R.I. Unemployment Office Rehires Retired Workers

STEVE INSKEEP, host:

Even as the federal budget and federal hiring expand, states have been cutting jobs and budgets, and yet this tough new economy has created a need for additional services in some areas, and at least a few state agencies are staffing up. NPR's Katia Dunn reports.

KATIA DUNN: When the wave of job losses hit Rhode Island, the unemployment office was one of the first places to feel it.

Ms. LAURA HEART (Department of Labor and Training): We had waits in excess of two hours on the telephone.

DUNN: That's Laura Heart with the Department of Labor and Training. She says in February her office handled 40 percent more claims than it did last year. The unemployment office was so understaffed, Rhode Island officials decided to do something unusual. They hired back more than a dozen retired workers.

Ms. HEART: And what the retirees have let us do is, they've given us a skilled workforce immediately. It's been very helpful.

DUNN: The agency has also hired dozen of new workers.

Mr. MARK MCMULLEN(ph) (Moody's Economy.com): To the extent that the need for these goes up with hard times, we're going to see the need for more state workers.

DUNN: That's Mark McMullen from Moody's Economy.com. He says it's not just Rhode Island. Many states are being forced to hire in departments that deal with unemployment, food stamps, Medicare and other social services. Some states have also posted jobs in areas like construction and engineering, hoping to prep the infrastructure for stimulus projects. McMullen cautions that the agencies that are hiring make up a relatively small part of state budgets, so the jobs are unlikely to have much of an impact on total employment.

Katia Dunn, NPR News, Washington. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.