The Georgian former employees of the nearly 90-year-old company join the latest state-Department of Labor figures:
- In August, Georgia’s six-point-three percent unemployment rate was two-tenths of a percent above national average.
- August unemployment rates of ten percent or higher were listed in ten counties.
- Overall, August figures say that 310, 683 Georgians are out of work.
But, says Bruce Kaufman, an economics professor at Georgia State University who specializes in industrial relations and economics, it’s worth keeping some perspective:
“One could over-read the significance [of the Bill Heard closure], because to some degree these are just normal events.A few of those dominoes are in metro Atlanta: the Atlanta Business Chronicle reports that three major homebuilders with a cumulative $27 million dollars in debts today filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
"But the financial turmoil, high interest-rates and tight credit conditions push the most marginal and troubled companies over the cliff – so these conditions could well be the straw that broke the camel’s back in terms of Bill Heard, and we have to wonder how many dominoes are going to be following them.”
But, Kaufman says, while cautioning not to be blasé, we’re not at the monetary brink:
"We don’t want to look at this and say, we’re at the start of the next depression, but we do want to look at this and say, if things get worse, we’re going to see bigger ripple effects like Bill Heard.”In the midst of the poor economics prospects, Governor Sonny Perdue this weekend heads out to Spain for a two-week economic mission.
Perdue says he’s hopes to come back with jobs and investments.
Click here for more GPB News on the economy.
