Patterson Projects Job Gains Late Next Year

Waterford Twp. (WWJ)  -- An economic pep talk Thursday from Oakland County Executive L-Brooks Patterson.  He told reporters that people who have been impacted by the dismal economy need to keep the faith that things will soon turn around.

"Like those 4 fishermen on Lake Erie, they just hung on and keep hanging on and eventually there is light at the end of the tunnel there will be a rescue, we've just got to hang on, we're halfway through the worst year we're going to see" Patterson said.

Patterson said more than 25-thousand jobs will be lost by year's end, but he says the county is projecting job gains by the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

Economists say Oakland County is best positioned to come out of the recession in the next couple of years with a better educated workforce and an investment in emerging sectors like health care and hi-tech businesses.

However, University of Michigan economist George Fulton says there's a discouraging trend of fading hope among more and more residents. 

"While understandable, it does blunt our resolve to move forward," Fulton said.  Instead we should embrace the spirit to move on, move on intelligently and to see tough times as challenges instead of insurmountable barriers" Fuller said.

Recent developments make Fulton optimistic about Oakland County's prospects, including a new General Electric research and development center, the selection of GM's Orion plant for building new small cars and the quick bankruptcies of GM and Chrysler.

Listen to more from Fulton.