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Markets dip following weak jobs numbers

It was just a few months ago that job numbers were so good, economists were saying the country was moving beyond the recession.

Now, a second straight month of meager job gains has the stock market plunging and experts tossing their optimism out the window.

“A lot of us are in this situation and we want work. We want to have something to do and to take care of our families,” said Brent Bobo, who is among millions of people looking for work.

Frustration for job seekers became more tangible with Friday’s Labor Department report that the U.S. economy produced only 69,000 jobs in May.

That is down from an average of about 200,000 jobs per month in the first quarter.

The news sent the stock market sinking fast, where one stock after another dipped into the red.

“That’s very, very troubling,” said economist John Connaughton.

Three months ago, Connaughton thought a recovery was about to bloom. Now, business and consumer confidence is down again.

Connaughton said he is also less optimistic about the economy.

Even people who have jobs are struggling.

After spending more than a year out of work, Guy Dawson has a call center job, but he said it has not been reliable enough to consistently pay his bills.

“I go in one day thinking I’m getting eight hours and I only get four hours, so it makes it difficult,” he said.

Workers are not the only ones feeling the pinch, however.

For the presidential campaigns of Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, political expert Michael Bitzer said a summer of economic doldrums could be a game changer.

“President Obama’s camp has got to be concerned about these numbers,” Bitzer said. “This is not what a winning re-election campaign looks like.”

The president’s labor secretary issued a statement Friday playing up the fact that there was still some job growth and touting 27 straight months of growth in private sector jobs.

However, the unemployment rate rose for the first time in almost a year. 

_{Fri, 01 Jun 2012 16:29:59 -0400}

Home health service hangs in balance of county’s budget meeting

Some people in Caldwell County are worried they might be losing a medical service they need to survive.

For more than 30 years, Caldwell County Home Health Agency has helped couples like Linda and Ronald Collins. Four times a week county employees come to their Granite Falls home to help Linda care for her husband, who suffers from Multiple Sclerosis.

"I love him and I don't want him put him away some place not while he's able to be here," Linda Collins said.

But Collins fears that is exactly what will happen if some county leaders have their way and vote Monday to eliminate the program. 

Caldwell County Commission Chairman Ben Griffin said competition from the private sector has caused the program, which was once a revenue producer for the county, to lose money this year and possibly next. 

"This is a service that the taxpayers are not obligated to provide. There is private sector companies out there that provide this service," Griffin said.

At stake are 15 jobs at the Caldwell County Health Department. Those workers help more than 300 people who cannot care for themselves. 

The layoffs could take effect as soon as this summer. 

"They deserve to keep their jobs. Without them, I don't have anybody," Ronald Collins said.

Ronald Collins fought back tears as he urged commissioners to reconsider.

Griffin said the county will not abandon couples like the Collinses. 

"We would not, under any circumstances, leave them out there without a service provider to them," he said.

A final decision on the program could be made as early as Monday when county leaders meet to discuss next year's budget. 

That meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. Monday at the County Office building in downtown Lenoir. 

_{Fri, 01 Jun 2012 16:11:41 -0400}

1 murder charge dropped against JBLM soldier accused of killing Afghan civilians

The Army dropped one charge of premediated murder against Staff Sgt. Robert Bales on Friday and amended the list of total charges against him, Joint Base Lewis-McChord said.

The 38-year-old father of two from Lake Tapps is accused of leaving a U.S. military post on March 11, killing now 16 Afghan civilians, including children, and burning some of the bodies in Panjwai district of Kandahar province. Several other Afghan civilians were wounded in the attack.

Here is the full list of charges Bales now faces:

• Article 118- sixteen specifications of premeditated murder 
• Article 80- six specifications of attempted premeditated murder
• Article 128- seven specifications of assault
• Article 112a- two specifications of wrongfully possessing and using a Schedule III controlled substance (steroids)
• Article 92- one specification of wrongfully consuming alcohol while deployed 

In a statement, the Army said the modified charges "conform to developments in the ongoing investigation surrounding Staff Sgt. Bales' alleged crimes on March 11, 2012."

Bales is being held at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and has hired prominent Seattle attorney John Henry Browne to represent him.

_{Fri, 01 Jun 2012 14:48:44 -0400}

News Source: MedleyStory More Local News Stories