Missouri leads the nation for jobs lost in 2002.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and 40 local chambers from around Missouri held a press conference April 15 in Jefferson City to declare a state of emergency due to the 77,700 jobs lost in Missouri in 2002. These figures were released by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Missouri lost 20,000 more jobs than the next worst state, Ohio. Ohio has a population of 11.3 million people; Missouri’s population is 5.5 million.

A news release April 15 by the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry said Missouri’s job loss equals $2.26 billion in lost wages and $126 million in lost tax revenues to the state. These figures were compiled by the Missouri Chamber from data collected from the Missouri Department of Economic Development.

“In the Joplin metropolitan area (Jasper and Newton counties), we saw a reduction of 2,500 jobs which is 3 percent down from 2001,” said Rob O’Brian, president of the Joplin Chamber of Commerce.

He said there are a few things that stand out which caused a large part of the losses. King Press closed its doors and Sunbeam downsized production.

“It has had an impact, but on the other hand we have seen companies grow,” O’Brian said. “A number of companies are adding people and continuing to expand at some level.

“Without that positive end of the equation, the job situation could have been worse in the area.”

Patricia Hurley, director of career services, said the state’s immense job loss has not affected her department. But, she said some of the annual fairs Career Services promotes have experienced a drop in participation. The education job fair had 20 schools fewer than the 2002 fair.

“We are working to make students aware that it’s so important resumés are perfect and they need to practice their interview skills,” Hurley said. “They need to go beyond the baseline and work above.”

Besides providing the same services, career services is strengthening its outreach to local employers, she said.

“We’re making as many contacts we can with employers,” Hurley said. “We’re reaching out to employers to connect with them so they’ll want to connect with our students.”

O’Brian said the Joplin Chamber is working with local lawmakers to create solutions to problems with worker’s compensation and unemployment insurance. He said those are some of the biggest concerns brought to his attention by members of the Chamber.

“We’re continuing efforts we’ve done for a long time in terms of marketing Joplin for new companies,” O’Brian said. “But, frankly, that is a very small part.”

O’Brian said the Chamber is spending time with local companies on how to maintain or expand their businesses. The Chamber assists local companies, providing them with information on who they should contact to fix their technical or financial problems.

“Every time a Missourian losses his or her job, the state losses $1,600 in tax revenue,” said Daniel P. Mehan, president and CEO of the Missouri Chamber in an April 15 Missouri Chamber news release. “These are cold hard facts policymakers need to embrace as they prioritize the issues that will be addressed yet this session.

“If they are truly concerned about finding a solution to Missouri’s budget problems, stopping Missouri’s epidemic job loss is the place to start.”