"My neighbor drowned in this blue and white house," the 49-year-old disabled construction worker said as he pointing toward wreckage closer to the Canal. "Every time I come here, I feel a messed up 'vibe". The system failed us."

The neighborhood was opened to former residents Thursday even as rescue workers continue to find Katrina's dead in the wreckage of the Lower Ninth Ward, more than three months after the storm ravaged the once vibrant city.

"We found one Friday, one Saturday and two on Tuesday," said Steve Glynn, chief of special operations for the New Orleans Fire Department.

Glynn and other firefighters, police and National Guard troops are posted at a major intersection in the neighborhood that traditionally serves as the starting point for an annual Martin Luther King Day march in New Orleans. It's now a checkpoint manned by armed troops who are doing their best to prevent looting.

Mayor Ray Nagin said the reopening of the 'Lower 9' is an indefinite "look and leave" opportunity for residents to salvage what they can from their damaged homes, but only from 8 a.m. to 4 a.m. daily.

Red Cross, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the Salvation Army are on hand to help returning residents. Cleanup kits, food, water, and restrooms also are available at a tent near the checkpoint, which was choked with traffic the first day.

Chief Glynn said that the fire department's main concern is resident safety. Scores of houses are unstable and marked for demolition. "We hope people will stay out of the red-tagged houses and call us if they need assistance salvaging waterproof containers, safes, and valuables," he said.

One by one, Simmons' cousins and neighbors show up near his house. A day of somber reclamation becomes a joyous street corner reunion. "Everybody knows everybody here," said Simmons' sister Yolanda Miller of Waynesboro, Mississippi.

She took a brick from the ruined house and plans to put it in front of an oak tree in her yard.

"I'm going to put my whole family's name on that tree. Let them know this brick is the foundation of the family," Miller told AFP.

Nearby, Thomas Smith, 35, a neighbor of the Simmons family, squints into a video camera as he films the ruins of a house owned by his sister-in-law.

Smith said he escaped Katrina by evacuating his pregnant wife and two children to San Francisco. Today, marks his first day home in the Ninth Ward. "You can't do nothing with this," he said, gesturing toward his ruined neighborhood as his eyes tear up. "You can't rebuild from this." US economy adds 215,000 jobs, as hurricane impact fades

by Rob Lever

ATTENTION - ADDS details ///

WASHINGTON (AFP) Dec 02, 2005 The US economy created 215,000 new jobs in November, the Labor Department said Friday in further evidence of the recovery from devastation of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The official unemployment rate held steady at 5.0 percent. The nonfarm payrolls growth figure was slightly ahead of the 210,000 expected by private economists and President George W. Bush hailed the strength of the US economy.

Strong gains came after tepid growth in October of 44,000 jobs -- a figure revised down from the initial estimate of 56,000. In September, revised figures showed a gain of 17,000 jobs instead of a loss of 8,000, with employment growth hit by Hurricane Katrina.

The report showed the best job growth since July and put the labor market on a more normal growth track after the destruction and disruptions from the hurricanes.

"The economy has shrugged off the impact of Katrina and is creating jobs at a solid pace again," added Joel Naroff at Naroff Economic Advisors.

"The economy is moving forward and the days of driving growth through layoffs and strict adherence to productivity enhancements is behind us. The big future issue could be labor shortages as the unemployment rate is likely to start falling again and it is already at a relatively low level. For the Fed, this is just another argument for raising rates."

Sherry Cooper, chief economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns, agreed that the report showed hints of tight labor markets that could boost inflationary pressures.

"Labor markets remain tight as wage inflation starts to creep up," Cooper said.

"Solid job growth will support household incomes and spending. This is the stuff of further Fed tightening, not only on December 13, but in the months that follow as well."

Wage growth is a chief concern of the Federal Reserve, which fears that wage pressures could embed an inflationary psychology in the economy. Average wages are still rising slower than inflation, however.

The Fed is expected to raise interest rates for a 13th consecutive meeting on December 13.

The president said the new figures showed the economy has "strength and momentum."

"Good old-fashioned American hard work, productivity, innovation and sound economic policies of cutting taxes and restraining spending our economy continues to create strength and momentum," Bush said.

"We've added nearly 4-1/2 million new jobs in the last two and a half years. The third quarter growth this year was 4.3 percent. That's in spite of the fact that we had hurricanes and high gasoline prices."

Bush said the unemployment rate of 5.0 percent in November is "lower than the average for the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s."

But Robert Brusca at FAO Economics said the report was weaker than it appeared, because it represents a recovery from two weak months.

"The report is not strong," Brusca said. "The drop in hours worked makes it weak as fewer hours were worked overall by all workers in the months. The job gains in the month also reflect workers coming back after hurricane displacement -- that is not part of the economic trend."

The report showed total hours worked in the economy fell 0.1 percent in November. The average workweek fell by a tenth of an hour to 33.7 hours.

Average hourly earnings increased by three cents, or 0.2 percent, to 16.32 dollars. Average earnings have risen 3.2 percent over the past year, the biggest jump since March 2003.

The storms still have a large impact on employment. Of 900,000 adults who were evacuated from their homes in August, half had returned to their homes by mid-November. The unemployment rate for those who still have not returned home was 27.8 percent, with many others dropping out of the labor force.

The aftermath of the storms is likely adding to construction employment, which rose by 37,000 in November.

Factory employment rose by 11,000 in November, but the average workweek in manufacturing dropped to 40.8 hours from 41 hours.

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