The News-Star from Monroe, Louisiana • A7

WWW.THENEWSSTAR.COM MONDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2018 7A Monroe (318) 323-9611 West Monroe (318) 323-9614 Ruston (318) 255-2832 Farmerville (318) 368-3025 Burial Mausoleum Burial Cremation Monuments Pre-Need Arrangements At-Need Arrangements Flowers Remembrance Merchandise Grief Counseling Two Perpetual Care Cemeteries CHOOSE WISELY MEMORIAL GARDENS (318) 255-3339 SERENITY GARDENS (318) 397-3766 MN-LAG0014469-01 WEST MONROE, LA Homegoing Celebration for Mrs. Katherine Ry- land McCormick, of West Monroe, LA will be at 2:00 PM Tuesday, Octo- ber 9, 2018 in the chapel of Griffin Funeral Home West Monroe with visita- tion prior to the service beginning at 12:00 noon. Interment will follow the service at Serenity Gardens. Mrs. McCormick was born September 10, 1930 in Jacoby, LA and passed from this life on October 4, 2018 in Landmark Nursing Center at the age of 88.

She was a member of the Baptist faith, enjoyed cooking, sewing, bowling, bingo socials and loved to travel. In her younger years she loved to coach and play softball with her three daughters. She is preceded in death by her parents, Eddie A and Genie Ryland, her husband, Mack McCormick, one daughter, Glenda Powdrill and twenty five (25) siblings. Survivors include two daughters, Kathy Max- ine Holloway and Sandra Fauver; son Myron Dale McCormick, grandchildren, Teresa Barton Amy Boudreaux, Harold Walker, Jr, Jerry Casey Hayden (Jennifer), Brian Heath McCormick (Sherlyn), Michael Holloway, Jenny Hayden (Chad), Bret Hollis McCormick (Elizabeth), and 13 great-grandchildren. Pallbearers will be grandsons Bobby Barton, Jerry Casey Hayden, Brian Heath McCormick, Chad Mitchell, Bret Hollis McCormick and great- grandson Whitt Mitchell.

Griffin Funeral Home West Monroe, LA Katherine Ryland McCormick WEST MONROE Graveside Services for Dedria Jones, 70, of West Monroe, LA will be held Tuesday, Octo- ber 9, 2018 at the Has- ley Cemetery Pavilion, West Monroe with Bro. Marvin Wink officiating under the direction of Mulhearn Funeral Home, West Monroe. In memory, we want to celebrate her life and those that matter to us everyday. She was a lifelong Dr. Pepper drinker and enjoyed her cigarettes.

Dedria went over the top decorating for the Holidays. She was living proof that family is not always just blood related. She is preceded in death by her parents; E.L. and Ollie Ann Womack; companion and love of her life, Tommy Wink. Survivors include her daughter, Kimberly Da- vis and husband Hal; grandson, Sterling Magee and wife Shannon; brother, Richard Womack; nephew, James Richard Womack; and The Family of Tommy Wink.

Memorials may be made to The Rebel Lunch Bunch Louisiana Tech Scholarship Fund P.O. Box 3183 Ruston, LA 71272. Visitation will be held from until Monday, October 8, 2018 at Mulhearn Funeral Home, West Monroe. Online www.mulhearn- funeralhome.com Mulhearn Funeral Home West Monroe, LA Dedria Ann Jones Blakeman, Jr. Dr.

HenryWarren 86 Monroe 02-Oct Mulhearn Funeral Home DedriaAnn 70 WestMonroe 06-Oct Mulhearn Funeral Home Jones, Dr.Wallace L. 90 Monroe 07-Oct Mulhearn Funeral Home Lochbrunner, I. C. 88 Crowville 06-Oct Mulhearn Funeral Home KatherineRyland 88 WestMonroe 04-Oct GriffinFuneral Home 55 Calhoun 04-Oct Mulhearn Funeral Home Smith, Cecile S. 94 Monroe 05-Oct Mulhearn Funeral Home Smith, PatOxford 72 Ruston 04-Oct Kilpatrick Funeral Home Thurmon, Betty F.

