The SocioEconomic Impact of Job Loss in Robeson County,

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• The Socio-Economic Impact of Job Loss in Robeson
  County,
• North Carolina
• Preliminary Findings
• Leslie Hossfeld, PhD.
• Department of Sociology, UNC-Pembroke

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Robeson County, NC Population 123,339
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Ten-Year Change in Robeson County Manufacturing
1993-2003

• In 1993 manufacturing accounted for 31 of all
  jobs in the county
• Ten years later, manufacturing accounts for only
  18 of jobs in the county.
• Nearly 9000 jobs lost since 1993
• Peak years of plant closings 1998-2003

Source NC Employment Security Commission
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• Manufacturing work declined significantly from
  17,430 in 1993 to 6,832 in 2003.

Number of Manufacturing Employees and
Manufacturing Payroll - Robeson County
1993-2003Source County Business Patterns
1994-2003
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Economic Impact of Manufacturing Job Loss

• Ripple Effect of Job Loss
• Regional Economic Impact (region defined as
  adjacent commuting counties)
• Total Cumulative Loss as of 2004
• 4.8 billion

• Loss of 8,708 manufacturing jobs in Robeson
  County resulted in
• Total reduction in regional employment of 19,922
  jobs from 1993-2004
• By 2004, regional household income had been
  reduced by 808 million
• By 2004 regional governments were collecting 39
  million less in indirect business taxes total
  cumulative 12 year impact 220,669,985

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What happens when work disappears?

• Job loss affects not only the immediate worker
  who loses their job, but other workers in the
  community.

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Ripple effect on other industries due to
manufacturing job loss
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Unemployment InsurancePayments Robeson
CountySource US Bureau of Economic Analysis
1993-2001

• Unemployment Insurance payments increased from
  8.4 million in 1994 to 20.8 million in 2001
• From 1998 to 2001 Unemployment Insurance payments
  more than doubled
• By June 2003 NC had a negative UIF balance

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Income
Poverty means you cant do basic goals like
taking care of your family and yourself
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• State Mean Household Income 51,225

• 37 of Robeson County households in 2000 had
  incomes below 20,000 a year
• Over half (52) earned incomes below 30,000
• 24 of households live in poverty
• Source US Census 2000

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• Personal bankruptcies in
• Eastern NC nearly tripled
• from 1994 to 2002

Personal Bankruptcies Source US Eastern North
Carolina District Court 1994-2002
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Bankruptcies Filed in Robeson County 1999-2002 Sou
rce US Eastern North Carolina District Court
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Education and Work

• Many workers in Robeson County left school early
  to work in local manufacturing
• 31 of adults 25 and older in Robeson County do
  not have a high school diploma.
• Displaced workers face the dilemma of having
  little educational attainment when work today is
  increasingly knowledge-based

Robeson County Educational Attainment Source US
Census 2000
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Older workers are disadvantaged

• Rural displaced workers are generally older
  workers with less education
• Previous research on displaced workers indicates
  that older workers endure greater hardships with
  longer periods of unemployment than younger
  workers

Source US Census 2000
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• Contact Information
• Leslie Hossfeld, Ph.D.
• Department of Sociology
• BA 223
• University of North Carolina at Pembroke
• hossfeld_at_uncp.edu

• Center for Community Action
• Mac Legerton
• PO Box 723
• Lumberton, NC 28359
• cca_at_carolina.net

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NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON JOB LOSS AND RECOVERY IN
RURAL AMERICA
The Center for Community Action Jobs for the
Future Collaborative NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON JOB
LOSS RECOVERY IN RURAL AMERICA Southeastern
North Carolina Agricultural Center and Farmers
Market Hwy 74 East Lumberton, NC October 1 -
2, 2004
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