What a difference an hour makes

From the Hickory/Morganton area, Charlotte is only about an hour away.  But oh what difference an hour makes.

Occasionally I write for an online news source, Examiner.com.  Today I learned of two different, yet similar stories that I just had to write on.  They are both about jobs coming to our area.

Electrolux is bringing 200 jobs to Charlotte and Geiger is bringing 64 jobs to Hildebran.  Please take the time to read the articles.  I get paid a little for each time someone clicks on the articles.

Since on Examiner I write about the news, I have to basically just report the news.  While we are on the porch swing, I can give my opinions more freely.

I’ll admit any new jobs coming to North Carolina are a good thing.  And I am very grateful for the new jobs coming to Hildebran; after all our area has been hit really hard with job losses and the economy for a number of years now.  Our rich history of manufacturing has moved to other countries along with the jobs.

So yes, it would be nice to have been able to report that Burke County was getting 200 jobs like Charlotte.  Mecklenburg County has 10.2% unemployment, while Burke has 12.3%. 

In reality, our area is only getting around 40 new jobs.  Geiger is moving from Hickory to Hildebran and bringing their 24 employees from that facility.

It would have even been nicer to have reported that the wages for the new jobs to have been closer to each other.  The new jobs down in Charlotte are around $60,000 a year before benefits more than the new jobs in Hildebran. 

Why can’t our area get those type of jobs in our area?