Last Auto News – Auto Industry Hardest Hit by Recession
Last Auto News –
Finally, the U.S. auto industry can claim to be number one at something. Unfortunately, that number one position is as the industry hardest hit by the economic downturn. Reuters reports that a study by bankruptcy and restructuring professionals released Monday shows the auto industry leads housing and retail as the most distressed industry in the U.S…
“As the nation has slid into recession, auto and auto parts makers have been slammed by dropping sales, pushing industry stalwarts such as General Motors and their suppliers to the brink of bankruptcy,” Reuters reports, adding “Homebuilding was named the most troubled industry for 2008 but fell to third for the coming year.”
The squeeze on the auto industry isn’t being equally felt by all autoworkers, however. A study by the Economic Policy Institute found that African Americans have been disproportionately hurt by the recession. United Press International reports, “Between December 2007 and November of this year, 20,000 black auto workers had lost their jobs, a 13.9 percent decline, the Economic Policy Institute said. In comparison, manufacturing jobs have declined 4.4 percent during the same period.”
The New York Times notes, “Since millions of African-Americans began leaving Southern farms for Northern factories nearly a century ago in what is still known as the Great Migration, the destinies of many of them have been entwined with the auto industry’s.” Historically, the Times says, ” the automakers and their higher wage scales provided a route to the middle class for many blacks, especially those with limited education, and their children,” but “with Detroit reeling, many blacks find their economic well-being threatened.”
Still, the Times reports, the disproportionate downturn for Black Americans is all too common: “As in most recessions, African-Americans have been hit harder by this recession than other workers. The overall unemployment rate for blacks increased to 11.2 percent in November, an increase of 2.8 percentage points over last year. By comparison, national unemployment last month was 6.7 percent, up 2 percentage points from a year ago.” Things are still particularly bad for African Americans in the auto industry. The Times notes, “blacks made up 14.2 percent of the total automotive work force in 2007, according to the policy institute report, compared with 11.2 percent of the overall American work force.”
Slumping automotive sales means that manufacturers are offering some great deals. Check out December’s Best Car Deals for the latest offers.
