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I did a quick study on the Bureau of Labor Statistics web site, and found something quite interesting. A lot of states have now returned to having almost the same number of people employed as they did before the recession hit. Obviously, others have done much better: Texas, OK, Neb. ND. The states that are still really suffering are the midwestern states that were the core of the big 3 auto business and the other heavy manufacturing are still really suffering. OH, MICH, Wis, ILL, Ind. Some other high tax/high cost of living states in the east are still showing no signs of even being close to recovery. But I found it interesting that even some states that have really high taxes, like Mass, MIN, and Calif have pretty much recovered? Hard to figure it all. Probably shows that manufacturing in the Midwest will never recover. If you live there, expect things to stay the same.
Interesting you bring this up. Manufacturing has really picked up in the past 3 years. It's humming along this year but not quite like it was last year. All of my friends in Michigan who work in various manufacturing related occupations have been working and most are working quite a bit of OT. The difference now is the wages aren't what they used to be, particularly for unskilled labor. New hires at the big three auto plants are now starting at $15/hr, but that's still quite a bit better than burger flipping. It's also significantly better than comparable job opportunities at most non union employers. Either way, I think most folks are just glad to see the economy coming back, and thankful to have a job. At these pay rates, companies feel they can comfortably start creating jobs in this region again.
My experience in the Chicagoland area has been pretty much the same. It's very easy to find a job. The biggest concern for both parties is the wage. Most of the jobs being created are lower paying, and they want you to work tons of OT. So long as people will line up for the jobs, this will continue.
I think another difference is these regions are being forced to diversify. Manufacturing will still play an important role in the economy of these regions so long as it's profitable to operate such a business here. As worker productivity increases via technology, we will see far fewer jobs compared to decades past. Something else will have to fill that void, and it can't be McDonalds or Little Caesars. That is going to be an ongoing process and not without some growing pains.
Yes, fossil fuel development has had a lot to do with the the improvement of things in ND, but that's not the story in all the growing states. Neb. has no significant Oil, but has seen steady growth. Oklahoma has some, but its hardly the whole story. Even Texas has had a lot of growth that is not oil related. Austin has been growing like crazy, but it has nothing to do with oil. Austin is mostly high tech. Dallas is a broad mix, which has some significant Nat. Gas. development, but not much crude.
Austin is the state capital and the location of University of Texas and, therefore, benefits from all the tax revenue generated directly and indirectly from the oil and gas industries.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Originally Posted by ForkInTheRoad
The real question is what jobs are opening up causing unemployment to go down? What industries? What sort of employees are filling those numbers?
I can only speak about Seattle, but when a company like Amazon hires 10,000 new employees that they didn't have there before, those people have to rent or buy homes, cars, insurance, clothes and groceries, go to movies and restaurants and so on. Those new jobs lead to additional jobs in the area, throughout a wide range of industries. The data shows that this area has recovered 80% of the lost recession property values, and the big cranes used to build high-rise offices, apartments and condos are popping up again in significant numbers.
I recently saw a bunch of adds by the state of NY talking about how they are slashing taxes. The goal of the ad was to encourage people to move back to NY and find out how tax friendly they are trying to become. /shrug
I agree w/ the shrug. They are kinda late on the wagon--after everyone has left or is leaving. I think NY' s problems are more than taxes, too.
Last edited by Nanny Goat; 06-24-2013 at 08:07 AM..
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