http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050903/ap_on_bi_ge/katrina_unemployed_hk3WASHINGTON - The jobless rate in the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast is expected to spike to 25 percent or higher, and when the long rebuilding process begins it's likely the same people the economy had left behind before the storm — the unemployed and working poor — will have the most trouble getting back on their feet.
Workers in flooded New Orleans, which faces major cleanup challenges, are taking the biggest hit.
"There's no question that the recovery is going to be much longer and more painful for the 28 percent of the local population in the New Orleans area living below the poverty line," said Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab. "It's going to be much harder for the local economy to recover in the absence of resources and insurance."
<snip>
But smaller Mom and Pop shops — and their workers — probably face a more precarious future. Some small businesses, restaurants and hotels likely won't reopen. Casinos built on barges along the coast that were damaged or destroyed probably will resume operations, though some uprooted casino workers may seek employment elsewhere, such as Las Vegas or Atlantic City.
"The populations in Louisiana and Mississippi are incredibly poor.
Most of the damage was from flooding, which doesn't tend to be covered by insurance. That combination adds up to an incredibly long and painful rebuilding process_ I think five to 10 years," said Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wachovia.
...more...