The alarm is sounding

Dear Friends

Did you know "Georgia Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond calls the current economic downturn the Great Recession. He says the situation is worse thanmany people know as many companies are opting to shift full time workers topart-time leaving many making much less than they are accustomed to.Georgia's unemployment rate continues to rise and is currently higher thanthe national average. In northern Georgia cities like Dalton, unemploymentclaims have increased 350 percent since last year. Thurmond says people whofind themselves underemployed are having trouble making ends meet. Many areworking two part time jobs just to make ends meet. He says he expects theunemployment rate to continue to rise in the coming months. "

Did you know Metro Dalton lost the third most jobs of any area in Georgia(4100 jobs) as the state unemploymet rate climbed to 8.1 percent?The labor department will soon release the December 2008 unemployment rateswhich are anticipated to be higher than the 10.4 percent jobless rate inNovember 2008.So what do we do about it?..............as individuals very little, but together I think we can make a difference and help our community.