Thread: Jobs not keeping pace with population growth

By Emily Kaiser
Reuters
updated 1/2/2011 5:48:24 PM ET 2011-01-02T22:48:24

WASHINGTON — U.S. private employers have recorded 11 consecutive months of job gains, yet the number of people who are so discouraged that they have given up searching for work stands at an all-time high.

Friday's employment report is expected to show the pace of payroll growth accelerated last month after a disappointing showing in November. However, consumers' assessment of the job market deteriorated in December, according to the Conference Board's latest consumer confidence survey.

This disconnect is symptomatic of the state of the labor market. Yes, it is recovering, but at a pace that can hardly keep up with population growth, let alone quickly bring down the 9.8 percent unemployment rate.

Private employment increased by an average of 106,000 per month through November. At that rate, it would take more than 6 years just to replace the jobs lost during the latest recession.

The labor pool looks like it has sprung a leak. In a civilian labor force 154-million strong, only 64.5 percent were either working or looking for a job in November, a rate that matched October as the lowest since the early 1980s.

A look at the gender breakdown offers some signs that the dropout rate could stay high even if hiring improves.

Nearly two-thirds of the discouraged workers were men, perhaps a reflection of sharp declines in male-dominated industries such as construction and manufacturing, where jobs are expected to remain scarce.

Ethan Harris, an economist with Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, said the economic healing process will be faster for women than for men, in part because women are more likely to go to college and obtain the skills needed to find a job.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40879538/ns ... nd_economy

There's no reason to be mystified. It's a simple formula:

People In (excess immigration) + Jobs Out (free trade treason) = Bankrupt Nation

We need all our industries back from steel to oil to heavy manufacturing construction and we need them yesterday.

Originally Posted by Judy

There's no reason to be mystified. It's a simple formula:

People In (excess immigration) + Jobs Out (free trade treason) = Bankrupt Nation

We need all our industries back from steel to oil to heavy manufacturing construction and we need them yesterday.

I can tell you the steel jobs are gone and will never come back. ARMCO, Bethlehem, LTV, Weirton, most likely Wheeling Steel are kaput.
The jobs are gone. The facilities are closed and will never be reopened.

We use less steel today. We purchase more from overseas. Plus, China is building several state of the art, steel mills.