Albert Lea’s Minnesota Workforce Center was back in full operation Thursday after an almost three-week closure under the state government shutdown.

Mike Haney, regional manager for the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, said area workforce centers were slow to start up as not all of their clients knew they were back open for business.

The centers had been under a partial opening since Monday after a court order tied to the Minnesota Family Investment Program.

While unemployment benefits were not affected by the state shutdown because they were deemed as a critical core function, many of the other services that Workforce Development Inc. provides at the centers were affected.

Haney said while workforce centers help job seekers find employment and help businesses find workers, they also serve as a critical place for counseling for people who sometimes have no other place to turn. People also turn to the workforce center to build resumes when they may not otherwise have access to computers or Internet.

“The people who come to see us really need help,” he said. “They’re either having difficulty finding jobs or need some help with the direction of their lives. Just to have somebody there who they can talk to is a real relief for some.”

Haney said the staff are pleased to be back at work to help their clients.

He noted that during the shutdown he was impressed with the caliber of the workforce center staff.

“I was really impressed by the caliber of the people we have working in our workforce centers,” Haney said. “The questions I got from the staff were almost all the same. They were questions about what they could do for their clients. They were more concerned about the impact on the public than about themselves, even though most of them were out of jobs.”

Looking at the bills passed by the governor and the Legislature, Haney said it appears that workforce centers are sitting well in the coming years because of strong bipartisan support. A big chunk of their funding also comes from federal dollars, while the state portion is based on money that comes from a state payroll tax.

“Right now we’re guardingly optimistic we’re going to be OK,” he said. “The work we do getting people back to work is a benefit to the economy.”

Albert Lea’s Minnesota Workforce Center can be found in the Skyline Plaza.