Robeson County unemployment rises:
Unemployment rate is at 12 percent

By Tina Ray
Staff Writer

Unemployment is a scary word. Right now, there are a lot of frightened people in Robeson County.

The unemployment rate here is at 12 percent, which is similar to Depression era rates.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to find a job in these hard economic times. If one is fortunate enough to have a job, it is also difficult to retain it.

This county is full of people who have been down-sized, terminated, or just laid-off. North Carolina has a strong history of being a textile industry state, but times have changed. American companies no longer export as many goods as they import.

Robeson County is the largest of the 100 counties in the state. It seems that it should also be one of the most progressive in terms of recruiting business enterprise to this area.

I’m sorely afraid that if something is not done to change the economic climate of this county, then a horde of young, recent graduates, middle class, or elderly citizens for that matter, will vacate and transplant themselves somewhere else altogether.

When the unemployment rate hovers at 12 percent, we are all in peril for it brings with it the problem of increased crime and increased poverty. The needs of children who are at the mercy of unemployed parents risk being reared in disadvantaged environments.

Maybe when our local and state politicians are on the campaign trail, they will remember that their constituents here in Robeson County are facing a severe time of economic hardship that will not only be recorded in the history books, but also recorded in the hearts and minds of the people who suffer through it.