban areas should
vary depending upon the type of city.
“Lincoln has a diverse economy, so if one
sector falters, others will pick up the slack,” he
said. “In a place like Detroit, however, the
economy is virtually dependent on one indus
try.”
Steve Frayser, Lincoln’s Director of Eco
nomic Development, said he disagreed with
the notion that cities should be grouped cat
egorically when compiling unemployment
data. But, he said, the U.S. Department of
Labor is not addressing the quality of life.
Many people with low incomes prefer to
stay in Lincoln because of such things as a low
crime rate, Frayser said.
The U.S. Department of Labor focuses only
on economic data and doesn’t incorporate
crime rates, pollution levels, and other quality
of life elements.
Cities like Lincoln often have a high quality
of life and low unemployment rates, a correla
tion that, according to Frayser, should be ad
dressed.
A rapidly expanding retail industry in Lin
coln hasn’t helped the accuracy of the data,
either.
Julie Post, an official with Community
Development Programming, said chain outfits
like Wal-Mart and Kmart employed many
people, but “most of the jobs created are at or
near the minimum wage.”
Frayser said, “Six percent of Lincoln’s popu
lation is at or below the poverty line.”
He said data indicated that poverty contin
ued to rise.
Underemployment, where employees work
at jobs below their qualifications, historically
is high in Lincoln, and it is starting to increase.
Some officials fear that underemployment
could cause the city’s college graduates to
seek employment elsewhere.
State Statistician Bill Dobbs said that while
agriculture was not the sole base of Nebraska’s
economy, it was the most consistent sector of
the state’s economy over the past several years.
Not only have farmers’ yields been above
average, he said, but prices for soybeans and
com have remained at or above average since
the beginning of the decade.
Furthermore, as more uses are discovered
for com, farmers can now reap benefits that
were unheard of only 10 years ago.
“Ethanol and other com, by-products have
been a big financial plus to the agriculture
industry,” Dobbs said.
Post, however, said that with the majority of
Nebraska’s population living in and around
Lincoln and Omaha, evaluating the state’s
long-term economic situation was imperative.
“In Lincoln and Omaha,” she said, “there is
an increasing gap between the upperclass and
the lowerclass, and this is a serious issue.”
Bill would echo federal law in child-labor treatment
By John Fulwider
Staff Reporter
A bill allowing 16- and 17-year
olds to perform certain hazardous
work would put Nebraska in line with
federal child-labor laws, proponents
of LB555 said Monday.
LB555, introduced by Sen. Chris
Beutler of Lincoln, echoes existing
federal law that allows 16- and 17
year-old apprentices and students to
do work otherwise considered too
dangerous for them, Beutler and 10
other proponents said. One person
spoke in opposition to the bill before
the Business and Finance Commit
tee.
Beutler said after the hearing that
he introduced the bill to educate people
about a federal law on child-labor
requirements for non-agricultural
jobs.
“We’re trying to reassure employ
ers that they can participate in these
kinds of (work-study) programs with
out fear of violation of law,” he said.
Dennis Van Horn of Lincoln Pub
lic Schools said passage of the bill
would help LPS’s “school to work”
program better prepare students for
challenging and high-payingjobs that
may be considered dangerous.
Sheila Barnes of First National
Bank of Omaha said giving students
hands-on-experience in their fields
of interest was important, whether or
not the work was hazardous. Students
would hot be limited by law to certain
occupations, she said, if the bill was
approved.
“How are the kids going to learn if
you don’t give them the opportu
nity?” she asked.
Ron Leifert, owner of Leifert Con
struction, also said the bill would give
students the opportunity to be in
volved in what interests them.
“(This is an) opportunity for stu
dents to make selections about their
education earlier,” he said.
The One person who spoke in op
position to the bill questioned a pro
vision that says hazardous work done
must be “intermittent and for short
periods of time.”
Beutler said it would be up to
federal officials to come up with de
tails.
Beutler also said the bill did not
expand the work minors were al
lowed to do, because federal law al
lowed them to perform certain haz
ardous work.
.The bill allows the same exemp
tions as federal from child-labor laws
for the following types of hazardous
work: power-driven woodworking
machinery, power-driven metal form
ing, punching and shearing machines,
meatpacking, paper products ma
chines, circular and band saws and
roofing and excavation operations.
According to the bi 11, student work
ers must be enrolled in a vocational
training program approved by the
Nebraska Department of Education,
such as Lincoln Public Schools’
“school to work” program, to be al
lowed to perform the hazardous work.
Speaker employs humor
while teaching safe sex
By Brian Jensen
Staff Reporter
Jonathan Richmond uses humor
to talk about a very serious subject...
sexual responsibility.
The director of the Office of Health
and Safety for the Centers for Dis
ease Control and Prevention gave a
speech Monday at the Nebraska Union
entitled *‘45 Minutes That Could Save
Your Life.” His visit coincides with
National Condom Week.
In a humorous atmosphere, Rich
mond spoke on three issues: sexually
transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS and
the social implications of having un
protected sex. Throughout the pro
gram, Richmond stressed how men
and women both needed to take re
sponsibility for their actions.
“I don’t want people to think of
this as a Monday evening meeting,
but rather a reason to turn around and
teach others about responsibility,”
Richmond said.
“One out of every 250 people are
HIV positive,” he said. “That number
affects every college campus, includ
ing UNL.”
Richmond cited a study of the
University of Florida that said 98
percent of women who had sex did
not talk about it with their partners
before it happened.
“The problem with people these
days is that we don’t talk about sex
with our partners,” Richmond said.
Richmond started working to de
velop AIDS training ten years ago.
Five years later he started to volun
teer speaking to community groups.
He continues to do that today.
“I do this on my own time. Hope-'
fully in three years I can come back
and discover that HIV cases are go
ing down,” Richmond said.
His visit to UNL was sponsored by
the Chi Phi National Fraternity, Kappa
Alpha Theta Sorority and the Univer
sity Health Center.
Gambling
Continued from Page 1
casinos.
Daub also said that people in Hall ’ s
district, home to some of Omaha’s
poorest citizens, would be the hard
est hit by the casinos.
Hall countered, saying that people
would still go to the casinos, regard
less of whether they were in Omaha
or not.
“You think they won’t find a way
across the bridge? Come on,” he said.
Hall and Daub raised their voices
several times, trying to be heard over
each other.
One of the exchanges brought ap
plause from the audience, which was
jokingly rebuked by Schellpeper of
Stanton.
Hall accused Daub of forcing res
taurant andbar business out of Omaha
by opposing the bill.
“Are you saying that the only busi
ness in Omaha is restaurants?” Daub
sskcd*
“Yes, it is a big business,” Hall
replied.
“How much are you going to tax
these people senator?” Daub asked.
“Tremendously, and they are go
ing to love it,” Hall said, followed by
laughter and applause.
Round Two. Mayor Mike Johanns
of Lincoln said he opposed the bills
because he did not want to be known
as the mayor that brought casinos to
Lincoln.
Johanns said his decision to op
pose the bill was made difficult by
horse racing at State Fair Park, which
he admitted needed a boost.
When Keno was first approved,
Johanns said he supported the added
money to the city’s coiffeurs. How
ever, Johanns said, there was never
enough money and casinos could not
change that.
Johanns said he had to oppose the
casinos in the Legislature because if
he were to oppose it in front of the
voters, it would be like standing in
front of a freight train.
“There is big, big money involved
in this,” he said. He said once casinos
were in place, they wouldn’t go away.
_ Hall countered, asking why casi
nos weren’t already in Nebraska.
Johanns did not answer.
More than 25 people testified on
the bills.
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