Hurricane Ian leaves many in Fort Myers without jobs or homes (includes video story)

September’s job reports showed solid growth as unemployment decreased. However, some experts are still worried that the economy is headed in the wrong direction as inflation remains high. According to the U.S Bureau of Statistics, 263,000 jobs were added and unemployment dropped 3.5%. 

Although President Biden says, “This is the progress we need to see,” and Gov. Ron Desantis says that Florida’s unemployment rate is the lowest among the largest states, Hurricane Ian has caused recent trouble. 

In Fort Myers, people are trying to find a safe and stable place to live while also facing unemployment. Michael Wetzel, a Fort Myers resident, says that boats have been piled one on top of the other and the cleanup will take weeks if not months.

Nationwide, people are also paying more for essentials. From food to rent, everything is much more expensive than last year. This is why the Federal Reserve has been raising interest rates to make borrowing more expensive.

Marty Walsh, U.S. Labor Secretary, says: “My job is to try and get as many people into work as possible, get them into better-paying jobs and some middle-class jobs and continue to hopefully work with businesses and labor to increase wages over time and benefits.” 

However, Federal Reserve wants to slow down wage increases as experts fear this would pump more money into the economy and make inflation worse. 

Nicole Castañeda is a psychologist and designer double major at Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá and has a master degree in Clinical Psychology and Logo-therapy. She is currently doing her masters in Spanish Journalism at Florida International University. She is passionate about fashion and journalism and her goal is to be able to work as a reporter in a Latin American channel.