News 12 at 6 o'clock, December 4, 2009

AUGUSTA,Ga---Some better news on the job front -- the nation's jobless rate fell to ten percent in November. It comes as Augusta announces new jobs.

The U.S. Labor Department says the economy lost 11,000 jobs last month. That number is an improvement from the 111,000 jobs lost in October.

There is a good sign in Augusta, too.

Proctor & Gamble announced 150 jobs Friday. Lt. Governor Casey Cagle came to town to celebrate even as he warned of tough months ahead.

Augusta's Proctor & Gamble plant celebrated a major expansion.

"The morale is high," said plant manager Marian Futrell. "The energy is wonderful. Life is good at P&G Augusta."

"I have two kids and this jobs has a future for me," said worker Tadessa Lynch. "I am very lucky to be here."

Tadessa will be working on new products like Gain in a bag and the new Bounce Bar.

"You throw the clothes in the laundry," said Futrell. "I don't have to remember to throw a sheet. Put it in there and just leave it there for weeks and months at a time."

There is plenty of work. The plant processes 30,000 cases per day per line. The starting salary is $14.00 an hour.

"I am very happy," said Tadessa. "Laughing."

The numbers look good for the community too with an estimated $1 million investment.

"Well we've got to have a lot more investment," said Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle. "We've got a little bit of a hole to dig out."

Cagle points to an expected $1.2 billion state shortfall.

"We could be looking at another round of cuts," said Cagle. "It could be very significant."

Meanwhile, P&G is looking for new ways to get people to work with innovations like Gain in bag geared toward the Hispanic community.

"In Latin America," said Futrell. "Most of the laundry detergent they use is in bags, and so as we have more highly populated areas here in the United States they want to use something that they are more familiar with."

"These products are launched and on the shelves," laughed Futrell. "Otherwise, I couldn't announce it."

Those 150 positions have been filled. They would not rule out later expansion. The community stands to benefit with $5 million in annual compensation.