SEARCH
More Unemployed Workers, Fewer Jobs |
|
The U.S. retail sector has been the most immune to the nation’s year-long jobs free fall, but that has changed in recent months and likely will get much worse. Today’s Commerce Department report on retail sales in December, the period when most retailers make a large chunk of their earnings, are bleak: Sales were down 9.8 percent in December from December 2007. These figures mean many stores will be closed and entire chains going bankrupt—and many more U.S. workers will lose their jobs.
Already, there now are four unemployed workers for every job opening, according to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). The nonprofit group also reports a 90 percent growth of involuntary part-time workers over the past year, with some 8 million U.S. workers forced to settle for fewer hours. Such workers are not counted in the official monthly Labor Department unemployment data, meaning the official U.S. unemployment of 7.2 percent is more like 13.5 percent when underemployed or workers too discouraged to look for work are counted.
Retail sales are tanking because consumers aren’t spending. Yet contrary to what many pundits are saying, we may not be saving, either. From The Washington Post:
Charles Biderman, founder and chief executive of TrimTabs Investment Research, an independent firm based in Sausalito, Calif., disputes that people are showing their thrift. His firm’s analysis of daily income tax withholdings from the Treasury Department indicates that income is lower than the BLS has estimated and that the savings rate is negative.
He said money flowing into all savings vehicles, plus all mutual funds—long- and short-term—has been sinking since April 2008, suggesting that consumers have been selling stock and other securities to pay bills.
Not good.
All the more reason for Congress to move fast on an economic recovery package that creates, in President-elect Barack Obama’s works, “made-in-America jobs.” An EPI analysis released yesterday shows that without such an economic recovery plan in place, the current recession will turn into something much worse. EPI economists Larry Mishel and Heidi Shierholz find that without timely and adequate government intervention:
- Overall unemployment, after peaking at about 10.2 percent in mid-2010, could still be as high as 7.6 percent four years from now.
- Underemployment could reach 17.9 percent overall in 2010 (18.8 percent for women), affecting over 27 million workers.
- More than one out of every three working Americans would experience unemployment or underemployment at some point during the year 2010.
- Nearly one in five African Americans in the labor force would be unemployed (18.2 percent). More than half of all black teens would be jobless.
- Hispanic unemployment would reach 13.1 percent overall, and more than one-third among teens.
3 Comments
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
Here we are in the middle of a recession and the now first lady has made public that she is going to redecorate the whitehouse! I wonder if anyone else feels the way I do about this?? I don’t know about the rest of you who are reading this but I am just barely making it the way it is. I’m not proud when I say this but I’ve even had to eat dog food a time or two this past two years just to stay alive! You go out on the streets and you can’t even buy a job these are the hardest times I’ve ever seen and I’m now 50 years old. Instead of spending all of what I consider our money since they are being paid with our tax dollars. Why don’t they tighten up their belts a little and just leave the whitehouse alone? At least until better time arrive and the economy gets a little better anyway? Here this woman is going willy-nilly with the tax payers money buying $400.00=$500.00 SNACKS while we eat dog food just to exist!! Don’t you think there’s something wrong with this picture? If anyone feels the way I do about all of this I would like to know about it! And if you don’t feel the same way I would like to know about that as well. Thank you.
AMEN, cruncher I know the feeling,they give our money away on the most foolish things,like illegal aliens rights,save the banks,give members of congress a raise, build a 700 million dollar embassy in Iraq.We absolutely have the biggest bunch of MORONS ever assembled running this country into the ground.Do you suppose you might find a job if 20 million illegal aliens and their kids went home?Today they are working on the child health care bill that Bush vetoed and they would like very much to include the kids of illegal aliens in it.How do you feel about that?I would venture a guess that about a year from now every working man and woman who helped put Obama in the White House will wish thay had not even if it is redecorated.
For the record, I believe the Obama’s are not intending to go overboard in the “decorating” of the living quarters at the White House. This decorating consists of “‘adding our own touch’” while “promot(ing) new perspectives from 20th century artists and designers while using affordable brands and products.” They also have access to a warehouse full of previously owned presidential furnishings from which to chose from. Their approach will reflect the “multicultural… eclectic mix of art and housewares that complement Barack Obama’s campaign message of inclusiveness and change…and fit the mood of the country.” [The Baltimore Sun, 1/17/20] They are, after all the first family, should they not be entitled to at least make their new home somewhat personal. Would you not do the same?