To: looscnnn
Your discussion is interesting but not complete. BLS reports that total employment is up from Jan 1, 2001 to Dec 31, 2003 by 2.5 million. Unemployment is also up by about 2.4 million during the same time frame. So about 5 million joined the job market and during the recession and 2.5 million got jobs, and unemployment rate is now going down.
We are losing job in manufacturing as much from productivity gains as foreign competition, because manufacturing output as a % of GDP is about 5% and has been since the 1950s. It takes fewer people to produce the same output over the last 50 years. Manufacturing tends to go where customers are located, not solely based on labor costs.
22 posted on
01/14/2004 9:22:37 AM PST by
easytree
To: easytree
I am a little unsure where you are getting the 5+/- million. If employment is up 2.5 mill. and unemployment is up 2.4 mill. that means that a net gain of only 100,000 jobs. 2.5-2.4=.1. So technically, the rate is down. However, if less people are needed to do a job (they are more productive) and there are few new jobs available, were do the people that are unemployed go? Also, you assume that workers overseas are less productive. Take a look at Japan, they are effiecient in their work and work for less. Effieciency is an item that can be moved as easily as money.
36 posted on
01/14/2004 10:02:36 AM PST by
looscnnn
("Live free or die; death is not the worst of evils" Gen. John Stark 1809)
To: easytree; looscnnn
Your discussion is interesting but not complete. BLS reports that total employment is up from Jan 1, 2001 to Dec 31, 2003 by 2.5 million. Unemployment is also up by about 2.4 million during the same time frame. So about 5 million joined the job market and during the recession and 2.5 million got jobs, and unemployment rate is now going down. BLS reports no such thing.
BLS in fact reports total non-farm employment is down 2.3 Million from 132.436M Jan 2001 to 130.124M(p) Dec 2003.
Series Id: CES0000000001 Seasonally Adjusted Super Sector: Total nonfarm Industry: Total nonfarm Data Type: ALL EMPLOYEES, THOUSANDS
|
Year |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Annual |
2001 |
132436 |
132560 |
132527 |
132247 |
132230 |
132064 |
131867 |
131719 |
131550 |
131198 |
130900 |
130661 |
|
2002 |
130578 |
130510 |
130481 |
130415 |
130411 |
130383 |
130204 |
130224 |
130289 |
130408 |
130409 |
130198 |
|
2003 |
130356 |
130235 |
130084 |
130062 |
129986 |
129903 |
129846 |
129881 |
129980 |
130080 |
130123(p) |
130124(p) |
|
Total unemployment has gone up 2.4M from 5.956M in Jan 2001 to 8.398M in Dec 2003
And the unemployment rate went down because the labor force got smaller as discouraged job seekers quit looking.
When those unemployed discouraged workers are included, the unemployment rate is 9.9% for Dec 2003.
63 posted on
01/14/2004 3:42:28 PM PST by
Starwind
(The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only true good news)
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