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Community Corner

Catonsville, Ellicott City Residents 'Angry, Scared' Over Bad Economic News

As some try to find work, others worry about retirement.

Charles Macgill has lived in his home for 45 years, spending much of that time restoring the large, historic house in Catonsville, MD.

But Macgill, 74, and in good health, said he is worried he may be spending his final days in the house.

Macgill and his wife are struggling to pay for electric and heating costs, he said, and may have to sell. If he does, he notes, it will come in a bad housing market.

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"In a sense, I'm losing all around," he said.

The  S&P/Case-Shiller national home price index this week showed a 5.1 percent drop in home prices compared to this time last year. Prices fell to their lowest level since 2002 and are down 32.7 percent from their peak price five years ago, according to CNN Money.

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That wasn't all the bad economic news. Hiring slowed significantly in May after several months of growth, according to numbers released today by the Labor Department.

Only 54,000 jobs were added in May. About 220,000 jobs were added in the previous three months, according to The New York Times.

The country’s unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 9.1 percent, the Labor Department’s report said.

Meanwhile, Moody’s Investors Service warned Thursday that the U.S. credit rating is in some danger of falling if there is no increase in the statutory debt limit.

“I think that the economic news that we’re receiving is just further evidence of the problems that have been in government for a long time now,” said Gretchen Shuey, 41, owner of the Bean Hollow coffee shop on Frederick Road in Ellicott City, MD. “They want to keep writing blank checks using my pocketbook.

“I hear a lot of people that are angry, are scared,” she added.

But not everyone is concerned.

Aubrey Thiemann, 19, an education student visiting Ellicott City from St. Louis, MO, said she isn't worried that the unemployment rate will affect her ability to find a job when she finishes college.

“I think my field’s high in demand,” she said. “I mean, teaching, there’s always jobs.”

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