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Friday, December 2, 2011 | 9:21am
[RANT] Unemployment Finally Falling. Time For The ‘Monkey Do’ Business World to Hire
The Nation’s unemployment statistics have less to do with a company’s financial performance than minding one’s Scantron sheet.
Last month, the national unemployment rate fell to 8.6, down from 9% in October, its lowest level in more than two and a half years, as news of an improving economy may have encouraged employers. Payrolls rose by 120,000 last month and private companies grew by a combined 140,000 jobs. However, the public sector which naturally lags behind cut as many as 20,000 jobs.
The rate is now lower than at any point since March 2009, when it was 8.6% as well. October’s payrolls figure was revised upward to show a gain of 100,000 from a previously reported 80,000, while September was revised up to a 210,000 gain from 158,000.
Great! But what does this all mean? We know Washington has been talking Jobs, Jobs, JOBS so does this mean we’re out of the woods? Clearly not, but its a step in the right direction. The analyst and “experts” have been talking about how to stimulate the business community to hire but the fact remains we live in a very monkey see, monkey do environment. Company’s have been cutting jobs not because of any imminent threat but rather they see their peers doing it and can get away with the excuse of shrinking payroll. Sure the balance sheet comes into play but just saying this mysterious entity know as “the economy” is getting better or worse translates to a business owner as an indicator of cutting jobs or hiring is a fallacy. Hopefully this fallacy however fools everyone into thinking its time to hire again at risk of businesses going under. That’s what they’d get for not paying attention to their books instead of minding everyone elses. #offmysoapbox.
FILED IN Business & Marketing, Editorials
This is going to sound like a circular argument, but business won’t start hiring until we hear reports that business is starting to hire.
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No one is hiring because everyone is afraid of the future. They don’t know if the shoe is going to drop in Europe; they don’t know if the US is going to have another dip.
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So, instead of hiring they cut costs and horde cash. Once we start to feel confident about the future, people will spend money, shops will hire, and things will be better.
They are actually not ording cash not in the finance world anyway. Yes we are letting people go (most of those being let go that I know of have been low and under performers in all areas) but we are also hiring more than we let go for example bofa (were I work) let go of 30 people between 3 groups but we are also looking to hire 45 new people as replacements. granted they will not be making the same amount as those that were let go but if you add the total salries of those let go and compare that with the new hires it balances out. I am not saying its right but its a fact. What we should examine is that while the unemployment rate went down, the % of African Americans unemployed went up by 4 % and remained flat for Latinos while it went down for Whites and Latinos….
I don’t have any stats to back this up, but I wonder how much of the higher percentages with African American are due to concentration of population in troubled cities?
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For example, Detroit is about 80% african american, and they’ve been clobbered economically.
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When large cities like Detroit fail, the effect on overall unemployment hurts AA’s more.