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CNN Live At Daybreak
Chicago Lost More Jobs Last Year Than Any City
Aired January 07, 2003 - 05:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Now back to the economy. When President Bush announces his new economic stimulus package later this afternoon, one big focus will be creating jobs. He'll unveil that plan in Chicago, a city which lost more jobs last year than any other metropolitan area in the country.
CNN's Lisa Leiter shows us just how bad it is there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA LEITER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Michael Warren lost his job at a tool making factory three months ago. It's been a tough hunt for new work, so he filed for unemployment.
MICHAEL WARREN, UNEMPLOYED WORKER: When I first got into the trade, normally in the paper there would be two or three columns of jobs. In the last six weeks, there hasn't been a single job in the newspaper.
LEITER: More than 400,000 people are out of work in Illinois. The unemployment rate is 6.7 percent, well above the national average and the third highest in the nation. Factory workers like Michael Warren account for many of the jobless in this area.
MICHAEL MOSKOW, FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF CHICAGO: I think it's mainly manufacturing and the people and the firms that are supplying manufacturers or service firms that are working with manufacturers.
LEITER: But what's different about this downturn from others is the number of white collar workers on the unemployment lines, tens of thousands laid off from companies like United Airlines and Arthur Andersen.
JIM BALLEE, EMPLOYMENT TRAINING CENTER: I had a fellow the other day in here. He was making, his last job was $100,000 a year. We couldn't find him anything at $50,000. Now, people will internalize that, there's something wrong with me. No, it's just the economy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The company you worked for, how long were you working there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About 21 years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
LEITER: Short-term, some local economists say job prospects here don't look very bright. GEORGE PUTNAM, ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT SECURITY: We're looking more at the fourth quarter of 2003 before we actually see things where job gains are sort of above the zero point.
LEITER: With an outlook like that, it's no wonder President Bush is expected to ask Congress to extend unemployment benefits that expired at the end of last month for hundreds of thousands of people.
Lisa Leiter, CNN Financial News, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 7, 2003 - 05:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Now back to the economy. When President Bush announces his new economic stimulus package later this afternoon, one big focus will be creating jobs. He'll unveil that plan in Chicago, a city which lost more jobs last year than any other metropolitan area in the country.
CNN's Lisa Leiter shows us just how bad it is there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA LEITER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Michael Warren lost his job at a tool making factory three months ago. It's been a tough hunt for new work, so he filed for unemployment.
MICHAEL WARREN, UNEMPLOYED WORKER: When I first got into the trade, normally in the paper there would be two or three columns of jobs. In the last six weeks, there hasn't been a single job in the newspaper.
LEITER: More than 400,000 people are out of work in Illinois. The unemployment rate is 6.7 percent, well above the national average and the third highest in the nation. Factory workers like Michael Warren account for many of the jobless in this area.
MICHAEL MOSKOW, FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF CHICAGO: I think it's mainly manufacturing and the people and the firms that are supplying manufacturers or service firms that are working with manufacturers.
LEITER: But what's different about this downturn from others is the number of white collar workers on the unemployment lines, tens of thousands laid off from companies like United Airlines and Arthur Andersen.
JIM BALLEE, EMPLOYMENT TRAINING CENTER: I had a fellow the other day in here. He was making, his last job was $100,000 a year. We couldn't find him anything at $50,000. Now, people will internalize that, there's something wrong with me. No, it's just the economy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The company you worked for, how long were you working there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About 21 years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
LEITER: Short-term, some local economists say job prospects here don't look very bright. GEORGE PUTNAM, ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT SECURITY: We're looking more at the fourth quarter of 2003 before we actually see things where job gains are sort of above the zero point.
LEITER: With an outlook like that, it's no wonder President Bush is expected to ask Congress to extend unemployment benefits that expired at the end of last month for hundreds of thousands of people.
Lisa Leiter, CNN Financial News, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
