"MEDIA RELEASE: Boom in low-wage jobs driving drop in metro unemployment
Although unemployment has dropped in all 14 of North Carolina’s metro areas over the last year, most of these job growth has occurred in the lowest wage sector—Leisure & Hospitality. Unfortunately, this industry pays $8.30 an hour, more than $12 below the statewide average—suggesting that most metros are seeing the biggest growth opportunities in ultra-low wage jobs.
Over the last year, Leisure & Hospitality was either the fastest or second fastest growing industry in 10 metro areas. These metros include:
- Asheville—5.7% growth
- Burlington—4.2% growth
- Charlotte—9.5% growth
- Durham—9.3% growth
- Greensboro—7.6%
- Greenville—5.8%
- Hickory—5.1%
- Rocky Mount—7.4%
- Wilmington—8.4%
- Winston-Salem—7.4%
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Allan Freyer, allan@ncjustice.org, 919.856.2151; Jeff Shaw, jeff@ncjustice.org, 503.551.3615 (cell)."
You see, it works like that. High wage jobs drive high wage jobs. Henry Ford understood it in 1914 when he took the unprecedented move of voluntarily paying factory workers 3 times the average wage of an American factory worker to manufacture Model T Ford automobiles. And while the Model T was far from being the best car of its time it took less than 2 years for Henry Ford to become the most successful automaker in the world.
And as I've mentioned before, Ford Motor Company didn't become unionized until 1941. It worked for Ford because the people who worked at Ford could afford to buy Ford cars and spend lots of money everywhere they went.
If Greensboro is to be successful then Greensboro must invest in high paying jobs here in Greensboro in the neighborhoods that need them most. Not in some megasite in another county. 2 hour bus rides to and from work in Randolph County is not an acceptable solution. Why? Because as soon as those workers save up enough cash they will use said cash to move to Randolph County leaving only the poor behind just as has been going on in Greensboro for decades.
And we'll be left with low wage service sector jobs like those jobs Robbie Perkins and Nancy Vaughn voted to give us thus far.
We need a new city council. All of them, gone.
Link via Doug Clark of the News & Record who wrote,
"Sadly, that's not hard to believe. And it explains why the amount of money circulating isn't rising as much as it should, even with a slowly declining unemployment rate.
Service jobs are often the best thing for young workers or those without higher-level skills. A service industry is certainly important here as part of our economy is built on hosting big events, whether the furniture market in High Point or sports tournaments in Greensboro, as well as dining, entertainment, shopping and other amenities.
At the same time, we really need to attract and develop more jobs in advanced manufacturing, R&D, health care, financial services and higher education. While we're making progress, it's not enough to produce a significantly wealthier community yet. On the contrary, we persist with a poverty rate around 20 percent.
Does anyone have the formula for getting us squarely on the right track? I don't think our political leaders do, as most seem more concerned with advancing partisan agenda and fighting for power."
