Sep. 27--At 6.4 percent, the Cherokee County unemployment rate has not been higher in more than four years. But, as has been the case for the past four-plus months, jobs are available for the taking.

In Jacksonville, eTelecare Global Solutions -- a customer-service call center that took over the building once occupied by Alliance Data Systems -- continues to search for workers in the hopes of having 350 employees by the end of the year. Klein Products Inc. -- a manufacturer of water-distributing equipment -- is still in the market for more welders and has been looking to fill those positions for several months.

In spite of these and other opportunities, Jacksonville's East Texas Workforce Solutions Center continues to operate in "Rapid Response" mode. Rapid Response takes place at Workforce Solution center in or near cities that have experienced a large number of job losses percentage-wise, which happened in Jacksonville earlier this year when Alliance Data and Astro Air Inc. -- which manufactured parts for air conditioning units -- each announced they would be closing their doors here. Under such circumstances, local Workforce Solutions centers increase their own personnel to assist the larger volume of people needing its services.

Steve Lynch, East Texas Workforce Solutions director who operates from Tyler, said the Jacksonville branch experienced an increase in the number of residents utilizing its services. He said the numbers have not diminished as the year has progressed.

"Definitely, in Jacksonville, clients have increased since the beginning of the year and it's been that way ever since because of the plant closures," Lynch said. "More people are filing for unemployment and looking to our job-training programs and placement services."

Lynch said the Workforce Solutions center in Jacksonville has seen its clientele increase by 15 to 20 percent this year. He said the organization has added to its staff by 20 percent to deal with the influx.

That the unemployment rate is so high in the county seems paradoxical when compared to other financial data. Jacksonville and Rusk -- the county's two most populous cities and hubs of employment -- have each posted year-over-year gains in their monthly sales tax allocations eight out of nine months in 2008. But, those numbers could also be reflective of residents spending more of their money close to home, rather than driving to larger cities like Tyler or Nacogdoches, which would consume a significant amount of relatively expensive fuel.

The economic slowdown is not exclusive to Cherokee County. Texas' unemployment rate remains relatively low at 5 percent, but was as low as 3.9 percent earlier this year. Nationwide, the jobless rate rose to 6.1 percent in August -- still lower than that of Cherokee County.

But, there is reason for optimism for county workers, and many employers remain hopeful of their potential labor force here.

"We have been tremendously busy with a large backlog of orders and feel we have a very bright future here at Klein Products," Michael Shepperd, the company's plant manager, said.

Lynch said the Workforce Solutions center's Rapid Response team would remain in place until those impacted by the plant closures of earlier this year are mostly employed.

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