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As many of you know, the govt. released a very bad jobs report, far below expectations. Only 70,000+ new jobs in Dec. Yet our administration keeps saying how much better everything is. So I got interested, to see what the job numbers added up to for all of 2013.
Here's the bad news.
Total increase in the number of people employed in the past year. 1.35 million. That's a little under 120,000 net increase in people working each month; both full and part time.
The labor participation rate in one year dropped .8%
Total number of unemployed dropped. 1.9 million. So in essence, the way I read it, is that the govt. dropped about 600,000 out of the unemployment number by taking people off the number of those seeking jobs and instead putting them on the no looking for jobs category. This, of course, assumes that the total number of people in the country stayed the same, which we know is wrong. This is how they created the myth that unemployment has significantly dropped this year.
Sorry, but that doesn't look anything like a strong economy.
Sounds like you solved the puzzle. That doesn't even touch upon the types of jobs being created... Low paying, part time "service sector" jobs. Basically, jobs designed for teens, that pay a teenage wage. And when these adults can't afford to eat, they simply look to the government to fill in for the budgetary shortfalls. These are not cyclical problems, these are structural problems.
Outside of this, both small and large businesses are doing everything possible to hire as few workers as possible. I've worked for companies that operated 24 hours a day. Many departments operated as if there were 2 shifts however, and workers were just working 12 hour shifts. That means, you can eliminate 1 job by making 2 workers work 50% more. Was this financially affordable for the company? When you can hire desperate workers for $9/hr it is, all while eliminating the insurance expenses of the 3rd worker. This is a common practice for many unskilled/semiskilled manufacturing jobs today. Good bye 40 hour workweek! Let me know when you see the finish line on this race to the bottom...
Sounds like you solved the puzzle. That doesn't even touch upon the types of jobs being created... Low paying, part time "service sector" jobs. ...
Wrong. If you read the detailed BLS reports, and heard the CNBC excellent summaries done every month when the report is released, instead of just parroting right-wing or left-wing talking points, you'd know your line above is absurd.
The average median hourly wage has risen ever so slightly over the last year, and if low wage jobs were all that were added, it would have fallen.
Wrong. If you read the detailed BLS reports, and heard the CNBC excellent summaries done every month when the report is released, instead of just parroting right-wing or left-wing talking points, you'd know your line above is absurd.
The average median hourly wage has risen ever so slightly over the last year, and if low wage jobs were all that were added, it would have fallen.
What does this have to do with the time of day? I never said ALL jobs being created were low paying, but certainly, the majority of them are not the middle class jobs of years past. Fast food is America's FASTEST GROWING industry. These are you "jobs of the future" according to current trends. Get used to things being the way they are now for years to come... Not unless some SERIOUS structural changes are made.
Geez, the average median hourly wage bumps up by a whole percent, if that, an you're declaring victory for the O man
It was a terrible jobs report. The monthly unemployment survey has no way to reach people who are living in apartments and only have cell phones. So these people who are not contactable the government just knocks them off the charts every month and pretends they aren't looking for work.
It is very obvious at this point that serious revamping of the way the monthly unemployment survey is conducted is needed. The vast majority of people under the age of 30 will never even have a house phone to be surveyed for unemployment purposes. No president will dare make this necessary change though with our economy in its current state. If the young and unemployed could be contacted then our U3 rate would skyrocket through the roof. Obama can't have that, no he can't.
What does this have to do with the time of day? I never said ALL jobs being created were low paying, but certainly, the majority of them are not the middle class jobs of years past.
If the total picture of jobs added differed much from what existed NOW as of 1/1/2013, the 2013 median wage change would have been substantially negative, and it wasn't.
If the total picture of jobs added differed much from what existed NOW as of 1/1/2013, the 2013 median wage change would have been substantially negative, and it wasn't.
What are you talking about? I'm talking about the jobs being created. It has nothing to do with hourly earnings and everything to do with the industries driving job creation. Part time retail, fast food, etc. You're doing a song and a dance about average wages increasing by less than 50 cents over the year.
You keep pretending that the world as it is, does not exist. That people just go to college and graduate with all kinds of opportunities, along with unicorns and stuff. That is not the case. They are graduating and entering in an environment where the majority of new jobs available are part time, low paying, and pretty much suck. As a matter of fact, according to the USA today article linked below, HS grads are finding more opportunities suited to their skill level compared to college grads. You've got tons of young people leaving their college degree off their resume so they can get a McJob...
