Governor’s Budget Falls Short on Jobs

Berger: “Governor’s budget anything but ambitious”

Raleigh, N.C. – Governor Perdue unveiled her proposed adjustments to the FY2010-2011 budget this morning.  Included in her $19.15 billion budget is $86 million earmarked for job creation efforts, representing approximately 0.4 percent of her proposal for overall state spending.  Governor Perdue also promises that her program will create 35,000 jobs over the next three years.  Perdue has drawn criticism in recent months for her lack of attention to job creation as the latest figures show that North Carolina is mired in 11.1 percent unemployment.  There are currently 507,000 unemployed workers looking for jobs in North Carolina and the state has lost 103,000 jobs since Governor Perdue took office in January 2009.  (“North Carolina’s March Unemployment Rate Drops Slightly To 11.1 Percent,” Employment Security Commission of North Carolina, 4/16/10)  With such a dismal performance from the Perdue administration on jobs thus far, her pledge to create less than 1,000 jobs per month lacks ambition and would leave North Carolina 70,000 jobs in the negative for her term in office.

Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) made the following statement:

“The Governor’s recently released budget proposal is anything but ambitious and falls short of what is needed to enhance job creation in North Carolina.  By focusing less than one percent of her budget on efforts to reduce unemployment, Governor Perdue is only paying lip service to job creation.  Her budget does not improve the lot of unemployed workers and struggling small businesses.  North Carolina needs a plan to reduce the state’s highest in the Southeast state tax burden which harms families and stalls job growth.  We need new ideas and new priorities.  Instead, this budget gives North Carolina more of the same failed policies that have led us to this point.”

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