YouthBuild students rap outside of HACC

Pastor William Jones Jr. speaks to business owners about tackling underemployment.

Carlton Allen goes on a long commute and, along the way, talks about working in low-skilled jobs.

Samara Gallatin describes the rampant social problems she found after opening a temp agency.

Also, check out “Second Chance,” a 2007 report on hiring people with criminal backgrounds.

Don’t forget to come back next week for more online coverage as our series continues.

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ABOUT THE SERIES

Many midstate companies are growing desperate for skilled labor. The region’s overall unemployment rate remains low despite the struggling economy, and business leaders are worried about the pipeline of new workers.
At the same time, thousands of midstate residents are underemployed. They do not have enough work or they are trapped in low-wage jobs. Many of these people live together in pockets of poverty in Harrisburg, Lancaster, Lebanon and York. They are The Invisible Workforce, people whose struggles are often hidden and whom businesses have failed to reach.
The solution seems obvious. In the last two years, business-backed studies in Lancaster and York counties have officially recommended the region do more to connect the underemployed with good jobs.
This series is about what it will take to make that happen. Over the next two weeks, we’ll introduce you to the people who need to be reached, describe the problems holding them back and explore the beginnings of a solution.
—David Dagan

THIS WEEK

• The Invisible Workforce: Redefining recruiting


• The skeptical view: Long odds and disputed assumptions


• Reporter's Notebook: In search of malaise – an enlightening walk

• Uninspired: Communication gaps, apathy clog labor pipeline, advocates say


• Earnings gap — by the numbers


• A fragile future: Between courts and jobs, a young man stumbles


• Unemployment in the midstate