Continuing on the Recovery Summer and Stimulus: State by State, we head to North Carolina.
Quick North Carolina facts:
- In January of 2009, the unemployment rate in North Carolina was 9.2%. As of June 30, 2010, the unemployment rate was 10.0%–a net increase of 0.8%! (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
- According to Recovery.gov, North Carolina has received 5,528 awards. This has resulted in $5,592,842,531 being spent to create/save 24,861.02* jobs (Source: Recovery.gov)
- As of June 2010, the labor force in North Carolina has decreased by 34,319 people since January of 2009. While the labor force has decreased, unemployment has increased . (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
- According to the Recovery Summer Map, North Carolina boasts only 2 “Summer of Recovery” projects!
- The number of people employed in North Carolina has fallen by 70,551 people! (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
- The Obama administration projected the change in jobs by December 31, 2010 to be +105,000 jobs. To date, North Carolina has lost 88,300 jobs. (Source: Ways & Means Republicans)
The employment trend in North Carolina has been rocky. The number of people employed plunged over the course of 2009. Only in 2010 was a slight “recovery noticed” but that disappeared as the “Summer of Recovery” went in to full swing. By June of 2010, the employment trend has begun to plummet yet again, erasing any hopes of a “recovery” for the time being. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Has the Recovery Act done anything for North Carolina? No.
Has “Recovery Summer” done anything for North Carolina? No.
For a state that gave all of its electoral votes to Obama in 2008, one would have expected a much better employment situation in North Carolina. While politicians in Washington D.C. promised to stop the skyrocketing unemployment, the people of North Carolina watched their economy fall into a pit. This has been the situation for most states that elected Obama and the current Congress.
Read more on Recovery Summer and the Stimulus Effects on States.
*: The number of jobs created/saved conflicts with other government sources on Recovery.gov. This number was pulled from the latest figured offered on Recovery.gov
