The U.S. Department of Agriculture sponsored a Presidential Roundtable Forum on job creation for South Carolina at the Greenville County Library in Greenville yesterday, bringing together community leaders to brainstorm solutions to high unemployment numbers and the impact on rural areas.
“This forum provides an opportunity to share ideas on creating jobs and economic opportunities,” said Vernita F. Dore, state director of USDA Rural Development in South Carolina. “Government can help lay the groundwork for economic growth, but the best ideas for continued growth and job creation often come from local communities. We need the best ideas to share with the Obama Administration.”
The roundtable included business owners, residents, state and local officials, union members, non-profit organizations, community leaders, economists, educators and others interested in job creation and economic stability.
Dore said, “This is the fourth job forum that Rural Development has held in South Carolina and what we are finding is that people are very responsive and welcome the opportunity to take an active part in their future and the future of South Carolina by brainstorming together to come up with solutions. The rate of unemployment in South Carolina is currently 12.6 percent. That is unacceptable. The primary purpose of these forums is to find ways to put South Carolinians back to work.
“Furthermore,” Dore continued, “We are here, not only to listen to the leaders of rural communities and their ideas, but also to remind them that Rural Development has the resources to meet the needs of their communities.”
The Forum was sponsored by USDA Rural Development and the Farm Service Agency.
Submitted by Marlous Black, South Carolina Rural Development Public Information Coordinator
To learn more, go to the Rural Development and FSA Job Roundtables Schedule, and the News Release, “USDA to Host Roundtables on Jobs, Economic Growth”
