What are the job losses like in your community?

[JPace]

It is unbelievable what is happening in
the mountains of Western North Carolina.
We are bleeding jobs and people are
scared. It is making headlines in our
local papers, yet this administration
refuses to admit to the real numbers
of the unemployed. What is it like in
your community?

(More than 4,400 jobs lost in WNC since Jan 2003)

Jan 2004 Cooper Bussmann (makes fuses)
Black Mountain (290 jobs lost)
Reason--economic conditions, closing

Jan 2004 Steelcase (makes office furniture)
Fletcher, (480 jobs lost)
Reason--economic conditions, closing

Jan 2004 Drexel Heritage, (Makes furniture)
Marion, (351 jobs lost)
Reason--consolidation with other plants, closing

Dec 2003 Four Leaf Textiles, (Makes Yarn)
Spindale, (63 jobs lost)
Reason--consolidation, closing

Dec 2003 CR Industries, (Makes oil seals)
Franklin, (106 jobs lost)
Reason--reduce costs, layoff

Nov 2003 Square D, (Makes electrical switches)
Asheville, (313 jobs lost)
Reason--jobs to Mexico, closing

Nov 2003 Lustar Dyeing & Finishing (Textile Processing)
Asheville, (80 jobs lost)
Reason--Economic conditions & Foreign competition, layoff

Oct 2003, Simeus Foods International (food products)
Forest City, (275 jobs lost)
Reason--restructuring, layoff

Oct 2003 Cone Mills
Cliffside and Henrietta (625 jobs lost)
Reason--foreign competition, closing

Sept 2003 Shadowline (electronic accessories)
Swannanoa, (77 jobs lost)
Reason--foreign competition, closing

Sept 2003 TDP Electronics (Electronic Accessories)
Swannanoa (139 jobs lost)
Reason--outsourcing, closing

Sept 2003 Broyhill Furniture (makes furniture)
Rutherfordton (506 jobs lost)
Reason--foreign competition, closing

July 2003 Coats American (makes industrial thread)
Rosman (228 jobs lost)
Reason--foreign competition, closing

May 2003 Watts Regulator (Makes metal fittings)
Spindale (119 jobs lost)
Reason--contract completed, layoff

Feb 2003 Cooper Bussmann (makes fuses)
Black Mountain (100 jobs lost)
Reason--Moving production to Mexico)

Jan 2003 Honeywell (makes electro-mechanical switches)
Mars Hill (180 jobs lost)
Reason--Moving to Mexico)

Jan 2003 Simula (makes military flotation devices/parachutes)
Asheville (90 jobs lost)
Reason--consolidating with another plant, closing

Jan 2003 Lustar Dyeing & Finishing (Textile Processing)
Asheville (75 jobs lost)
Reason--Economic conditions, layoff

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

1. they've been fudging the unemployment numbers for years

they always revise the statistics down a few months after they announce them. Is it Lou Dobbs that does this story on his show every day?

[mhr]

2. North Dallas Alone Lost 112,000 Jobs in 2001 and 2002

This was almost all from the Telecom industry.

The hit to the community was 3 billion in lost wages.

Most of these people have not found additional work at comparable wages.

This is inferred by looking at mortgage foreclosure rates and apartment vacancies.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

10. But they all still love their bushiepoo

I live in Plano. Lots of rapidly vacated McMansions where I live. What does it all mean?

[lastknowngood]

3. didn't you get the memo

Reuters has a story explaining it. Those people aren't unemployed they are self employed contractors. No kidding they actually have a article stating that. It even uses a bogus relationship of the self employed have grown by 3.9% while the unemployment has only grown 0.6% forgetting to mention that the % of growth of selfemployed is a much smaller number than the unemployed. I can't believe they even put this crap out.

[Misinformed01]

4. Steelcase was the one that woke me up

I lived in Asheville, and remember meeting people who worked for those companies (I worked in a medical clinic)...

Really frightening stuff here, I bookmarked this thread.

On edit: I wonder if the non-NC folks know how small of a region you are talking about?

[dtseiler]

5. Manitowoc, WI

While raw numbers might seem relatively small, Manitowoc, WI is at just under 10% unemployment. Manitowoc is/was a heavy manufacturing town (you may have heard of Manitowoc Cranes or Manitowoc Ice machines or Mirro aluminum cookware).

