AP reported that US Steel Corporation plant in Lone Star has anchored generations of northeast Texas families, long providing the best paychecks in the region, but a quiet uncertainty has descended since it was idled in February.

Mr Russ Hall Linden resident and plant supervisor laid off said that "Every time you get a haircut, every time you go to the grocery store, if you go to Wal Mart, you can't go two aisles before running into one of your buddies who's laid off and wants to know what you've heard. In church, every time you shake hands with the preacher, he's asking about it."

The plant is a mainstay in the region since 1951. It was idled in February— a temporary move company officials said was prompted by falling demand for oilfield pipe and the poor economic outlook.

US Steel has declined to say how many people were laid off or how long the shutdown might last, but union officials said that 786 of their 894 workers had been sent home by early April and that only a few maintenance and warehouse crews are working at the facility that once employed 1,200.

The layoffs are worrisome in a region where employment prospects have always been tougher than elsewhere in Texas. Since October, the joblessness rates in Morris and Cass counties have been growing faster compared to elsewhere in northeast Texas and most counties across the state.

Mr Randy Dean president of United Steelworkers said that "In the past, there's always been something else out there. This time, the whole economy is in the tank. The shutdown has also affected related businesses and local retailers in Lone Star."

(Sourced from www.ap.org)