Extension seemed to be the buzz word when U.S. Rep. David Price, D-N.C., met with state and local officials Thursday to discuss unemployment. In hopes that Price will relay their request to Congress, leaders recommended increasing the length of time one can both collect unemployment benefits and train for a new job.
North Carolina is experiencing its worst jobless slump in 17 years, and predicted numbers for 2002 do not hint at a fast recovery. Price said two million people nationwide are predicted to expend their unemployment benefits before the year is half over.
Officials say they are worried that state funding cannot keep up with the tally of workers being laid off.
"One of our challenges is to avoid having the trust fund go empty before August and having to borrow federal money," said David Canady of the North Carolina Employment Security Commission. A dwindling trust fund is not a problem specific to North Carolina, as New York and Texas are already borrowing federal money, he said.
Officials also advised Price that increasing the time period for collecting unemployment benefits is essential.
"Sometimes layoffs are not connected to job availability," said Mike Aheron, senior policy associate for the North Carolina Department of Commerce. "The idea of folks going back to work quickly is just not happening. There needs to be a longer training period. In the long run, these investments will pay off," he said.
Aheron said that although job shortages had been a pressing issue all year, unemployment offices started filling up after Sept. 11. Price said unemployment is "being held hostage to some larger partisan issues" but that he is committed to making sure the state's crisis does not go overlooked. He added that only 17 percent of the fiscal downturn is attributed to terrorism.
"I think the heat is on the first issue we discussed--the extension of unemployment," Price said. "We've got to do something on that, even though job training is not as much on people's radar screens. We're not the first thing in the news, but that's all the more reason we have to make sure the right people know about this," he said.
Brenda Savage, director of the Capital Area Workforce Development Board of Wake and Johnston counties, emphasized the need to examine the unemployment rates affecting North Carolina workers. She expressed concern that Triangle counties' unemployment figures in the 4 percent range are being ignored because smaller counties have seen their jobless rates increase to 8 to 10 percent. The 5,138 workers laid off in Durham County last year and the 9,452 in Wake County make up a very important sector of the state's workforce, Savage said.
"If they're going back to a $60,000 job, they're not going to be spending as much money," she said.
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