
{"id":4167,"date":"2008-12-05T08:08:06","date_gmt":"2008-12-05T16:08:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/?p=4167"},"modified":"2008-12-05T08:14:55","modified_gmt":"2008-12-05T16:14:55","slug":"few-bright-spots-in-local-unemployment-picture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/2008\/12\/05\/few-bright-spots-in-local-unemployment-picture\/","title":{"rendered":"Few bright spots in local unemployment picture"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><em>By Margot C. Lester<br \/>\nStaff Writer<\/em><\/p>\n<p><\/strong>When the state released October\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s unemployment figures just before Thanksgiving, there was little to give thanks for (see chart at the end of this story). The number of out-of-work North Carolinians inched closer to 7 percent and local figures were essentially unchanged. Unemployment rolls in Orange and Chatham counties decreased a hair, driven primarily by the retail and service sectors hiring temporary workers for the hoped-for holiday crush.<br \/>\n<!--more--> <em>Related Story: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/2008\/12\/05\/what-else-can-the-government-do\/\">What else can the government do?<\/a><\/em><br \/>\n<strong>Orange Co. view<\/strong><br \/>\nWith its largest employer being the State of North Carolina, Orange County has been somewhat insulated from the job losses experienced in neighboring counties. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have a lot of non-government business here, so it may seem negligible by comparison,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d says Bradly Broadwell, director of the county\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Economic Development Commission. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153But whether it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sizable or not doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t matter \u00e2\u20ac\u201c everything\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s getting hit.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n<p>Right now, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s small businesses that are beginning to trim headcounts or close altogether. But with a state budget shortfall of 5 percent and university and local government hiring freezes and furloughs looking imminent, county unemployment rolls are expected to grow. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t continue to rely on the university,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Broadwell asserts.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Chatham Co. view<\/strong><br \/>\nIn Chatham, things have been worse. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153To date, the highest unemployment figure was 5.9 percent in July, right after Pilgirm\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Pride closed,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d says Dianne Reid, president of the Chatham County Economic Development Corporation.<\/p>\n<p>But the looming failure of the Big 3 automakers and the massive drop in housing starts will inevitably have an impact on employment here. Companies like Performance Fibers in Moncure, which makes polyester fiber for seat belts and tire cord, and building products manufacturers like Moncure Plywood and Olympic Steel (Siler City) are likely feeling the pinch. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Companies in these sectors are trying not to lay people off, pulling hours back, but who knows,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she says.<\/p>\n<p>Also unknown at this point: the impact on construction jobs as developers consider scaling back plans. According to the U.S. Commerce Department, construction spending dropped 1.2 percent in October, outpacing the 0.9 percent dip analysts\u00e2\u20ac\u00afforecast.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A broader view<\/strong><br \/>\nAlso suffering: the bread and butter of the RTP. Lenovo and IBM have begun laying off workers (about 150 between them so far). <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Nationally, technology has recorded the highest number of cuts since 2005,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d says a report from Chicago outplacement firm Challenger Gray &#038; Christmas.<\/p>\n<p>As of October, tech companies had cut 51,500 jobs nationally. Pharmaceuticals fared only slightly better, shedding 36,536 positions in the same period. Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, which slashed its sales and R&#038;D head count this year, is expected to cut more jobs when it consolidates its headquarters operations to RTP.<\/p>\n<p>Elsewhere in the region, the global financial crisis is prompting North Carolina-based and other banks to cut positions in branches and operation centers. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s where the storm came ashore \u00e2\u20ac\u201c finance, housing construction, banking,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d says jobs expert and Challenger CEO John Challenger.<\/p>\n<p>And there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the retail sector, which hired the fewest number of seasonal works since 1991. Although preliminary Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales figures were slightly better than expected, Challenger expects non-seasonal workers to begin to get pink slips in early 2009 unless holiday sales are unexpectedly brisk.<\/p>\n<p> \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Every month this year, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen negative job creation,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Challenger says. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Now it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s totaling 1.2 million jobs lost \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and over half of those were in the last three months. So it appears to be accelerating.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p><strong>A positive view<\/strong><br \/>\nBut lest you think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all death, destruction and pestilence, there are some bright spots on the local employment scene. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to use the word \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcgood,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 but times like these have proved to be the stimulus that has created viable businesses,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Broadwell says. So he wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be surprised to see new businesses rising from the ashes and creating jobs. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Venture and angel capital is still out there. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard to come by. But if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re smart with a good idea and business model, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a bad time to start.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n<p>Reid also expects that green-collar jobs at \u00e2\u20ac\u0153innovative companies that have new products or approaches\u00e2\u20ac\u009d will spur employment growth. Examples include Piedmont Biofuels in Pittsboro, a producer and seller of biodiesel and biofuel consultancy, or Siler City\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Floorazzo, which developed a sustainable terrazzo tile at less cost than the traditional kind. (<em>The Citizen<\/em> will explore this sector in an upcoming installment.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>On the horizon<\/strong><br \/>\nIf historical economic trends are right, this year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sustained job loss could be the dark before the dawn.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Unemployment is a \u00e2\u20ac\u02dclagging indicator,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 in that once unemployment is at its peak the economy is usually well into recovery,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d explains Ed van Wesep, assistant professor of finance at the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We should expect unemployment to get much higher during this downturn, but realize that this lags the business cycle. When things look their worst &#8212; at least according to unemployment figures &#8212; the economy may actually be improving.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>But whether we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re at that critical point or not remains to be seen. And most people are just plain nervous. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153How long will it last? If I could answer this with clarity I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be on the transition team,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Reid laughs. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a willingness to concede that we have turned the corner. It doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem like confidence is being restored with any of the proposed solutions. And with the economy, confidence is so incredibly important.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Jobs watch \u00e2\u20ac\u201d Our monthly look at the latest unemployment data<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>CHATHAM  CO.\tTotal Labor Force\tTotal Unemployed\tUnemployment Rate<br \/>\nOctober 2008\t33,131\t                1,760\t                5.3%<br \/>\nSeptember 2008\t33,008\t                1,811\t                5.5%<br \/>\nOctober 2007\t32,764\t                1,208                 \t3.7%<\/p>\n<p>ORANGE  CO.\tTotal Labor Force\tTotal Unemployed\tUnemployment Rate<br \/>\nOctober 2008\t67,969\t                 2,763\t                4.1%<br \/>\nSeptember 2008\t        67,714\t                 2,869\t                4.2%<br \/>\nOctober 2007\t67,661\t                 2,070\t                3.1%\t\t<\/p>\n<p>STATEWIDE\tTotal Labor Force\tTotal Unemployed\tUnemployment Rate<br \/>\nOctober 2008\t4.5 million\t                308,496\t                6.7%<br \/>\nSeptember 2008\t4.7 million\t                300,308\t                6.6%<br \/>\nOctober 2007\t4.5 million\t                202,597\t                4.5%<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Source: North Carolina Employment Security Commission<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Margot C. Lester Staff Writer When the state released October\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s unemployment figures just before Thanksgiving, there was little to give thanks for (see chart at the end of this story). The number of out-of-work North Carolinians inched closer to 7 percent and local figures were essentially unchanged. Unemployment rolls in Orange and Chatham counties&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[275,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-economy","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4167"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4167\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4169,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4167\/revisions\/4169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}