County unemployment causes frustration
By Katie Gambrell
Edited by Hunter Roach
Manufacturing plants and textile mills once populated Allendale County, but as the state's economy continues to shift away from textiles, hundreds have been left unemployed and searching for other options.
Unemployment in the county, with a work force of about 3,600, reached 19.7 percent in December, the highest in the state, according to the South Carolina Employment Security Commission. Unemployment figures for January, sorted by county, will not be available until later this month.
The unemployment rate in South Carolina was 9.5 percent in December making it the third highest in the nation behind only Michigan and Rhode Island.
Wayne Ferguson, 45, an Allendale native, has been jobless for two years. He has held jobs in security, manufacturing and some managerial work, but was laid off as a security officer in Allendale. Ferguson has a high school diploma, but no additional education.
"I'm a jack of all trades, but I've had some tell me I have too many qualifications," Ferguson said.
A person can receive no more than $326 a week by drawing unemployment. Ferguson receives only $78 a week.
"It's just not enough, you can't make bills," Ferguson said. His family cannot afford to move, and they are receiving foreclosure notices. His wife has a job in Allendale, and worries she would not be able to find work elsewhere.
The jobless rate in Allendale and surrounding counties likely will climb as the remnants of the once thriving textile industry die off. A Hanesbrand Inc. plant and a Milliken & Co. plant, both located in Barnwell, are closing in the next six months.
Hanesbrand Inc., known for its underwear products, has been in the county for 16 years. After nearly 50 years in Barnwell, the Milliken & Co. textile plant is leaving because of decreased demand for its products and cheaper operation overseas. Both companies employ people from Allendale and Barnwell.
Unemployment claims increased 24.6 percent in Allendale in January, bringing the county's total to 927. Neighboring Barnwell County, with an unemployment rate of 15.8 percent, had 1,909 claims in January, a 33.4 percent increase from December. Unemployment claims represent only a portion of total unemployment since not every worker who loses his or her job files for unemployment.
Torienia Tucker, area director for the Barnwell and Allendale County work force centers said the area is facing tough times.
"You don't see the signs on the road saying we are hiring, but people are still passionate about getting jobs," Tucker said.
Dianna Simmons, program assistant at the Allendale work force center said that education plays a role in the high unemployment rate for the county. According to Simmons, most unemployed people in the county have only high school diplomas. She said the unemployed in Allendale do not have the option of working in service industry type jobs, because they do not exist.
" We don't have McDonald's, Wendy's or Wal-Marts, so if people want to work in service industries, they have to be willing to travel to neighboring counties," Simmons said.
Besides helping people find jobs, work force centers across the state help people take advantage of training under the 1998 Workforce Investment Act, which created the one-stop work force centers.
Sam Jordan an administrator for the Lower Savannah Workforce Council of Governments says the six-county region receives $5 million a year to fund training programs for people who could not otherwise afford it. The six counties in the region are Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Calhoun and Orangeburg.
Moris Flowers, 29, from Allendale, last worked in 2003 at the Savannah River Site nuclear complex. He is currently trying to enroll in training.
"I have my commercial driver's license permit, but I have to take courses to receive my full license. The program will pay up to two years of school," Flowers said.
Allendale County attorney Walter Sanders Jr., 56, who is a lifelong resident, says the county has been in a downward spiral since the early 1980s, but that it is getting worse.
In the 1950s and 60s Allendale was the "All-American town," Sanders said. U.S. 301, through the county, was the main route to Florida. But once Interstate 95 was completed in the early 1970s, U.S. 301 was all but forgotten.
"There were hotels, retail stores and restaurants; everything closed when I-95 was completed," Sanders said.
People remain proud of their community, however, and hope for better days.
"I don't know what's going to happen to poor Allendale, and it's depressing to people who know what Allendale can be, but we still have wonderful people and a rich heritage," Sanders said.
Kizzy Hammond from Barnwell has been through training to work with kids and still can't find a job, but stays optimistic.
" I don't let the little things stress me," Hammond said.
Bill Robinson, Allendale's economic development director, says the Southern Carolina Alliance, the economic development organization for the lower region of South Carolina, will pursue an aggressive marketing campaign.
Robinson says Allendale has potential for attracting industrial sites, because of the easy access to rail lines and lots of open land.
"We just have to find ways to bring business to us," Robinson said.
