Unemployment numbers still fail to show improvement
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Preliminary May figures show the local rate rose to 11.0 percent from 10.8 percent in April. The jobless rate for the state saw a decline from April to the following month, dropping a fraction of a percent to 10.2 in May. Nationally, the May unemployment rate was 9.9 percent.
While the elevated local jobless rate is a concern, there are indications that it may be leveling out, said Dr. David Boldt, an economist with the University of West Georgia. Though the May numbers show a jump of .6 percent from that time last year, the gap from one year to the next is beginning to shrink. While this isn’t necessarily good news for those out of work, it does suggest that the rate is beginning to become more consistent, which is a precursor to an eventual decline. The only problem is, that decline isn’t likely to come in 2010, Boldt said.
“Most economists aren’t seeing much improving this year,” he said. “Maybe things aren’t getting worse, but judging from what I’ve been hearing, we’re a ways off from seeing real improvement.”
The national rate for June is expected to be announced soon, with economists predicting that it will increase over the May rate as a result of many temporary jobs with the 2010 U.S. Census being phased out. On the local level, temporary jobs may be what a lot of out-of-work residents have to rely upon until they can find something more significant, Boldt said, because the fact remains that there aren’t too many full-time positions being created right now.
Even in a sector that is showing growth, like the local industrial market, companies are slow to expand, not wanting to stretch their resources too thin in the fear that they may need additional capital down the road, said Daniel Jackson, head of the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce. This inevitably translates into more hours for those currently employed, Jackson said, as they must step in to fill gaps left by his employer’s hesitancy to fill an open position.
“They’re going to be cautious because they had to react in the past and adjust their work force. The business community is trying to work their way through this year, trying to figure out what their labor needs will be. They’ll be a little slow to fill positions even though the need may be there,” Jackson said. “They certainly don’t want to go out and bring a bunch of folks in then, and a couple of months later they realize they can’t pay for it.”
Jackson said it could be some time before the market heals itself and job creation begins again, and until that happens, the business community needs to do what it can to keep its collective head above water.
“I think everybody wants to say that we’re out of it and things are good, but it’s going to take time,” Jackson said.
The next thing is to stop buying all of the china made crap that wal-mart sells. When Sam Walton came to Bremen when the first store opened, he promished that he would only buy American made products as long as the things he sells are made in America. Some thing happened there. Now his kids are the riches family in the world if you put all their money together.
The goverment needs to get out of the way of small business and stop putting restrictions on them. America can suprot itself if they let us. We need to cut about half of the goverment jobs out. A goverment paycheck is nothing but a check from out taxes. The goverment employees do not make one penny in production, all pay is a draw off of taxes. If we put them on a productionpay scale, we would have a better and cheeper goverment. People have to remembver we hire all the goverment leader when we vote for them. We have to hold them to the contracts they signed with us when we hired them.I think a lot of them have forgotten this. We need to wake them up with a mass fireing of them. At one time, there were more people working in Haralson County thanin Atlanta Georgia. People have forgotten this.