Hurricane Katrina has devastated areas of Mississippi and Alabama
and flooded the city of New Orleans. The devastating blow
will impact the jobs of millions of workers. Some people will never
get their old jobs back. The gambling industry brings $500 million
daily in tax revenues to the state of Mississippi so these casinos
will eventually reopen and people will be needed again -- but many
casinos need major repairs or to be completely rebuilt.
Another problem local industries have is that many of their
employees no longer have housing.
The Star Tribunereports that unemployment in the region could soar to 20% to 25%.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the area of New Orleans, Metairie and Kenner was 4.9 percent in July, Hopkins said based on his calculations. The jobless rate there could easily climb to 25 percent, he estimated.
In another storm-slammed area of Gulfport and Biloxi, Mississippi, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in July was 5.7 percent, Hopkins said. That jobless rate could rise to around 20 percent or higher, he added.
"It's a pretty sizable impact. Commerce has come to a standstill in those counties that were hit," Hopkins said.
It will be some time before the full impact on jobs will be determined. More Hurricane Katrina resources can be found here on our BloggersBlog.com website.