Well last year Mirro (owned by Rubbermaid) closed up everything. So did a number of other factories (Manitowoc is pretty much one big industrial park). A lot of blue collar workers (who probably voted for Bush) are out of work. Manitowoc now has the second highest unemployment in the state. Now I read a story that Manitowoc Ice opened a plant overseas as well. A lot of the Republican hopefuls that want to unseat Russ Feingold came into town a couple of weeks ago blasting him for the job losses, yet offered absolutely NOTHING as to what they would/could do to save them. One of the candidates (car dealership owner Russ Darrow) said that "George W. Bush is pretty much my hero". Surprising the normally Bush-ass-kissing local paper blasted them for providing nothing other than party-line crap at the forum.

I myself am in the IT sector, but I commute 45 miles each way to Green Bay.

[Mari333]

6. In this small town Wal Mart ate up the businesses

we have only one other store to buy groceries at. I lost my job when my store was closed. Im going back to school to finish. wont take long, then maybe Im getting the hell out of here.
Using my retirement funds to do it too.
the drug trade is rampant here (makes money), and theres a cut in staff on the police and fire. People are scraping to get by. My son lost his restaurant (no one can afford to go out to eat). He moved with my other son to Seattle. They got the hell out of here. I dont blame them.
I doubt Ill stay here, I moved here to raise my kids. They are raised. Dont know when or how or where Ill move on.
small town, depends on tourists in the summer. Thats about all. Otherwise its poverty all winter.
Nothing but 5 dollar an hour jobs.
all year.
Dont know where Im going yet. In 20 years Ill be 72. I have to think about being old in the USA. I have a feeling its gonna be pretty bad if * gets selected again.

[swinney]

7. Burlington North Carolina

Once the hosiery capital of America.

Gone--Tower Hosiery--Most of Kayser-Roth Hosiery (once largest hosiery mfg in world)--most of Burlington Industries Hosiery Operations--Brown Wooten Hosiery--Flynt Mfg--Much of Cone Mills

40,000 citizens and deadly loss of secure jobs in the past.

People are now employed by Wal-Mart--K-Mart etc.

What I cannot comprehend is --Who is buying these 200,000-250,000 homes? Being built all over this area.

Furniture Capital-- High Point NC is in doldrums.

No college degree and what is a future?? It is sad.

OH! Conservatives will be happy when top 10% own 90% of wealth.
They call that a reward for virtue.

If you have not read Paul Waldman book--FRAUD-Bush Lies and Deceit. Buy it now. Great.

[Laughing Mirror]

8. Yes. Who are buying those homes?

Are they single-family homes that two families can buy up? Are people moving into them?

Strange, to my eyes, how many of these jobs are going to Mexico while North Carolina is also a big importer of cheap Mexican labor.

I'm curious as to what's going on in a state that I haven't been to in a while but have always loved.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

9. Massachusetts is behind rest of nation in "recovery"

Mass was Silicon Valley East: high tech was the largest employer. After 9/11, these jobs quickly disappeared-40,000 were lost in 2002. Coupled with losses in financial services (2nd largest employer) and manufacturing, our local economy is still in the doldrums. As a high tech salesperson, I have been laid off three times, and know many workers in the same predicament. Off Shoring is part of the reason.

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2003/10/20/story1.html?jst=s_rs_hl

Article title:
"The offshoring of Massachusetts
Companies sending much of their IT work overseas leave a dwindling pool of programming jobs"

SNIP
"Massachusetts has continued to shed jobs as the economy shows signs of rebounding. The state lost 8,200 jobs in August 2003 and 45,800 since August 2002, according to the state Division of Employment and Training. The unemployment rate was 5.8 percent in August, the highest it has been since October 1994. September figures were to be released this week.

The largest job loss in the past year came in computer systems design and related services, which lost 5,800 jobs, or 12.1 percent, since August 2002. Going back further, the decline is even steeper in that sector, with 24,400 jobs, or 36.6 percent, lost since January 2001. About 441,000 people in Massachusetts hold jobs in the professional, scientific and business services sector, according to DET figures."

SNIP

Another article on our piss-poor local economy:

http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2003/11/19/mass_falls_behind_florida_in_tech_jobs/

One good thing: the traffic has gotten a little better since the bubble burst here.