. . . and foreboding

Washington Times ^ | Friday, April 9, 2004 | By Paul Craig Roberts

[JohnHuang2]

Conservative pundits incautiously hail the 277,000 private-sector jobs created by the economy in March as the long-awaited "jobs turnaround." Alas, the Bureau of Labor Statistics payroll survey indicates a continued jobs malaise.

A look at the composition of the 277,000 jobs reveals job growth in sectors that do not generate export earnings or face import competition. Construction accounted for 71,000 of the new jobs; retail 47,000; health care and social assistance 39,000; restaurants and bars 27,000; professional and technical services 27,000; administrative and waste services 17,000; repair, maintenance and laundry services 12,000; wholesale 11,000; warehousing and storage 7,000; logging and mining 7,000; financial activities 6,000; air transportation 3,000.

[JohnHuang2]

Friday, April 9, 2004

Quote of the Day by Agnes Heep

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[ETERNAL WARMING]

For the first time on record, during the last half of 2003 the United States ran a trade deficit in advanced technology products and services. As recently as 1997, the U.S. had a $60 billion trade surplus in technology goods and services.

And Americans know it. Perhaps that's why we so despise our political class. We're smarter than the spin they continuously dish out.

[My2Cents]

Thank God there were few jobs generated in the political pundit and journalist sectors.

[JohnHuang2]

hehehe, how true ;-)

[sarcasm]

It is the profile of an economy in serious trouble. Where are the jobs for skilled workers or jobs for university graduates in engineering, or research and development jobs for scientists? Where are the jobs in export and import-competitive sectors to close the massive U.S. trade deficit?

[CasearianDaoist]

This is why a candidate as poor as Kerry is getting neck and neck polling percentages with Bush - everyone one in the traditionally profitable industries knows this in their bones. People in their 40s and 50s know that there has never been a time like this in the postwar years. It is truely scary. Here in New York where the economy is almost completely dependent on "knowledge worker" jobs the job market is the worst in memory - their are professionals working contrcution jobs a driving cabs. It cannot go on much longer before something gives.

[A. Pole]

Where is the benefit for Americans when dollar devaluation drives up energy prices?

Amish will make some converts?

Where is the benefit for Americans of losing the lead in advanced technology products?

Buggy whip industry will come back?

[sarcasm]

Here in New York where the economy is almost completely dependent on "knowledge worker" jobs the job market is the worst in memory - their are professionals working contrcution jobs a driving cabs.

New York's labor participation rate -- the percentage of employed adults relative to population -- fell from 65.6 percent in July 2002 to 57 percent now. The city comptroller's office recently framed that drop this way: "If the labor force participation rate had remained at the level of July 2002, the NYC unemployment rate [now] would . . . rise to 19.9 percent."

[CasearianDaoist]

This shows how completely bogus the methodology behind employement numbers is. New York is in real trouble. If the mid and upper scale professional brackets do not pick up there will be a real problem. Someobe has to pay the taxes. It would be interesting to see the figures on home ownership in the City during this period. My quess is that more and more people are forced into renting.

The other issue is even if the job market comes back the wage defaltion stagnation will kill people. Inflation is always an issue here. New York could well become like a Latin American city with a high rent core for the ultra international rich and ghettos all around that core. No middle class at all. You see neighborhoods now that traditionally kept property in the family. As they retire now they do not do that but sell on the market. Their children are forced out of the neighborhoods the families have been in for generations, and cannot afford local property.

I do not see the econmy getting better as the finanical institutions are leaders in the offshoring trend. And remember they have gotten huge tax abatement to stay in the city. So the taxpayer get screwed twice over.

techno-serfdom

[sarcasm]

This shows how completely bogus the methodology behind employement numbers is.

It's not just the employment numbers. The Economist had an interesting article about the GNP:

Grossly Distorted Product- Are official statistics exaggerating America's growth?

New York could well become like a Latin American city with a high rent core for the ultra international rich and ghettos all around that core.

It's well on its way towards this - did you see the latest census numbers? Native born Americans are continuing to flee the city to be replaced by the poverty stricken.

[neutrino]

Thanks for the ping, Sarcasm!

Excellent article, suggesting the recent job gains are less than they are cracked up to be!

If you want on or off my offshoring ping list, please FReepmail me!

[XBob]

1 - Your free trade at work.

[XBob]

1 - " This is not a profile of a high-tech knowledge-based economy. It is not even the profile of a low-tech developing economy. "

[XBob]

bttt - 10 - "This shows how completely bogus the methodology behind employement numbers is. New York is in real trouble. If the mid and upper scale professional brackets do not pick up there will be a real problem. Someobe has to pay the taxes. It would be interesting to see the figures on home ownership in the City during this period. My quess is that more and more people are forced into renting. "

"The other issue is even if the job market comes back the wage defaltion stagnation will kill people. Inflation is always an issue here. New York could well become like a Latin American city with a high rent core for the ultra international rich and ghettos all around that core. No middle class at all. You see neighborhoods now that traditionally kept property in the family. As they retire now they do not do that but sell on the market. Their children are forced out of the neighborhoods the families have been in for generations, and cannot afford local property. "

"I do not see the econmy getting better as the finanical institutions are leaders in the offshoring trend. And remember they have gotten huge tax abatement to stay in the city. So the taxpayer get screwed twice over. "


ping Cyborg

[international american]

"" Where is the benefit for Americans when dollar devaluation drives up energy prices?
Where is the benefit for Americans of losing the lead in advanced technology products?
Where is the benefit for Americans of declining U.S. enrollments in electrical engineering and computer science?
Where is the benefit for Americans of having their human capital destroyed by replacement with cheap foreign labor?""

I guess those here who insult you and me can answer these questions??....NOT!!

[dead]

This is about the 4,000th article I've seen defining the problem.

Still waiting for the article that details the solutions.

Closing H-1B would be a start. Tariffs on imports? Not for me. Every "solution" brings new problems.

[international american]

"Construction accounted for 71,000 of the new jobs; retail 47,000; health care and social assistance 39,000; restaurants and bars 27,000"= 184000

Great!! most of the jobs are low paying or govt jobs. The illegals in California get huge chunk of the construction and restaurant jobs too!

[CasearianDaoist]

Yes, people are looking at this too. The numbers have to keep up and they better be good jobs - not jobs "serving" rich people (which is what these jobs are all about.) It is terrible in the upper east coast right now. For entertainment go to dice.com, select new york and for keywords type in "outsourcing"and see what you get. The "capital spending" boom has not hit us yet.

[international american]

i went to dice.com.......you are certainly correct.
California is bankrupt. Any band aid Arnold puts on it will
be gone in a few years. Illegals are taking over all of the service jobs..they also have taken over close to 100 cities of varying sizes. Outsourcing here is rampant. Engineers and computer pros are moving out in droves!