Another month, another set of abysmal numbers for the Southside. For the month of May, Martinsville leads the state with an unemployment rate of 21.9% up almost 2%, followed by Henry county at 15.2% up about 1%. Danville has an unemployment rate of 13%, the highest for a metropolitan area.
To put these numbers in perspective, Virginia hosts a 7.1% jobless rate, while the country as a whole is 9.4%.
For trend lines, here are January's numbers, February's numbers, and March's numbers for the Southside. Note: I did not catch any contemporary articles citing April's numbers.
Update: Kenton Ngo, with distressing visuals, argues how Martinsville suffers from the GOP's anti-stimulus posturing.
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4 comments:
This may be slightly off topic but I'm concerned about the total economy and job rate issues everywhere. But now we are dealing with plans for "cap and trade," socialized healthcare that noone knows how to pay for, bank rolling the stimulus and bailout plans, social ownership of productivity (ala GM) taxing health care benefits, etc, etc. (BTW - when are we going to start calling ourselves socialist?)
Whatever cripples productivity hurts jobs. The government intervention into every area of life is not the answer and now it seems prez Obama is renigging on the "no new taxes" for families making under 250K through these several back-door tax hikes.
What in the world is going on in this country?!?
Obama promised the jobless rate nationally would not dip below 8% if we passed the stimulus. He got his way and now unemployment is over 9% - heading toward 10% by year's end. I don't want to hear the whining about blaming Obama. I'm not blaming anyone. I'm taking him at his word.
But when my household economy gets tight, I tighten the belt. The fed gets out MY checkbook and starts writing checks with an eternal payback plan. I see another total revamp at the top in 2012 with a new influx and another group of incompetents.
Just spewing this morning.
K
I'm only slighly encouraged to see that Pulaski County (where I live) has slipped down to 12.4% unemployment, 7th highest in the state. We weren't too far behind Martinsville and Henry County on another recent report. There's still a long way to go before we emerge from this downturn though.
I know they say job creation is the last piece of the economic improvement pie, but how much further can we sink?
The Washington Post reports that the unemployment rate for our nation is at a 26 year high. The foolishness of exporting jobs, and allowing corporate interests to dictate our national economic agenda has lead us to this place. For those of us in Martinsville, Henry County and Patrick County to situation is bleak. We need a partnering government to assist us back to our feet, not sunshine patriots who are unwilling to "love their neighbors as themselves." The real difference in hope and desperation these days in the Southside is which side of a pink slip one is on at the moment. We need new permanent jobs now!
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