Persistent Poverty

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• Persistent Poverty
• Robeson County
• North Carolina
• Dr. Leslie Hossfeld
• University of North Carolina Wilmington
• Press Conference October 2006
• Release of new Census Poverty Data

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• Extended case study of consequences of
  globalization and restructuring in a rural
  community

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Ten-Year Change in Robeson County
Manufacturing 1993-2003

• Robeson County lost 8708 jobs from 1993-2003
• Peak years of plant closings 1998-2003

Source NC Employment Security Commission
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Economic Impact of Manufacturing Job Loss

• Ripple Effect of Job Loss
• What happens when work disappears?

• Job loss affects not only the immediate worker
  who loses their job, but every-one in the
  community
• Examined commuting-region Robeson, Hoke,
  Scotland, Cumberland, Bladen, Columbus, Dillon, SC

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• Regional impacts (see www.povertyeast.org/jobs
  for full report)
• 8708 jobs lost in study region due to economic
  ripple/multiplier effects, for a total of 18,345
  jobs lost in region
• 808 million reduction in regional household
  income per year by 2004
• Cumulative 4.56 billion reduction in regional
  household income over
• 1994-2004 period
• Cumulative 221 million reduction in sales and
  property taxes paid by regional businesses to
  local and state government over 1994-2004 period

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Change in Poverty for Top 5 counties
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Change in Poverty Robeson County2000-2005

• 10.1 increase in population in poverty
• 44.7 Rate of Growth Since 2000
• Source US Census Bureau American Community
  Survey 2000 and 2005

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• Persistent poverty is defined as having poverty
  rates of 20 of more in each decennial Census
  between 1970 and 2000
• 4 adjacent counties Bladen, Columbus, Robeson
  and Hoke are counties of persistent poverty
  according USDA-ERS

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• Decline in Median Household Income by 3,102

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Other Indicators of DistressNew 2005 Census Data

• 50 of Households in Robeson County have incomes
  below 25,000
• Federal Poverty Threshold 2005 Family of 4
  19,350

• 35 of Households in Robeson County have incomes
  below 15,000
• Total Households in Robeson County 44,887

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Children Under 18 in Poverty Robeson County

• 66 rate of increase from 2000 to 2005

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Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)

• Robeson County had the highest claims rate of
  EITC in the state in 2002 42
• Source North Carolina Budget and Tax Center 2006

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Medicaid Spending Robeson CountySource Robeson
County Department of Social Services 2006
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Sources

• American Community Survey 2005 US Census Bureau
  www.census.gov
• http//www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/acs-02.pdf
• US Census Bureau Contact David Johnston
  (301)-763-3030
• www.povertyeast.org/jobs - Job Loss Research
  Papers
• North Carolina Justice Center Report 2006 North
  Carolinas Unfinished Transformation
• North Carolina Budget and Tax Center data
  www.ncjustice.org
• For questions please contact
• Dr. Leslie Hossfeld
• University of North Carolina Wilmington
• Dept Sociology
• 601 South College Road
• Wilmington, NC 28403
• HossfeldL_at_uncw.edu
• 910 962 7849