John Quinterno of South by by North Strategies recently was a guest on the syndicated radio program News & Views. Quinterno discussed the current condition of the North Carolina labor market, the prospects for a recovery, and the consequences of long-term unemployment.
Click here to listen to the full interview.
South by North Strategies’ analysis of the June local employment report for North Carolina was featured in several media stories.
Two recent articles in the Triangle Business Journal featured the work and perspectives of South by North Strategies, Ltd.
The first piece featured South by North Strategies’ midyear review of North Carolina’s economy.
“The idea of a recovery itself was way overblown,” says John Quinterno, the report’s author. “We hit a point last summer where the free-fall stopped, but that’s not the same as a rebound.” Looking back over the downturn, Quinterno says the state lost 254,000 jobs, or 6.1 percent of the payroll job base, between December 2007 and May 2010. Between April 2009 and April 2010, the Triangle lost 0.8 percent of its job base. The Triangle base stood at 629,300 as of April 2010.
The second article reported on potential areas of growth in the Research Triangle’s economy.
“Manufacturing activity has stabilized, but we really haven’t seen that much growth,” says John Quinterno, an economist with South By North Strategies in Chapel Hill.
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Quinterno points out that North Carolina needs to add some 5,500 positions per month to keep pace with growth in its work force. “If one considers the jobs that should have been created during the recession but were not, the actual gap facing the state is 422,000 positions,” Quinterno wrote on his blog.
A recent article in The Winston-Salem Journal reported on the growing problem of long-term unemployment and how Congress’ inability to extend emergency unemployment insurance benefits is harming North Carolinians.
More than 62,300 North Carolinians have exhausted their jobless benefits since June 2, according to the N.C. Employment Security Commission.
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Up to another 20,000 will fall into that category each week through the end of July unless Congress votes to provide additional benefits through Nov. 30.
The article also featured South by North Strategies’ perspective on the importance of emergency benefits:
‘Paying unemployment benefits is a direct economic stimulus because the benefits are spent quickly and typically close to home,’ said John Quinterno, a principal at South by North Strategies Ltd., a research company in Chapel Hill that focuses on economic and social policy.
And as one individual who has exhausted his benefits explained:
‘In some cases, the odds are just stacked against the unemployed,’ said Stephen Crockett, who has been jobless since August 2008.
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Despite 34 years of primarily manufacturing and construction experience in the Elkin and Winston-Salem areas, Crockett, 50, said he has not been able to land work even though searching has become his full-time vocation.
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His benefits ran out June 14 after 99 weeks — 26 weeks of state, 53 weeks of federal and 20 weeks of combined state and federal assistance.
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‘I don’t know how I’ll live once my benefits run dry, but I can see myself as homeless, hungry and without car insurance by mid-July if another extension is not granted,’ Crockett said.
South by North Strategies’ analysis of the May local employment report for North Carolina was featured in media outlets across the state.
John Quinterno of South by North Strategies recently was a guest on the radio interview show For Your Information, produced by Curtis Media Group. Quinterno and host Don Curtis discussed many of the issues currently confronting the North Carolina economy. Click below to listen to the conversation.
South by North Strategies’ analysis of the May employment report for North Carolina was featured in media outlets across the state.
South by North Strategies’ analysis of local employment conditions in April was featured in a number of media outlets.
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