Poverty soars in Ohio, By Catherine Candisky, January 22, 2010, Columbus Dispatch: “Rising unemployment and sinking wages have pushed record numbers of Ohioans into poverty. The State of Poverty in Ohio — unveiled four days before Gov. Ted Strickland’s official State of the State speech — was released today by the Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies. It provides some startling statistics and reveals what many Ohioans know firsthand. Simply put, things have gotten worse. Since 2002, the state’s population has increased by 1.2 percent while the number of persons living in poverty has grown by 41.7 percent…”
Day: January 22, 2010
December 2009 Unemployment Rate
Unemployment rose in 43 states last month, By Christopher S. Rugaber (AP), January 22, 2010, Austin American-Statesman: “Unemployment rates rose in 43 states last month, the government said Friday, painting a bleak picture of the job market and illustrating nationwide data released two weeks ago. The rise in joblessness was a sharp change from November, when 36 states said their unemployment rates fell. Four states – South Carolina, Delaware, Florida and North Carolina – reported record-high jobless rates in December. New Jersey’s rate, meanwhile, rose to a 33-year high of 10.1 percent while New York’s reached a 26-year high of 9 percent. Analysts said the report showed the economy is recovering at too weak a pace to generate consistent job creation…”
Haiti Earthquake
- Haiti to relocate 400,000 homeless outside capital, January 22, 2010, BBC News: “Haiti is planning to house 400,000 earthquake survivors in new tented villages outside the capital, Port-au-Prince, officials have announced. Interior Minister Paul Antoine Bien-Aime said 100,000 people would initially be sent to 10 settlements near the suburb of Croix Des Bouquets. He gave no timeframe, but said the moves would start as soon as possible. An estimated 1.5 million people were left homeless by the 7.0-magnitude quake, which killed as many as 200,000…”
- Haiti plans tent cities for homeless as rebuilding begins, By Scott Wilson, Mary Beth Sheridan and Manuel Roig-Franzia, January 22, 2010, Washington Post: “The Haitian government is planning to erect 11 tent cities to house as many as 400,000 people displaced by the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake, hoping to establish safer and more sanitary conditions as the country’s rebuilding begins. Most of the camps will be in and around the capital, officials said, replacing more than 500 squalid, makeshift settlements that have materialized out of desperation and despair. The plan, which is being coordinated with international relief officials, also calls for a camp to house 100,000 Haitians in the town of Croix de Bouquets, about eight miles northeast of the capital…”
- Economy in shock struggles to restart, By Simon Romero, January 21, 2010, New York Times: “The price of candles in the teeming La Saline market here has climbed 60 percent since last week’s earthquake. A box of matches is up 50 percent. A package of Perdue Chicken Franks has gone up 30 percent. As Haitians begin to turn their attention to rebuilding a crippled economy, the rapid surge in prices of crucial products is just one of the many challenges they face. The port here was also knocked out of operation, hobbling exports. The banking system, largely shut down because of fear of robberies, is struggling to restart. The earthquake destroyed the finance ministry and part of the central bank, and killed senior financial officials including Jean Frantz Richard, director of the tax collection agency…”