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The Millen News
Page 9 - Wednesday, December 8, 2021
EGSC Fall Commencement set
for Saturday
East Georgia State Col
lege will hold its Fall
Commencement Ceremo
ny on Saturday, Decem
ber 11 at 10 a.m. The cer
emony will be held in the
Gymnasium in Swains-
boro. Friends and family
of the graduates are wel
come to attend the event.
The speaker for the cer
emony is Dr. Mary Waal-
kes, a professor of history
at EGSC-Augusta. Ben
Beverly, a Correll Scholar
at EGSC, will perform
“God Bless America.”
Dr. Waalkes serves on
various college commit
tees, including recently
working with colleagues
on the Quality Enhance
ment Plan. Dr. Waalkes
served from 2017 to 2019
as a board member for the
Georgia Association of
Ben Beverly
Historians. She previously
taught at Brewton-Parker
College in Mount Vernon,
Georgia, and at Lee Uni
versity in Cleveland, Ten
nessee. She co-authored an
article on civil rights in the
Chattanooga/Cleveland/
and Polk County, Tennes
see area, which was pub
lished in the Fall 2007
issue of the Tennessee His
torical Quarterly. She lives
in North Augusta, South
Carolina with her twin sis
ter, four cats, and a dog.
Ben Beverly is an 18-year-
old freshman at EGSC. He
plans to pursue a degree to
become a science educa
tor. He is a Correll Schol
ar and participates in the
Bobcat Buddies Program,
a tutoring and mentoring
program for elementary
school kids. Beverly is a
Vidalia High School grad
uate and the son of Scott
and Kaysi Beverly of Ly
ons, Ga. He enjoys singing
with his church praise and
worship team at First As
sembly of God in Vidalia.
East Georgia State Col
lege looks forward to cel
ebrating its graduates!
Santa visits the auction
Santa Claus has been busy. He stopped by Spring Creek Auction to visit with the customers. He
and Diana Wilson enjoy a photo op. Has Diane been naughty or nice? Only she and Santa know
for sure. Photo by Sam Eades.
2022 HEALTH INSURANCE OPEN ENROLLMENT [S NOW
Jenkins County unemployment tumbles
-Joe Brady
themillennews@gmail.com
As of October 31, 2021, Jenkins County unemployment continued to tumble. The latest figures
show a 2.80 rate, the lowest since the start of the pandemic.
Employers across the national added 210,000 jobs in November, according to a monthly snap
shot from the Labor Department. Job growth appeared to lose momentum after stronger hiring
in September and October. Hiring figures for those months were revised upwards.
However, a separate survey used to calculate the unemployment rate paints a different picture.
It shows more than half a million people rejoining the workforce last month, while over a mil
lion found jobs. The unemployment rate fell sharply to 4.2%, from 4.6% in October.
"The improvement in the unemployment rate is really quite stunning," said Cecelia Rouse,
who leads the Council of Economic Advisers. This suggests it's a labor market where people are
coming back and where they're finding jobs."
The mixed signals show just how unpredictable the labor market is in the pandemic economy.
And the new variant adds to that uncertainty.
Health experts don't yet know how contagious the omicron strain is or how effective vaccines
will be against it. The delta wave over the summer illustrates
how a rise in infections can reduce both demand for workers
and the number of people willing to work. There was a slow
down in hiring as a result of the delta variant. There were
fewer people going to restaurants. Fewer people traveling.
And that had an impact on hiring. It likely had an impact on
fewer people deciding to come back into the labor market.
So far the U.S. has recovered about 82% of the jobs lost
during the pandemic. But 2.4 million others who left the
workforce when the coronavirus struck have not yet returned.
It's not clear when — or even if — they will.
"We all thought there would be a significant increase in
labor supply and it hasn't happened. So you ask, 'Why?'"
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told a Senate committee this week. "There's tremen
dous uncertainty around that, but a big part of it is clearly linked to the ongoing pandemic."
Many employers complain they would like to hire more people but don't have enough appli
cants. Chairman Powell warned that persistent labor shortages could worsen the supply-chain
bottlenecks that have already pushed inflation to its highest level in more than three decades.
Many observers now think the central bank may raise interest rates earlier than expected next
year, in an effort to keep a lid on rising prices.
Up until now, the Fed has been willing to tolerate somewhat higher inflation in hopes of foster
ing full employment. But as the jobs recovery drags on, Chairman Powell appears to be rethink
ing that balancing act.
"To get back to the kind of great labor market we had before the pandemic, we're going to
need a long expansion," the Chairman said. "To get that, we're going to need price stability. And
in a sense, the risk of persistent high inflation is also a major risk to getting back to such a labor
market."
Factories, which have seen strong demand, added 31,000 workers in November.
"Manufacturing is powering through the supply-chain and labor supply issues. Even though
we're seeing a slowdown in supplier deliveries that could impede production, hiring remains
solid,” explained Powell.
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