Nov. 22--The state says the Owensboro metro area -- Daviess, Hancock and McLean counties -- has lost 800 manufacturing jobs in the past year.

Another 250 or so more are scheduled to end in 2010.

What does that mean for the local economy?

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says that in May 2008, the latest figures available, the median production worker wage in the Owensboro metro area was $14.31 an hour -- $29,765 a year.

That translates to $23.8 million in lost income from manufacturing alone in the past year.

Part of the loss has been made up by unemployment benefits.

But the area's purchasing power has still taken a big hit.

* Kentucky Legend Hams, which have been produced in Owensboro for nearly a century, are getting some national attention this month.

Specialty Foods Group, which owns the old Field Packing Co. in Owensboro, has launched a new toll-free hot line -- (866) 343-5058 -- to provide cooks "with preparation suggestions and solutions, recipe tips, seasoned tricks or even dinner disaster alternatives throughout the Thanksgiving holiday season."

"A significant portion of the country enjoys ham as part of their traditional Thanksgiving feast," Janet Sweeney, director of marketing for SPG, said in a news release.

This is believed to be the first cooking hot line for hams.

* So how's your debt stress?

Ohio State University's Center for Human Resource Research says its Consumer Debt Stress Index has dropped for three consecutive months.

It's now at 130.1 -- the lowest its been since March.

A base rate of 100 was set in January 2000.

That's considered normal stress.

The higher the number, the higher the stress.

The index peaked at 155.3 in July.

* Hang onto your copy of The J.C. Penney Co.'s Big Book.

It'll soon be a collector's item.

The company announced last week that the Christmas catalog, which debuted in 1963, is being replaced by the Internet.

* Coming soon to Target: More food selections.

ThePacker.com reported last week that Target's test of expanding its food offerings in a handful of stores across the country this year "appears to have been a success."

That means the retail chain's shoppers can expect to see more food items in more stores in 2010.

* The Employment Policies Institute says that even more troubling than the nation's 10.2 percent unemployment rate in October -- the highest level in 26 years -- is a record 27.6 percent unemployment rate among teens.

Only 36.2 percent of teens are now working -- or looking for work, the report said.

That's the lowest level since those records began to be compiled in 1948.

Among black teens, the unemployment rate is 41.3 percent.

Keith Lawrence, 691-7301, klawrence@messenger-inquirer.com

-----

To see more of the Messenger-Inquirer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.messenger-inquirer.com.

Copyright (c) 2009, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

NYSE:JCP, NYSE:TGT,

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.