Alonzo Bowler doesn’t need the nightly news to tell him that times are tough.

Bowler, the general manager of the Auto Gallery on Anderson Highway, says the evidence is right in front of him.

“We’re like everybody else. It’s tough,” said Bowler last week. With almost 30 years in the car business, he’s seen ups and downs in the economy. But the recent drop off in sales still has him concerned.
With fewer people coming in the door, and some of those that do struggling to get financing, Bowler said he may end up facing the same predicament as managers from one end of the country to the other.

If things don’t improve, he said, he doesn’t see a way they can avoid making staff cuts.

Car dealers are hurt worse than some other businesses when the economy goes south, Bowler says. Consumers are much more likely to hang on to an older car, and shell out the money to repair it, than spring for a new vehicle.

Car dealers, though, aren’t the only ones struggling.

“Business has been really slow,” said Carlton Jones, manager of All 4 One Travel. “I’ve had to switch altogether to something different. No one is traveling right now.”
Evidence of the economic downturn can be found in other businesses as well, though it doesn’t always mean a decrease in customers.

Carolyn Edwards, co-owner of Consignment Alley, says she’s seen a marked increase in the number of people bringing items in for her to sell on consignment.

She says she regularly sees women coming in with children’s clothes to sell, and clients will often share stories about the difficulty they are having making ends meet.

Edwards says there is little doubt that the recent economic instability has made life harder on everyone, including many who come through her door. She typically splits the proceeds from each sale equally with clients, but the store also sells items for charity organizations for just a 10 percent fee.

Other charity organizations in the county, including the Clothes Closet, which provides low-cost clothing and household items to needy families, report they have seen an uptick in foot traffic. 
While Clothes Closet staffers couldn’t say for sure if this was due to the struggling economy, data provided by the Virginia Employment Commission confirms the numbers of unemployed county residents is on the rise.

The most recent numbers, from August, placed the figure at 4.1 percent compared to 3.7 percent in July and 1.4 percent in August of 2007.

The data translates to 603 unemployed residents in August, up from 561 the previous month.

The jump mirrors a trend being seen across the state and even the nation, according to VEC Chief of Commerce William Mezger. Richmond, for example, saw unemployment climb from 4.7 percent in July to 5 percent in August.

Rather than being the result of major layoffs, said Mezger, the jump comes in the wake of many companies being forced to trim their workforces.

With slower economic growth, he explained, “people just don’t move as quickly into other jobs.”

The news, fortunately, isn’t all bleak. According to Powhatan’s Economic Development Director Sherry Swinson, the building and construction permit numbers continue to climb, “which is encouraging. “
Gloria Lathrop of Fine Creek Realty says business is good.

“It’s been a pretty good year, all things considered,” she said.

Lathrop indicated that market conditions have caused a lag in sales, leaving some high-end homes on the market with little hope of sale, but, she reiterated, “the office has had a pretty good year.”
“Everyone has been affected by this [financial crisis],” said Jim Blandford, also of Fine Creek Realty. “But our agents are staying fairly even, we’re making a living and that’s all any of us can hope for.”
Blandford said that 2002-2006 was an “inflated period for real estate and Powhatan” and that current market conditions reflect a period of reassessment.

For those facing tougher times, like Alonzo Bowler, optimism will have to suffice while sales are scarce. He says he’s still holding out hope that the U.S. government will be able to work out a solution to get things going again.

Until then, he says “we’re just going to have to try and ride it out.”