Jobless rate drops, largely because of discouraged people leaving job market

Associated Press ^ | 08-01-03

[Ford Fairlane]

Caterpillar's smaller construction trucks are now being designed in India by contract engineering firms - they are even cheaper than the H1B contract employees they had been using in this country

(The trucks are still being built here, but that may change when the contract with the UAW expires next year)

[Cobra64]

And how do they identify who has "given up"?

I'd bet that this is based on the number of people not claiming unemployment checks. Also, when companies merge (Chevron/Texaco) some people are given a golden parachute and never return to the workforce. This happened to my wife. So she is "unemployed" and really never plans to go back.

[dljordan]

Hey! There are many nutritious and tasty items to be found in dumpsters. And furthermore, cardboard refrigerator boxes provide excellent insulation in those cold winter months while you're waiting for the tech jobs to return to American shores. I'm trying to be funny but some people around here are losing their homes. I guess if you want job security you should be a bureaucrat or politician.

[dljordan]

Maybe if we sent 10 million or so immigrants BACK HOME we could save some money in taxes and open up a few jobs.

[waterstraat]

that is the most pathetic accumulation of garbage I've ever read outside a Puplava column - seriously, get a life & get a job. better yourself. improve your skills. but don't adopt a pathetic liberal line "wo is me" - this is America & you can do whatever you want as long as you're charging a fair price for a desired product.

Why are you picking on me? I had nothing to do with NAFTA, and I was against it from the beginning.

If you dont like mathematics, that is up to you, but you cant change math. Fewer people employed means fewer people paying taxes. Those employes will have to pay more. The taxes that used to be paid by those whose jobs went to foreign countries, will have to be paid by those still working, unless government spending decreases, which it isnt.

[harpseal]

that is the most pathetic accumulation of garbage I've ever read outside a Puplava column - seriously, get a life & get a job. better yourself. improve your skills. but don't adopt a pathetic liberal line "wo is me" - this is America & you can do whatever you want as long as you're charging a fair price for a desired product.

Since you have taken it upon your self to attack Americans and america by defending the current trade envirornment. Perhaps you can answer why American taxpayers should subsidize the offshoring of jobs. Why if its such a good idea does the taxpayer have to pony up so he or she can be out of work. What is it about the system of government in teh PRC that you love so much. Why do you want the destruction of America?

[harpseal]

Last ping for a couple of hours I am going to dinner.

[CO_dreamer]

Better yet, be a CEO. Then, you can fire 1/2 your employees, cook the books, scam the company for millions, destroy shareholder wealth, and STILL get a multi-million dollar severance package and free health care for life. Ask Joe Nacchio.

[VadeRetro]

"Employers remain skeptical. While there are clearly some hopeful signs that the economy is improving, they want to be ... sure that it is not just a flash in the pan," said Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics. "Corporate hiring managers want to see a track record of growth before they make permanent new hires."

People are still analyzing this situation in old-timey ways, stuff Louis Rukeyser could have been saying 25 years ago. They're missing that something new is going on. The jobs that have been lost aren't coming back.

[AsYouAre]

The headline would be exactly the same if Bill Clinton were still President. </sarcasm off>

[snopercod]

And how do they identify who has "given up"?

In government-speak, that simply means that your benefits have run out.

I fit into that category, and yes, I have "given up" actively seeking work by sending out resumes and knocking on doors. During the six months that I was receiving benefits, I visited just about every business establishment in four counties and even went to another state to apply for a couple of things.

I have my resume on Monster.com and FlipDog.com, and view the available jobs several times per week. There ain't any. In this part of the country, there just is no work to be had except at Mickey D's or doing day labor.

No, we don't stop eating. We do odd jobs, and we have wives who support us.

[HardStarboard]

>>>My wife just a job today, so the numbers are out of date need revising.<<<

Assuming she is a conservative, no revision will be required. Conservatives are rich and don't need jobs so the Democrats don't count them as workers.

[Barry Goldwater]

When do CEO jobs start getting outsourced? After all, American CEOs are the most highly compensated in the world by a very large margin. Wouldn't it be cheaper to have a third worlder run a corporation?

[Pylot]

It is hard to detect a quantum change when you are in the middle of it, but I suspect we have seen an entire sector of jobs go that will never come back in their prior form. One out of every five Americans has lost their job in the past five years.

High tech will probably not ever again hit the fevered pitch we observed just a few years ago and we continue to see a constant erosion of our manufacturing base.

Some manufactured products will remain. Those products that are so inexpensive that factory location and distribution are enormous elements in the pricing equation will remain. Paper and chemicals come to mind. Many of the labor intensive products or products with a nasty environmental impact will go. Some other manufactured products will simply price themselves out of this market. Unions may be their own worst enemy.

When Americans get hungry they find somthing else to do. I have run into many former hi tech people who were easily getting 100K five years ago and they are in totally different industries.

As long as the US Government continues to accumulate debt the only viable way for the currency to remain "strong" is for there to be more printed and more circulated. Hence the unholy arrangement with China.

I personally believe that the powers that be know that we are just a few years from totally bankrupting our country so they are just going along and getting what ever they can in the mean time.

[tell me]

College Students who were half-heartedly looking for a summer job stop looking and head to the beaches.

[The Duke]

...this is America & you can do whatever you want as long as you're charging a fair price for a desired product.

Well, at least if it's not being done in "Hyperabad".

[sarcasm]

U-6 Total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers,
plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a
percent of the civilian labor force plus all marginally
attached workers.........................................10.5

[snopercod]

When Americans get hungry they find somthing else to do.

I just sold the family cow for 200 Crocus Sativus corms. I intend to become the Saffron Baron of the Southern Appalacians.

Paella, anyone?

[BushCountry]

There is now a much more widespread expectation of strong economic growth. As many as 52% of respondents expect FY ’04 gross domestic product (GDP) to grow at 6.5%. A significant 37% even expected the GDP growth to hit the 7% figure. This is much higher than the growth recorded in recent years. Some research agencies have already put out GDP projections of 6 to 6.5% for FY ’04.

This is the lastest figures on the GDP for next year. If we hit over 6% (low end) the country will be at full employment. It always happens in a booming ecomony. Then you guys will have to complain about something else, so start preparing now to get a jump on it.