Aftershocks Rock Local Economy; Travel, Tourism Jobs Bear Brunt of Cuts
They started lining up before dawn Monday outside the unemployment office in Alexandria, and it hasn't let up. Most had worked at hotels, at companies that refuel or make meals for airplanes, or in restaurants at the shut-down Reagan National Airport.</br></br>The agency has had to borrow vacant office space to handle the crowds -- the biggest since the early 1990s, said Nancy Dean, who manages the city's branch of the Virginia Employment Commission. "We're just trying to keep them moving through here," she said.</br></br>Aftershocks of last week's terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and in New York are being felt in every part of the local economy.</br></br>One expert said a third of the area's 150,000 hospitality jobs are at risk, as the closed airport and the security measures in downtown Washington keep tourists and business travelers away. US Airways' plan to lay off thousands of workers will contribute to what economists expect to be the first large jump in the region's unemployment rate in years.</br></br>Business leaders worry that there will be longer-term ramifications if Washington, once considered one of the dynamic markets in the country, is now seen as a viable target for terrorism.