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Market Profile
KNOWN AS THE FURNITURE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD, THE GREENSBORO/HIGH POINT/ Winston-Salem, N.C., market has long relied on furniture and textile manufacturing jobs to support the local economy. However, the national economic downturn in 2001 helped fuel a local recession that caused a number of textile companies to file for bankruptcy, slash staff or close up shop altogether. According to some estimates, more than 27,000 textile jobs in the state of North Carolina were lost in 2001, many of them in the tri-city area, known as the Piedmont Triad.
However, while the area fell into recession-unemployment has ballooned beyond the national average to about 6 percent-its population is surging. So much so that in the beginning of 2002, the market jumped to No. 44 from No. 47, according to Nielsen Media Research. And while quality of life and a wide variety of outdoor activities are partly responsible for the population spike, area leaders hope new jobs will soon also be a draw.
Local political and business leaders are working to attract new companies that could replace the thousands of jobs lost in the past year. One ray of hope is FedEx, which wants to open a regional hub in the market.
The planned $300 million facility, which would be located at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, has drawn strong opposition from some residents who fear increased noise pollution. But if FedEx follows through with its plans, the hub would open sometime in 2006 or 2007 and create several thousand jobs.
The economic blow dealt to area manufacturing has led to local advertising revenue declines taking place in concert with the national ad slowdown.
Further exacerbating the difficult situation for local media is a wrangle over how legislative districts should be mapped after recent changes were found to be unconstitutional by the North Carolina Supreme Court. The matter is still pending as they await the judge's latest ruling. However, the May 7 primary remains indefinitely suspended and politicians are keeping a tight lid on their campaign coffers until the matter, which has dragged on for months, is resolved.
Also, the state is supposed to get a new seat in the U.S. House, but the candidates' campaigning has been stalled. In 2001, North Carolina...