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Written by Megan Lahman
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Sunday, 07 December 2008 00:01 |
During the month of October [2008], the unemployment rate in Allegany County rose from 5.5 percent to 5.9 percent according to the Maryland Monthly Labor Review, which was released last week by the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulations.
Nationwide over half million jobs were lost last month according to a report released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The national unemployment rate also rose from 6.5 percent to 6.7 percent. While Allegany County's unemployment rate is lower than the national average, it doesn't mean things are any easier.
"We have seen major increases in our food stamp population recently. The rolls for the program were stable for years, but now they're increasing significantly," said William Walker, assistant director for family investment at the Allegany County Department of Social Services.
He said a pretty good indication that the economy is hurting citizens in the county is to look at how many are on food stamps. He also mentioned that even though the county's economic situation is somewhat "insulated", the rising prices of food has hit working families and individuals hard.
"We're receiving record amounts of applications from people who have never applied for food stamps before. In August, my office received 360 applications. For September, it was 411 applications. I believe October's totals are well above 400," said Walker, who also expects applications for emergency energy/heating assistance to be high this winter.
The U.S. Census Bureau estimated Allegany County's 2007 population has gone from 74,930 to 72,594 people. According to estimations about 14.8 percent of the county's residents had income below the poverty level, and this number may change drastically by next year.
"The need for help is very high in the county. There are a lot of people who are close to the line. They make too much money to qualify for government assistance, but not enough money to survive and not live from paycheck to paycheck," said Dr. Richard Paulman, director of Allegany County Department of Social Services.
While he advocates for broadening the income guidelines to help more struggling families, Paulman is afraid not much can be done for now. "The state of Maryland has requested that agencies use less money, because of budgetary issues. This means we can't provide all that we need to for the community," he said.
Barbara Buelh, executive director of the Allegany County Chamber of Commerce felt that part of the area's economic issues trace back to the dying manufacturing industry and a lack of professional opportunities in the area.
"We here at the Chamber of Commerce look at the jobs in the area versus the professional opportunities in the area, and right now, there's promise. We're trying to replace the dying manufacturing industry with professional careers," said Buelh, who owns an Alpaca farm in the area.
Currently, many of the area's jobs only pay minimum wage or close to it. "We have a large population working jobs that pay very little and don't lead to anything larger in terms of an actual career," she said. As for future industries, she hopes that the area can recruit jobs from the green sector.
Future Cumberland city council member Brian Grim, who will be sworn in on January 5, hopes to bring ease to Cumberland's economy and to bring more jobs to the area.
"To solve the issue, we need to repair and update the area's infrastructure," said Grim. "Once we accomplish the infrastructure in neighborhoods, we can focus on affordable housing and jobs."
Grim admits that his plans won't be easy. "I've been a citizen of Cumberland all my life and I love this place, but there is a mental reluctance to change and it's been a huge downfall. The city and citizens need to ban together." As for the economy, he said while the future may sound promising, currently the situation is bleak.
The bleak situation Grim is referring to is the announcement of one of the area's last manufacturing plants. In mid-November, the Brunswick Corporation announced that they will be closing their U.S. Marine Bayliner plant, located in Mexico Farms, by the end of this year. The plant's closure is going to eliminate at least 115 jobs.
Joseph Blacker, an Oldtown native, worked at the plant for close to 12 years. He said that the rumor around the factory was that they were all going to be laid off after Thanksgiving until the beginning of the New Year, but he had a feeling that it was going to be worse.
"The company tried to assure us at work that we were okay, but we all knew that something was wrong. Our indication that all of this was coming was the closure of our other facility here," said Blacker, who believes that the plant is closing because of the economy and the fact that people aren't buying boats.
Back in 1997 when he first started working at the Bayliner plant, there were two manufacturing facilities. One was for trophy fishing boats and the other built a much larger boat known as a bayliner. The plants had three different work shifts that kept it opened 24 hours a day. In terms of productivity, about 13 boats were built each day.
In 2006, the second manufacturing facility was closed, which caused a loss of 115 jobs. Right before the closure announcement last month, workers had already been laid off before. The workday was confined to 10 hours a day, and the plant was lucky to build around 11 boats a week.
"This was one of the best places to work in terms of benefits and pay. You could easily make $14 to $16 an hour working here, which is much better than other places in the county," he explained.
While Blacker is hoping to draw unemployment, he will be earning less than his paycheck, which he describes as frustrating. "It's going to be extremely stressful, because I got a family to support and the holidays are coming soon."
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Last Updated on Monday, 12 January 2009 12:59 |
Copyright © 2009 The Appalachian Independent. All Rights Reserved.
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