The employment situation in this country really is that dismal. So what if people have competitive skill sets... The economy only demands so much. Like you often discuss... We live in a global economy today. IT workers in India are happy to do the work for a fraction of the wage, just like unskilled Chinese laborers are happy to assemble our holiday ornaments. Global economy means companies have highly educated workers all over the world to choose from, and plenty of cheaper options to boot.
"U.S. employers added a disappointing 162,000 jobs in July, but some economists are even more concerned about the types of jobs the economy is generating.
Job growth in recent months has skewed toward part-time work in low-wage industries, and that trend continued in July, Bureau of Labor Statistics figures show.
Retailers led job gains with 47,000, and restaurants and bars added 38,000. All told, four low-paying sectors — retail, restaurants, temporary staffing firms and home health care — accounted for 60% of the jobs added in July, though they make up just 22% of total employment, according to an analysis by Wells Fargo. So far this year, the four sectors have accounted for 45% of the nation's 1.3 million payroll additions.
"A large portion of the jobs we're adding tend to be in low-skill occupations," says Wells Fargo senior economist Mark Vitner. The trend appears to have improved the job prospects of less-educated Americans. Employment for high school graduates increased by nearly 400,000 in July, while payrolls for those with at least a four-year college degree fell by 256,000.
Many of the new jobs, however, are part time, especially in stores and restaurants. The number of Americans who usually work part time jumped 174,000 last month, but totals for those who usually work full time rose by just 92,000. Since March, the ranks of part-timers have swelled by 791,000 vs. 187,000 for full-timers.
These totals differ from the widely-reported 162,000 job gains because the former comes from a survey of households, while the latter comes from a separate survey of employers. The broad trend, however, appears consistent: The economy has been creating an outsize number of part-time jobs the past several months."
andywire, despite your doom and gloom, median wages have not reflected growth that was simply low wage stuff. Now it could be the skilled amongst us are increasing our salaries fast enough to offset gains in low wage sectors, but any way you cut it, the median wage level rose last year. Sorry that disappoints you.
PS, the two largest sectors per the BLS have been retail sales and cashiers for decades now. That is not a recent change! Those with a pulse knew that long ago. Manufacturing, which is the only sector you truly care about, bled the most jobs during the Clinton years. The nation didn't miss a beat, since dot.com plus Y2K, plus growth in other new sectors (like the hyper-growth SCM) more than made up for it. We had incredibly low unemployment.
andywire, despite your doom and gloom, median wages have not reflected growth that was simply low wage stuff. Now it could be the skilled amongst us are increasing our salaries fast enough to offset gains in low wage sectors, but any way you cut it, the median wage level rose last year. Sorry that disappoints you.
PS, the two largest sectors per the BLS have been retail sales and cashiers for decades now. That is not a recent change! Those with a pulse knew that long ago. Manufacturing, which is the only sector you truly care about, bled the most jobs during the Clinton years. The nation didn't miss a beat, since dot.com plus Y2K, plus growth in other new sectors (like the hyper-growth SCM) more than made up for it. We had incredibly low unemployment.
First off, I posted the MEAN wages, not the median. You could always provide some data to back up what you are discussing, but you wont. The mean average rose a whopping < 50 cents an hour. This could have come from something as simple as a seasonal COL raise. You are also completely dismissing the fact that 77% of new job growth was low wage work, under $13/hr. Ignoring it doesn't make the facts go away. These are the "jobs of the future". And heck, you practically brag about how robots are going to flip burgers and move items through warehouses. Yes, that will be splendid for the masses of low wage workers who are taking these desperation jobs.
At the beginning of the recession, the first jobs that were cut were middle class jobs. When jobs starting coming back again, low wage jobs recovered, along with high paying +$70K/yr jobs. Those middle of the road, middle class jobs are still long over due. It is not doom and gloom... It is the reality we are living in. Ignoring it doesn't change the reality.
Manufacturing jobs have nothing to do with this discussion. I can only assume you are trying to deflect away from the actual discussion, as usual.
This is an era where skills, education, and training will matter greatly. It was decades in coming, so there was sufficient time for people to realize the old minimal requirements of 4 working limbs equaling a comfortable lifestyle on one income were ending. There is nothing wrong with that, and they can adapt since they need not remain low-skilled for life. They also could work more than 40 hours-there is no legally mandated maximum.
Or they could whine..which seems to be your MO.
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