81 Ruston 03-Oct Kilpatrick Funeral Home Additional information in display obituaries Obituaries appear in print and online at www.legacy.com/obituaries/TheNewsStar OBITUARIES AND DEATH NOTICES Name Age Town, State Death Date Arrangements Are employers at risk of running out of skilled people to hire? The U.S. economy has become a seemingly perpet- ual job-generating machine, having steadily added workers for nearly eight years. Even with the unemployment rate now at 3.7 per- cent its lowest point since 1969 hiring stalled. So far this year, job growth has averaged a ro- bust 208,000 a month, up from a pace of 182,000 for all of 2017. The trend has the predictions of most econo- mists.

Many have long warned that as hiring surged and unemployment fell, the pool of potential hires would shrink and trigger a bidding war that would ignite wage gains. It happened. Many people are still being hired each month. And pay raises, though rising, re- main modest. single time that we predict job growth is go- ing to start slowing and wage growth is going to start picking up in recent years, we gotten that said Martha Gimbel, research director for the jobs listing site Indeed.

To try to explain why employers are still managing to hire skilled workers at a steady pace, Gimbel para- phrased a line from the 1971 movie Wonka the Chocolate no knowing where going, but it shows no sign of In July, employers posted a record 6.9 million job openings, which exceeded the number of unemployed people. The abundance of openings suggests that companies expect to keep hiring. Even the Trump administration, for all its public acknowledges uncertainty about how much further unemployment can fall. a tricky question, because I think we said Larry Kudlow, the top econom- ic adviser. At some point, many employers will likely feel running out of skilled workers to hire.

Just not yet. Here will be some signals that a labor shortage may be at hand: Pay raises spike Average hourly wages have risen 2.8 percent in the past 12 months. basically keeping pace with the rate for consumer prices. But the theory is that as the economy keeps expanding and employers they need to pay more to attract employees, pay could jump, especially in some sectors that require heavily skilled workers. Some companies are already taking action.

Consid- er just-announced boost in its minimum hourly wage to $15 starting in November. ri- val retailers and warehouse operators, in particular, may feel pressure to raise pay, too. American Textile, a 93-year-old manufacturer of pillows, sheets and comforters based in Pittsburgh, has found it a challenge in recent months to add and keep workers for its 800-person been raising pay by 3 percent to 4 percent annually for years. But now introducing the perk of paying bonuses as soon as three months after a worker joins the compa- ny. show up get something said Pete Marsalis, the director of human re- sources.

Lots more people seeking work One of the best measures of available workers is called the participation rate. the propor- tion of working-age adults who either have a job or are actively looking for one. The participation rate for people as prime age 25 to 54 years old was 81.8 percent in Septem- ber. That is below the peak of 84.6 percent in January 1999. The rate increased in 2016 and 2017, but ed this year.

Because the rate remains below its peak, it suggests that a pool of people exists who could poten- tially start looking for work or return to school to ob- tain specialized skills or training for a job. Sharper mismatch between openings and skill sets If there already were a severe shortage of skilled workers, a broad mismatch would likely exist between the types of jobs available and the types of jobs people are seeking. But research published last month by the job listing site Indeed suggests that the degree of the mismatch has actually narrowed since 2014. In examining resumes posted to Indeed, the re- searchers found that roughly one-third match the available jobs. Though a relatively high pro- portion, less than in 2014, when the proportion was closer to 40 percent.

A shortage of skilled workers, like nurses, might now exist in certain sectors of the economy, Gimbel said. But a shortage necessarily exist across the entire economy. If it did, the pressures to raise wages would be stronger. A slowdown in job growth When Joe Brusuelas scanned the September jobs report, he saw signs that a shortage of skilled workers could emerge in the near future. the chief econo- mist for RSM, a consulting that specializes in mid- size businesses.

Brusuelas sees fewer people entering the labor force, a consequence of lower birth rates and other de- mographic changes as the vast baby boom generation retires. In June, the growth of the labor force was 1.2 percent compared with a year earlier. By Septem- ber, the 12-month growth in the labor force had more than halved to 0.52 percent. Skilled workers might be hard to American job growth continues to defy predictions Josh Boak ASSOCIATED PRESS A bilingual help wanted sign for Auto Zone, a retailer of aftermarket automotive parts and accessories, is posted outside the store in Canton, Miss. So far this year, job growth has averaged a robust 208,000 a month.

ROGELIO V..