Its Today's Economy with Bush at the Helm....JMO

[ticka1]

Back to work for less
Survey: 57% who lost full-time jobs 2001-2003 and found full-time work again are earning less.
July 30, 2004: 12:28 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Judging from the latest government data, more than 50 percent of workers who lost or left full-time work between 2001 and 2003 and were lucky enough to have found another full-time job by this year were earning less than they used to.

From January 2001 through December 2003, 5.3 million long-tenured workers were displaced from full-time or part-time jobs they had held at least three years, according to a new report released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Displacement in this context is defined as a job that was lost or left because a plant or company closed or moved, there wasn't enough work to do or a position or shift was eliminated.


Among the long-tenured workers who were displaced, 65 percent had found either full-time or part-time work by January of this year, when the BLS survey was conducted.Another 20 percent were still unemployed and 15 percent were not in the labor force, meaning they said they had not looked for work in the four weeks prior to the survey.

But 57 percent of the group who had lost full-time jobs and found new full-time work reported that they were now earning less than what they earned in their old jobs. Indeed, about one-third of those with smaller paychecks were being paid at least 20 percent less.

In unpublished data, the BLS found that among all workers displaced from 2001 through 2003 -- a total of 11.4 million people -- 52 percent of those who lost full-time work and regained it by this year were earning less than they used to.

Reasons for job displacementAmong the long-tenured workers surveyed, 43 percent said plant or company closings or moves accounted for their displacement.

Another 29 percent cited elimination of their position or shift.

And 28 percent said there wasn't enough work to do.

Other highlightsAmong industries, manufacturing accounted for 1.7 million long-tenured workers who were displaced -- or nearly a third of the total.

Professional and business services accounted for 595,000 displaced workers, 11 percent of the group.

The financial industry saw displacement of 355,000 long-term tenured workers, or nearly 7 percent of the group. Likewise education and health services, with a loss of 346,000 workers. http://i.cnn.net/money/images/bug.gif (http://money.cnn.com/2004/07/30/news/economy/displaced_workers/index.htm?cnn=yes#TOP)

[CalUWxBill]

Even though I am supporting Kerry. In all honesty this is not that bad of a report. Do you expect after losing your job, to go out and find a better one. I would like to see what percentage of people found a new full-time job period. That would be a better indicator. It is clear that the short-term economy is going to rebound. but, there is still an outsourcing of jobs that has been occurring for over 30 years now. The 90's did promote a ton of technology jobs, but there still was a trend of losing out jobs to other nations.

The bottom line is that if employers can pay someone 10,000 dollars a year for a highly skilled job that pays 45,000 here, they will outsource thier jobs to that country. If they can pay someone 1,000 dollars a year for a low-skill job that pays 30,000 dollars per year here, they will outsource thier jobs to that country. The only way to effectively counteract that is to impose tarrifs on companies that don't treat employees in a similar manner in other countries as they would be expected to here. Republicans like rainstorm want to eliminate the minimum wage. They feel the only way to effectively create new jobs here without reducing trade is to allow companies to pay wages similar to those of other nations. Do you want to make 10,000 dollars per year in a steel mill. People in America won't be able to put money into the economy the Republicans want to create. We would need absolutely NO taxes to stimulate an economy where people make no money. Of course in reality, deflation would occur, and things would begin to cost less adjusting for the lack in wages, and we would be in similar financial shape of nations around the world.

[windy]

:D Lol Kerry won't do any better. The democrats support welfare and this is why our money is being blown to the wind. Here we are struggling to make ends meet and you got lazy welfare people getting a a free ride and these are the people the democrats help. They need a kick in their butts. I say do away with welfare and let those lazy bums get a job and stop using my money to buy cars, cell phones, designer clothes, Choice cut meats, ect ;ect.Now I can see elderly / disabled people getting some kind of help but that's about it. We always had problems with the job situations, and its not going to get any better so we just need to take it in stride. Me & my husband both got good paying jobs this year and I thank the lord for my increase. And another thing the president doesn't always make the decisions its those people who were voted in that makes the decisions. So this year lets vote wisely. I will and Bush is it. :)

[ticka1]

Another blow to the job market for Americans: (caused the stock market to go below 10,000)

Jobs issue may fall hardest on Bush
Markets tumble on the economic report's release
By JULIE MASON
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - A second straight month of sluggish job growth sent the stock market tumbling Friday, casting a shadow that could fall on President Bush's re-election campaign.

