PARIS – From 1990 to 2000, western Maine lost more than 3,700 manufacturing jobs that were never recovered. And since October of 2001, the region has lost more than 600 jobs.

“Natural resource-based industries have been the mainstay of the regional economy but recent plant closings and layoffs in the textile, wood products, shoe, and agricultural industries have created an immediate need for alternative employment,” states the request by Western Maine Development for $2.48 million in federal public works money to build a technology park.

“Oxford County (is) a distressed rural area in western Maine . . . and suffers from substandard housing stock, lack of affordable housing, low incomes, and a loss of traditional manufacturing employers,” the report states.

In the last year alone, the region lost 362 jobs, most in manufacturing and agriculture. From August 2002 to August 2003, the region lost 152 jobs.

The 600 job losses are due to the closing of Robinson Manufacturing in Oxford, C.B. Cummings & Sons Co. in Norway, Cornwall Wood Products in Oxford, Gilbert Wood Products in Woodstock, and the Penley Corp. in West Paris. Job cuts have also impacted Maine Machine Products in Paris, Maine Apple Growers in Buckfield and National Wood Products in Oxford.

The poverty rate in individual towns ranges from 12 to 15 percent, with unemployment averaging 6 percent, the report states. The state unemployment average is 4 percent.

According to the U.S. Census, the poverty rate for Maine was 10.9 in 1999, compared to 12.4 percent nationally.

The average per capita income in Oxford County was $16,945, compared to $21,587 nationally, the low numbers making the county eligible for federal Economic Development Administration assistance.

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the town of Norway, where the park would be located, has a median household income of $28,497, which is 67.9 percent of the national median household income of $41,994.

“It is imperative that we attract new business opportunities to replace the jobs we continue to lose,” the report states. The technology park will offer higher-wage, higher skilled jobs to the area, the report added.

ggeraghty@sunjournal.com

Copy the Story Link