Job Openings Fell to Record Low in July (Employers not in a hurry to hire}

Wall Street Journal ^ | 9/11/2009 | Kelly Evans

[SeekAndFind]

Employers appear to be in no rush to hire back the millions who lost their jobs in the recession, despite signs of improvement in the economy.

The U.S. had a record low 2.4 million job openings in July, the Labor Department said Wednesday, the fewest since the department started tracking the figure in 2000, and half the peak of 4.8 million in mid-2007.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve's report on business conditions around the U.S., known as the Beige Book, said "labor market conditions remain weak," a significant hurdle for a strong recovery from the recession that began in December 2007.

Economists worry that companies' hesitance to hire will restrain consumer spending, the biggest component of U.S. gross domestic product. Spending has stabilized since declining sharply in the second half of 2008, and is on track to grow about 2% in the current third quarter. But the boost could be short-lived.

"The fourth quarter is looking much more uncertain," said Zach Pandl, an economist at Nomura Securities. "We need to start seeing some hard evidence of a recovery in consumer spending and investment, and the longer the labor market is weak, the longer it will take to get that."

Companies are squeezing more from fewer employees through overtime or temporary workers. Nonfarm workers' productivity grew at a 6.6% annualized rate in the second quarter, the most in six years.

[ravingnutter]

In our case...hubby is a Journeyman Electrician...we have been told that the banks are not loaning money on construction projects unless the construction companies pony up a 20 - 25% retainer on the value of the contract that is not reimbursed until long after the project is done. It is just too hard on many small business to have that kind of money tied up for so long.

[dools007]

UhOh—The Labor Dept. is not on the same sheet of music as The Dear Leader. The talking point is that the recession is ending. This Labor Dept claim does not advance that fiction.

[SeekAndFind]

The current talking point from the main stream media is this -— The economy is improving and based on the official definition of recession, we probably have turned the corner and GDP will be shown to have grown in the 2nd quarter.

Unemployment is always a LAGGING INDICATOR and jobs will be added eventually as the economy continues to improve.

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard this talking point the past month from the likes of CNBC, MSNBC, CNN, ABC, etc.

[AngelesCrestHighway]

Hey!....Captian Obama!....Where’s the “stimulus” in those numbers, numbnuts?

[Uncle Miltie]

Who would want to hire when:

1) 0bummerCare can increase your labor costs massively overnight

2) Cap n Tax would increase the costs of all inputs massively overnight

3) Ben Bernanke would be printing money by the ship-load, except he conjures trillions of dollars out of thin air by buying Treasury Bonds, directly monetizing the debt (see Argentina)

4) Your income and other taxes are going up

Gimme a break! Nobody is going to hire in that climate.

[ClearCase_guy]

I think Obama announced yesterday that he had created a million jobs in his first 8 months in office.

Seriously.

[AngelesCrestHighway]

I think Obama announced yesterday that he had created a million jobs in his mind.....there, I fixed it.

[Oatka]

Key phrase: "The fourth quarter is looking much more uncertain,"

After the fourth quarter, watch the reports of dismal numbers start with the word "Unexpectedly . . ."