HICKORY, NC (WBTV) – John Thomas walked into the Employment Security Commission in Hickory on Thursday hoping to have some luck finding a job.
His search has gone on for a year and lately has gotten very expensive. "The gas prices are not helping," he said.
Rising prices are making it tough for job seekers who are living on unemployment checks.
"I don't know what I will do if it costs me another 5 to 20 dollars a week in expenses."
For many job seekers, it means their job search area is shrinking because even if they find a job, they say, it will have to be within an affordable range to drive to.
Prices in the Hickory, Morganton, and Lenoir area have gone up about 40 cents in just the past five weeks. "It hurts everybody," said one woman who was filling up at a Murphy's Express in Caldwell County.
The price there was $3.46 a gallon. That is lower than others along the same Highway 321 but still too high said many drivers.
Many question why the cost has gone up so quickly. North Carolina's gas tax did go up 4 cents at the first of the year but analysts say global tensions are a big part of the increase.
Iran's threats to close the Straits of Hormuz caused crude prices to climb, resulting in higher prices at the pump.
Many motorists say it doesn't make sense because the Straits are still open and global supply has not been disrupted. "It looks like a conspiracy to me," said one man.
Some experts say gas prices could hit $5 a gallon this summer. Drivers in the Catawba Valley say if it does, it will have a dramatic effect on their driving and spending habits.
