Wall St. likes a streamlined work force.
Exactly! Wall Street can point to companies and say “they’re lean” and “they cut overhead”. Another factor is low inflation. I suspect one reason inflation hasn’t taken off - yet - is because of the high unemployment.
They also like government bailouts.
The dramatic increase in productivity that computers have brought have allowed people to do more work in a shorter period of time, particularly in accounting, shipping and warehousing, and marketing.
The layoffs have been a sort of correction in the workforce, which is good news in a way. On the other, if your not skilled in computers and don't have an aptitude for multitasking, you're going to have a harder time finding and keeping a position in an office environment.
No jobs, no spending, the stock market will be going down cause companies will not be able to sustain the earnings.
Real economic growth comes when those not needed in their old jobs find new ones.
In Japan, in contrast, in a downturn the companies didn't adjust and fire anyone, and locked up all the real resources needed to grow again. Result - lost decade.
I'll take the turmoil and the growth freedom brings, thank you very much.
Economic growth and sitting on your backside are contradictory. You can have one or the other, not both.