Jobless in Royal Oak Wonder When Their Fortunes Will Change

Searching for new professional opportunities is not where Kevin McLogan thought he would be at 55 years old.

McLogan, who accepted a buyout from the Detroit Newspaper Partnership in 2007, worked as a distribution center manager. After 30 years with the company, he had envisioned closing out his career with the company, but felt he had to take the buyout offer. If the company did not meet its workforce reduction targets, he reasoned, there would be layoffs.

“They told us that the next offer would not be as generous and they were right, it wasn’t,” said McLogan, a second-generation newspaper employee who lives in Royal Oak with this wife, Marie Donigan, a former state representative.

The buyout allowed McLogan to accept a pension at a reduced rate when he turned 55, which was this year. Still, he’s aware he will need to work full time again.

Being out of work shortly before an economic tsunami hit the country has made full-time opportunities elusive for McLogan, and filling out applications and sending out resumes feels like the equivalent of tossing a fistful of rocks into a gravel pit.

“I’ve sent out at least 1,500 applications,” he said. “There’s just so many people looking. But the unemployment problem goes deeper than that; it can be completely overwhelming.”

To make matters worse, McLogan’s wife, Marie, is underemployed, having been termed out of the Michigan Legislature in 2010 after six years. Donigan, who left a position as a planner and landscape architect to serve her district, also has not been able to find full-time work in the present economy, though she recently secured some municipal consulting work.

“I worked in government before I was elected to the state legislature and local governments are not hiring,” she said. “Things got bad for people and when that happens, things get bad for government.

“I have to say it’s hard for me to imagine that we’ll ever have the income we once had,” Donigan added.

To make ends meet, McLogan and Donigan have done limited part-time consulting and training work. McLogan has conducted computer training at the Ferndale Career Center, helping others learn new skills. Also, McLogan put his past as a school board trustee to good use with the Michigan Association of School Boards, helping school board members navigate the complex issues involved with setting policies for school districts.

But these opportunities have not yielded significant income to replace what they once had. McLogan’s primary income comes from his part-time work as a chauffeur, a job he said he’s happy to have.

McLogan's and Donigan’s situation is not altogether uncommon among many Royal Oak residents, who have traditionally enjoyed the advantages of high employment and benefits of being located in the business-rich enclave of Oakland County.

In July, the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased for the third month in a row and from 10.5 percent in June to 10.9 percent in July, according to the state’s Labor Market Information Survey.

Royal Oak’s unemployment numbers have consistently been lower than the state average and somewhat lower than Oakland County’s average for the past three years. But the details of the assessment reveal a once-unthinkable loss of Royal Oak residents participating in the job market – and a drop that cannot be explained by population loss alone.

As Royal Oak’s officials work at attracting new businesses – with some success – the hope is that more opportunities will be created for residents to get back to work.

Residents caught on the receiving end of the Great Recession have been beset by questions about their personal economy, including the one no one seems to be able to answer: When will our fortunes change?

Unemployment by the numbers

Michigan’s annual seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has held stubbornly high, with its annual peak hitting 13.3 percent in 2009 – up sharply from 8.3 percent in 2008. In 2010, the adjusted rate was 12.5 percent. In 2011, the percentages were moving downward until three successive increases in May, June and July.

In Oakland County, annual unadjusted unemployment levels peaked in 2009, at 12.8 percent. In 2008, the rate was 7.1 percent; in 2010, it was 12.1 percent.

Royal Oak’s unadjusted rates were slightly brighter, peaking at 8.1 percent unemployment in 2009, and logging in at 7.6 percent in 2010 – up from 4.4 percent in 2008. In June, the unadjusted citywide unemployment rate was 6.8 percent, but in July, that number inched back up to 7.6 percent.

Labor force numbers, however, are a little more unsettling. Royal Oak’s unadjusted average labor force stood at 34,554 workers in 2008, but by 2010 that number slipped to 33,083 – a loss of 1,471 workers. In July, that number was 32,777 – 306 less than the 2010 average.

Though Royal Oak outperformed the state and county in unemployment, the numbers are beyond troubling, said Jim Rhein, an analyst with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth.

“There is just no way that anyone can be happy about these numbers because the loss in labor force means those people are either too discouraged to look for work or they are unable to find work, and that does not reflect a healthy jobs market,” he said. “Though (Royal Oak) has done better than other communities, there’s no way to look at this positively.”

Rhein went on to say that the loss in labor force and moderately high unemployment numbers will mean job seekers will face a difficult road ahead.

“At these levels, it’s going to be extremely competitive (for positions) until there is significant job creation,” he said.

City assesses jobs picture

Royal Oak Mayor Jim Ellison said officials are constantly working to improve the physical development of the city and help build and diversify the city’s business base – a task that has become more difficult during the past three years.

“It has been harder to attract business in this environment,” he said. “But we’ve been better off than some of our neighbors because we have a diverse business base. We’re not a one-trick pony.”

One aspect that may have helped the city is that it does not have a major manufacturing facility or automotive assembly plant, which means it was somewhat isolated when the state began to hemorrhage tens of thousands of manufacturing-based white- and blue-collar jobs, Ellison said.

However, he added that many Royal Oak residents were affected by those job losses that occurred outside the city proper because many worked in other communities.

Some bright spots on the jobs front include the Emagine Entertainment opening, which brought 100 jobs as well as dozens of construction jobs when the 10-screen theater, bowling and food facility was being built at 11 Mile Road and Troy Street. Additionally, at least three new restaurants have recently opened or are scheduled to open, Ellison said.

One factor that does give Ellison pause is Gov. Rick Snyder’s push to not incentivize specific businesses with tax credits – a move he believes could hamper business development and by extension, jobs creation.

“I was upset about the (loss of) film incentives because we were a destination for (filmmakers),” Ellison said. “It helped our local businesses.”

Reaching out

John Almstadt, the director of Oakland County Workforce Development in Pontiac, has been on the frontline of trying to help legions of unemployed people find work.

Workforce Development helps find training opportunities for people without a job who live in the county, through a partnership with the Michigan Works! agency.

Although he’s beginning to see a slight uptick in hiring for certain business sectors, Almstadt said he’s seeing tremendous uncertainty among laid-off workers.

“I think (the unemployed) feel there are so few options for them simply because of the number of people looking for work,” he said. “We are seeing some opportunities in the tech industry, but although some of the people looking for work may have the skills, sometimes they don’t have the certification, which employers now require.”

Other issues Almstadt said he’s seeing is that older individuals who have had time to acquire additional skills, but might be willing to work for a little less, have an advantage in the marketplace over the newly educated.

McLogan and Donigan aren’t sure being experienced gives them an advantage on the employment front, but they’re keeping busy.

One silver lining for McLogan is his work with the Looking for Work support group he moderates at St. John Episcopal Church in Royal Oak. The group helps unemployed people identify practical solutions while harnessing their faith as a coping mechanism.

McLogan – who has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Walsh College – has returned to the same university for a master's in management with the  hope of diversifying his skills base and making him a more attractive job candidate.

The couple is considering other options, including leasing their home and joining the Peace Corps for a 27-month commitment.

“It’s great to be able to help others,” McLogan said. “But it’s been tough.”

Editor's note: This story is part of a new Patch initiative that chronicles the pursuit of the American dream in communities across the United States.