There are shipbuilding operations in Mobile County that will pick up a number of these people. Carter agreed the impact of layoffs to Jackson County is difficult to gauge without knowing how many FGH workers actually live in Jackson County. He said the effect of any future layoffs will be spread out to Mobile County, Ala., George County, Greene County and, to a lesser extent, Harrison and Hancock counties. What you are going to see there, first of all, is that those families who were employed by Friede Goldman won t be spending disposable household income on items such as automobiles, Carter said. I think perhaps the last tier of retail to be affected is grocery stores.
People have to eat and find a way to pay rent.
But everything between necessity and luxury items will go by the wayside. This will be felt in the local economy, but I cannot quantify the degree of the effect at this time. The layoff in late February followed a period with some of the lowest employment rates ever seen in the state and in Jackson County. Jim True, placement supervisor for the Mississippi Employment Service office in Gulfport, said Harrison County hasn t been affected by layoffs to the extent of Jackson County. The labor market is still tight as far as employers looking for employees, True said.