Friday, April 4, 2008

Local job loss: six Midas franchises close

Jim Kinney of the Springfield Republican reported yesterday that six Midas Muffler shops closed unexpectedly on Monday when corporate headquarters canceled the franchises held by local franchise owner Carden Enterprises Inc. of Ludlow. How many Western mass residents have actually lost their jobs is not clear, but thirty is certainly not too high a number.

Very bad job news on a national level: 80,000 jobs lost last month, most of the losses in the higher-paying fields of manufacturing and construction. Jobs in the health care and service industries-- some of the lowest-paying jobs in the economy-- increased by 46,000, but the total loss put unemployment at 5.1%.

In case anyone hadn't noticed, we're in trouble.

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