The national unemployment rate is slightly above 10 percent in these United States. The normally prosperous and insulated Lancaster County (PA) is not far behind, and beginning to catch up. According to the Department of Labor & Industry, the local jobless rate rose to 8.0 percent in October, a tenth of a point above September.
Tim Mekeel, staff writer for Lancaster Online, reported today: “A year earlier, in October 2008, the start of the recession brought a 4.8 percent rate — which seemed shocking at the time — and left 13,000 jobless. In just a year’s time, the fading economy has left 8,100 more people here without work, a 62 percent increase.” Count me in those 20,000 plus Lancaster County citzens out of work
More bad news follows for neighboring York County as workers at the York Harley-Davidson plant vote on the proposed new labor contract today. Ratifying the seven-year deal could save the plant from moving to Kentucky, but at the cost of wage concessions, benefits, and nearly 1,000 jobs.
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