The 32,000 net jobs added in July were the shortest gain in hiring since December and far short of projections, according to the Labor Department.

They followed a gain of 78,000 in June and 208,000 in May.

With three months to go before the election, jobs and the economy are central issues in the presidential race, particularly in the closely divided Midwestern states hard-hit by plant closings and job losses.

"This is not good news for the president, especially since his approval ratings on the economy had begun to inch up a little to around 47 or 48 percent," said Andrew Kohut of the Pew Research Center.

"It also comes at a very bad time, just when voters have started to pay closer attention to the conditions they see around them when they consider whether Bush deserves another four years," he said.

The jobs report follows mixed signals on the economy, including an AP-Ipsos survey conducted in early August that showed a surge in consumer confidence. House sales have remained strong most of the year, but many retailers reported lackluster sales gains in July.


He said, he said
At a campaign stop in New Hampshire, Bush chose to focus on news that the unemployment rate, which is calculated separately from job gains, improved to 5.5 percent in July from 5.6 percent in June.

"Today's employment report shows our economy is continuing to move forward," Bush said. "And it reminds us that we're in a changing economy and we've got more to do. I'm not going to be satisfied until everybody who wants to work can find a job."

Even so, the jobs picture caused stocks to tumble. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped to a low for the year, and the Dow Jones industrial average fell 147.70 points, or 1.5 percent, to close at 9815.33, its lowest closing since November.

Democratic presidential contender John Kerry, at a Missouri campaign stop, said the latest figures defy Bush's claims that the economy is surging ahead.

"The president keeps saying we've turned the corner. But unfortunately, today's job numbers further demonstrate that our economy may be taking a

U-turn instead," Kerry said. "America will not turn the corner to better days until we have a new president who can see our problems and take action to fix them."

A slight majority of voters appears to agree. A new Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll showed 51 percent of respondents said Kerry had a clear plan for creating and protecting jobs, to 34 percent who said Bush did.

Kerry also is breaking ahead of Bush in the key battleground states in the election, where jobs and the economy are front and center with voters, polls show. The Democratic ticket holds slight advantages in Michigan, Ohio, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.


'Not good news'
Analysts had predicted that between 215,000 and 247,000 jobs would be created in July. They also were predicting the jobless rate would hold at 5.6 percent.

Monthly job growth of 200,000 to 300,000 is generally held by economists to be a reasonable test for healthy economic recovery.

"Today's numbers are simply not good news for the president," said Stephen Hess, a political scholar at the Brookings Institution. "Not only because the numbers are down, but because the numbers were once up. We started in March to get a certain expectation that built almost to a cadence within the campaign, that things were getting better."

One month of off-looking numbers could be an aberration, Hess said, but a few bad months starts looking like a trend.

"Pocketbook issues remain central to the way people think about their voting decisions, even in a time of war. This kind of figure could have a big impact," said Karlyn Bowman of the conservative American Enterprise Institute.


Campaign impact
Among blacks, the unemployment rate rose to 10.9 percent from 10.1 percent in June. The jobless rate for Hispanics increased to 6.8 percent from 6.7 percent. Both parties this year are courting minority voters in what is expected to be an extremely tight race.

On the campaign trail, both candidates paint very different pictures of the economy. Kerry said Bush's failed policies are responsible for a net loss of more than 1 million jobs since Bush took office in 2001.

Bush's outlook is rosier. He notes that consumer confidence and home ownership is up, and credits his tax-cut packages for bringing the economy back faster.

And, Bush frequently notes, the economy is still recovering from the hit it took after the 2001 terrorist attacks, a wave of corporate scandals and a recession.

Friday's report was called "a mixed bag" by Andy Card, White House chief of staff.

"The household survey showed robust growth, and the traditional survey was disappointing. At least it was positive, and I think that it reflects we have a changing economy," Card said

[wow]

I thought you weren't political. ;)

[ticka1]

I'm not - but when it comes to jobs and I might be looking for one soon and the market the way it is - I get a little vocal. Not political but Bush hasn't made the job market very desireable since he's been in office. JMO.