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Alabama
Fares Better Than Most As the Economy Slows Down
Auburn, May 11---As
the economy has cooled, the South and Alabama in particular have
fared well, says Dr. Jacquelyn Robinson, a community workforce
development specialist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension
System.
"The 10 most
Southern states lost 13,474 jobs collectively during the month of
March. Of these, only 640 were within the state of Alabama,"
says Robinson.
The remainder of the
country has not fared as well. As the economy has continued to slow
down during the past few months, announced job cuts have risen in
proportion. Nationally, there have been 540,519 announced cuts for
the 4-month period beginning in December and ending in March,
according to a report just published by Challenger, Gray and
Christmas Inc., an outplacement firm.
Job cuts announced for
the month of March alone were an unparalleled 162,867. This number
was 60 percent higher than those announced for February and 192
percent higher than a year ago, Robinson says. Job cuts during March
amounted to 7,775 cuts per business day.
In spite of the huge
number of announced job cuts, the lines at the unemployment office
continue to be rather short. Robinson says the advances in
technology coupled with increased emphasis on productivity are
credited for this phenomenon.
Industries hardest hit
were electronics with 24,684 cuts and telecommunications with
22,459. The computer industry, automotive manufacturing and consumer
products closely followed these.
SOURCE: Dr. Jacquelyn
Robinson, Community Workforce Development Specialist, Alabama
Cooperative Extension System, (334)
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