Jobless rate now at 9.3 percent ,4 counties in North Carolina

[Abigale Applewhite]

By Heather Howard..Staff Writer...Charlotte Observer

It's the 4-county region's highest monthly unemployment rate since July 2002





Hickory..The Unifour's unemployment rate rose in June, climbing to the highest rate in a year, according to the N.C. Employment Security commission.


Jobleness across the Hickory metro area increased from 8.3 percent in May to 9,3 percent in May according to ESC data. That was the four county area's highest monthly unemployment rate since July 2002, when joblessness acrosss sthe Unifour hit 9.5 percent.


Unemployment rates typically spike in July, when manufactruers often shut down temporarily around Independence DAy holiday. But this year's tigh summer job markeet, conbined with continued "attacched claims"- those made by workers who expect to return to work once business pick up -sent Junes rates climbing in 84 of the state's 100 counties, said Alan Mackie, manager of the ESC's Catawba County office.


"I was suprised we saw it jump as much as it did for June," Mackie said."It appears those same two factors had and effect on most of the counties"


Joblessness in June hit double digits in Caldwell County, where unemployment was 10.4 percent.catawba county posted the second-highest rate in the catawba Valley, with 9.3 percent unemployment.Alexander's rate was 8.8 percent, and Burke's was 8.6 percent.


As layoff in the Hickory metro are have continued, and some cuts announced months ago have only recently taken effects, the area's unemployment rate has hovered at more than triple the 2000 rate, Last year, unemployment in the Unifore averaged 8.8 percent. In 2000, joblessness across the area averaged 2.5 percent. In all , the Unifour has lost more than 8,800 jobs since companies started scaling back in the spring 2001.


But there are some hopefull signs, Mackie said.

[Rebel_with_a_cause]

1. Aren't rates in CA, OR, and WA around 9% as well?

Man, what an about-face from the Clinton years.

[TahitiNut]

14. California's unemployment rate was 6.7% in June 2003

Washington's unemployment rate was 7.7% in June 2003

[KayLaw]

2. Awful

I just yesterday spoke to my friend who lives in NC. Her father died and it's her responsibility to sell his house. She's put in a new kitchen and lowered the price twice but nothing; this sure won't help.

[ClownKing]

3. Curious to find out Julys unemployment figures for Oregon.

Wondering if Oregon is going to top the nation with the highest unemployment again. I'm self-employed and have been able to somewhat survive the move from California to Oregon a couple years ago.

What sucks is that wife is going to be finally joining me from the Philippines (Aug 6th) and she's eager to get a job. With so many locals looking for employment I'm kinda worried that as a recent immigrant she's going to have a much harder time finding something.

Hopefully she won't get upset with me for ragging on Bush all the time. Then again, she doesn't like Gloria Arroyo.. Gloria & Bush are buddiess... maybe it won't be hard after all!

[TahitiNut]

12. Oregon's unemployment rate at 8.5% for Jun 2003

July not yet available.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

4. MA is up around 9% too

yeah, the recession is over

:eyes:

[TahitiNut]

13. Massachusetts unemployment rate was 5.6% in June '03

3.7% in BARNSTABLE-YARMOUTH, MA
4.9% in PITTSFIELD, MA
5.2% in BOSTON, MA-NH PMSA
5.6% in SPRINGFIELD, MA
6.0% in BROCKTON, MA
6.7% in WORCESTER, MA-CT PMSA
6.9% in LOWELL, MA-NH PMSA
7.3% in NEW BEDFORD, MA
7.5% in FITCHBURG-LEOMINSTER, MA
7.6% in LAWRENCE, MA-NH PMSA

http://www.bls.gov/web/laummtrk.htm

[dArKeR]

5. What makes Southerners blindly support Repukelicans in the face of such

damning evidence?

Could it still be related to the Civil War and slavery?

http://www.geocities.com/darkerxdarker

[PROGRESSIVE1]

6. That you must wonder about...

but if they keep on supporting the Labor hating, Pro-Corporate Wall Street Repubican Party then I say that they deserve what they get.

[short bus president]

7. You won't find very many

of the laid-off mill workers over on the freetard site. You won't find very many at the polls on election day, either. Unskilled labor in the South is almost completely disenfranchised. However, there is a small segment who believe that it is "the Christian thing to do" to vote republican. They are brainwashed by their churches into voting against thair own self-interests. The power of jeebus to turn people against themselves here in the South is acutally pretty profound.

[Abigale Applewhite]

8. N.C unskilled vote Rep.

You are so true, some of the people of the South and especially North Carolina, vote Republican from cradle to death.. Some will vote against Edward's, who was raised by parents of the blue collar class..And yes, religion plays a big part in how they vote..that is why the republican claimes to be the moral party...In my opinion the party that controls the low income citizens with lies.

[short bus president]

9. mostly agreed

I had been hoping that NC repiglickers' self-defeating prejudices would prevent them from voting for a woman (if you can call Sen. Dole a woman) for Senate. No such luck. It seems that their prejudices, like their Christianity, are only to be invoked when convenient.

[HFishbine]

10. Don't give up

because of generally accurat generalizations. Dems can, and do win in the south.

[Abigale Applewhite]

11. Edwards

With new people moving into the states, and the state loosing so many jobs, lets hope the job loss will open their eyes and give Edwards a win.

[Heddi]

15. do you have a link for this article

????

[umcwb]

16. Link,

I am going to have to lock this if you don't add a link.

[Abigale Applewhite]

17. LINK

I am new to this board...I don't have the link, I told you this article came from the Charlotte Observer,Catawba Valley Section ..V.front page..Article by Heather Howard...Staff Writer... web address for Charlotte Observer, Charlotte,North Carolina www.charlotte.com

[NYC]

19. Do you know how to post a link?

If not, do this:

While you are reading the article, copy the address that is in the address bar. Then paste that into your DU message.

(I think I may have linked to the wrong article. I'll go back and look again.)

[mth44sc]

20. and in South Carolina

The governor's office pointed to higher unemployment, sagging consumer confidence and unsteady capital investment as signs the state's economic health is not well. The state's jobless rate rose to 6.6 percent in June from 6.2 percent in May. Georgetown County’s unemployment rate was recorded at 11.6 percent.
Gadsden said even if the expected cuts are not implemented, it is still going to be difficult to prepare a budget for next year without making some drastic reductions.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=9934289&BRD=2081&PAG=461&dept_id=385210&rfi=8

Another county close by - Williamsburg County - has an unemployment rate of 17.3 percent.

[NYC]

18. Link to article:

Heather Howard article:

Can't find the original, but here's an interesting one:

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/states/north_carolina/counties/iredell/6394702.htm

A new state prison that will bring hundreds of jobs to neighboring Alexander County is already bringing new development to the area.

From a car wash to a credit union, new businesses and housing are popping up near the site where workers are building a $73 million, 1,000-cell prison on Old Landfill Road, off N.C. 16 just south of Taylorsville. It is less than 10 miles from the west Iredell line.

The prison, one of three facilities under construction by the N.C. Department of Correction, will have a capacity of 864 inmates and will employ more than 400 -- correctional officers and administrative, food service, medical, dental and maintenance staff.

This turned out to be the wrong article:
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/6432693.htm

Excerpt:

Despite the economic recovery, the unemployment rate has risen to a nine-year high.

How can this be?

Part of the answer is the decline in U.S. manufacturing jobs. Between January 2001 and May, U.S. manufacturing jobs declined by 13.3 percent. (As of June the loss was 14.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis.)