Monday, February 02, 2004
So if this is a recovery, where are the jobs?
Buried deep in this ABC story about "good numbers":
The Wecovery!
One of the few exceptions is employment. The ISM index measuring employment settled at 52.9 in January, down slightly from 53.3 in December, a reading that would normally indicate modest growth in factory jobs, economists said.
But long-term changes in manufacturing including increased automation and the relocation of factories overseas appear to be limiting new job creation. The index shows only that more industrial employers are adding jobs than those who are cutting workers, but does not show how many absolute jobs are being added. It appears, however, that some labor-intensive manufacturers like apparel makers continue to cut large numbers of jobs, while more technology-driven manufacturers are adding relatively small numbers of jobs, Vitner said.
"While the sheer number of employers adding is larger, the absolute number of jobs is still declining," he said.
The Wecovery!
