Well, I guess that decides it.
Posted on 12/07/2005 11:46:30 AM PST by Sonny M
The November payrolls job report was announced Friday with the usual misleading hype. Spinmeisters made the most out of the 215,000 jobs. Looking beyond the glitter at the real facts, this is what we see. Twenty-one thousand of those jobs were government positions supported by taxpayers. There were only 194,000 new jobs in the private sector. Of those, 37,000 are in construction and only 11,000 are in manufacturing. The bulk of the new jobs – 144,000 – are in domestic services.
Wholesale and retail trade account for 20,000. Food services and drinking places (waitresses and bartenders) account for 38,000. Health care and social assistance account for 27,000. Professional and business services account for 29,000. Financial activities gained 13,000 jobs. Transportation and warehousing gained 8,000 jobs.
Very few of these jobs result in tradable services that can be exported or help to close the growing gap in the U.S. balance of trade.
The 11,000 new factory jobs and the 15,000 of the previous month are a relief from the usual loss. However, these gains are more than offset by the job cuts recently announced by General Motors and Ford.
Despite the gains, total hours worked declined, as the average workweek fell to 33.7 hours. The decline in the labor force participation rate, a consequence of the shrinkage in well-paying jobs, masks a higher rate of unemployment than the reported 5 percent. The ratio of employment to population fell again in November.
Average hourly earnings (up 3.2 percent over the last year) are not keeping up with the consumer price index (up 4.3 percent). Consequently, real incomes are falling.
This is not the picture of a healthy economy in which growth in high productivity, high value-added jobs fuels the growth in consumer demand and provides savings to finance Washington's red ink. What we are looking at is an economy that is coming unglued from the loss of jobs that provide ladders of upward mobility, and from massive trade and budget deficits that are resulting in unsustainable growth in indebtedness to foreigners.
The consumer price index measures inflation at 4.3 percent over the past year. Many people, experiencing household budgets severely impacted by fuel prices and grocery bills, find this figure unrealistically low. PNC Financial Services has a Christmas price index consisting of the gifts in the song, "The 12 Days of Christmas." The index reports that the cost of the collection of gifts has risen 6 percent since last Christmas. Some of the gifts have risen substantially in price. Gold rings are up 27.5 percent, and pear trees are up 15.4 percent. The cost of labor (drummers drumming, maids-a-milking) has remained the same.
Populations are hard-pressed when the prices of goods rise relative to the price of labor, because this makes it impossible for the population to maintain its standard of living.
The U.S. economy has been kept alive by low interest rates, which fueled a real estate boom. Consumers have kept growth alive by refinancing their home mortgages and spending the equity in their houses. Their indebtedness has risen.
Debt-fueled growth is qualitatively different from economic growth that results from an increase in high value-added jobs. Economists who look at the 3-plus percent economic growth rate and conclude that things are fine are fooling themselves and the public. When the real estate boom ends, what will be the source of new spending power?
I live in Michigan so I'm immune to hype.
Well, I guess that decides it.
I ahve been saying this for years. And GW wants to bring in mor echeap labor.
ROFLMAO!
looks like Sonny M beat you to the punch on this one.
I wonder what he said about the Clinton years, when job growth was fueled by the dot-bomb economy? It seems like our economy has digested that disaster quite well.
And in other news....The sky is falling.
No good news to see here folks. Please move along.
You'll see that he is definitely NOT taking his medications!
I can not figure out which is more appalling. Mr Roberts arrogant refusal to admit error or his complete lack of even the most basic grasp of Economics.
I used to think Paul Craig Roberts conservative.
Who the Hell even works in manufacturing anymore? Gimme a break? I work for a "manufacturing" company and most of our employees are in sales or accounting or service. There are maybe 8 or 9 people actually involved in the "manufacturing".
Bump
"Twenty-one thousand of those jobs were government positions supported by taxpayers"
If that's really true, for one month alone, that's both astounding and disgusting.
The 11,000 new factory jobs and the 15,000 of the previous month are a relief from the usual loss. However, these gains are more than offset by the job cuts recently announced by General Motors and Ford.
Of course, those job cuts have nothing to do with the fact that consumers have been buying the cars of other manufacturers. /sarc
Before you try tackling anything as complex as Economics, first try learning how to use spell check .
I've been posting some good economic news lately, I figured for balance, show the pessimist point of view.
"Really? You don't care whether science classes teach accepted science or not? You wouldn't care if, for example, astrology were taught alongside astronomy?"
You ever see news clips of people on the manufacturing "line"? They seem miserable. Imagine screwing a widget 8 hours a day, every fricking day....
I notice that more and more "manufacturing" is highly automated, especially the lower skilled type.
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