Zippyjuan
01-06-2011, 11:26 PM
http://my.earthlink.net/article/top?guid=20110106/8494a7d4-8014-47cc-8766-9d52247fece4
But will it last? Might just be a blip with higher holiday sales hiring and may drop along with retail sales again after the first of the year. Last year they cut back too much and were caught short handed for the holidays so they increased inventories and staff this year. Early numbers indicate they pretty well matched expected demand this year. As after Christmas shopping tapers off, the staff will probably get reduced again. May stay a bit above last year, but I don't expect anything dramatic. Not enough for a significant decrease in unemployment longer term.
Consumers had plenty of pent- up demand after cutting back significantly over the last two years and wanted to treat themselves and their families for a change. Once they get the credit card bills for what they actually spent, look for them to go back into fiscal hibernation.
That "tax cut" the article talks about is a reduction in monies collected for Social Security. If you normally had about $100 taken out a month, your after-tax income will go up by a whopping $2 a month. Where you going to spend yours to help boost the economy? Gas probably.
December jobs report seen showing greater hiring
CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER
From Associated Press
January 07, 2011 12:59 AM EST
WASHINGTON (AP) — The government is expected to report Friday that businesses stepped up hiring in December, a trend likely to gain momentum in 2011.
Economists are predicting that employers added a net total of 145,000 jobs last month and that the unemployment rate dipped to 9.7 percent.
Some are even more optimistic after a private payroll firm estimated this week that companies added nearly 300,000 jobs in December. Also encouraging was a report that fewer people applied for unemployment benefits over the past month than in any four-week period in more than two years.
A decline in layoffs has consumers feeling better about the economy and spending more freely. This past holiday shopping season was the best in four years.
And a payroll tax cut that goes into effect this month will give Americans even more money in the new year. Economists expect that will boost economic growth and give businesses more confidence to hire.
"Consumers are no longer as concerned about their job security, and that's giving them a little more confidence to go out and spend," said Ryan Sweet, an economist at Moody's Analytics.
The economy needs to generate about 125,000 jobs a month just to keep up with population growth and prevent the unemployment rate from rising. More than double that amount is needed to reduce the rate.
Last year, the nation added an average of 86,500 jobs a month through November. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, actually rose — from 9.7 percent in January to 9.8 percent in November.
But many economists expect hiring to ramp up in 2011. Goldman Sachs projects that employers will add 2.2 million jobs this year, or about 180,000 a month, double last year's amount. Moody's Analytics puts the figure at about 250,000 per month.
Still, the recession left a deep hole in the job market. More than 7.3 million jobs were eliminated during the downturn. Most economists expect the unemployment rate will still be near 9 percent by the end of 2011.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who is scheduled to testify about the economic outlook Friday on Capitol Hill, has said it will take years for the unemployment rate to return to a healthy level of about 5.5 percent.
One positive development is that small businesses are starting to add more workers after lagging behind their larger counterparts. The National Federation of Independent Business said Thursday that its measure of the small business hiring outlook rose to its highest level in more than two years in December.
More at link.
But will it last? Might just be a blip with higher holiday sales hiring and may drop along with retail sales again after the first of the year. Last year they cut back too much and were caught short handed for the holidays so they increased inventories and staff this year. Early numbers indicate they pretty well matched expected demand this year. As after Christmas shopping tapers off, the staff will probably get reduced again. May stay a bit above last year, but I don't expect anything dramatic. Not enough for a significant decrease in unemployment longer term.
Consumers had plenty of pent- up demand after cutting back significantly over the last two years and wanted to treat themselves and their families for a change. Once they get the credit card bills for what they actually spent, look for them to go back into fiscal hibernation.
That "tax cut" the article talks about is a reduction in monies collected for Social Security. If you normally had about $100 taken out a month, your after-tax income will go up by a whopping $2 a month. Where you going to spend yours to help boost the economy? Gas probably.
December jobs report seen showing greater hiring
CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER
From Associated Press
January 07, 2011 12:59 AM EST
WASHINGTON (AP) — The government is expected to report Friday that businesses stepped up hiring in December, a trend likely to gain momentum in 2011.
Economists are predicting that employers added a net total of 145,000 jobs last month and that the unemployment rate dipped to 9.7 percent.
Some are even more optimistic after a private payroll firm estimated this week that companies added nearly 300,000 jobs in December. Also encouraging was a report that fewer people applied for unemployment benefits over the past month than in any four-week period in more than two years.
A decline in layoffs has consumers feeling better about the economy and spending more freely. This past holiday shopping season was the best in four years.
And a payroll tax cut that goes into effect this month will give Americans even more money in the new year. Economists expect that will boost economic growth and give businesses more confidence to hire.
"Consumers are no longer as concerned about their job security, and that's giving them a little more confidence to go out and spend," said Ryan Sweet, an economist at Moody's Analytics.
The economy needs to generate about 125,000 jobs a month just to keep up with population growth and prevent the unemployment rate from rising. More than double that amount is needed to reduce the rate.
Last year, the nation added an average of 86,500 jobs a month through November. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, actually rose — from 9.7 percent in January to 9.8 percent in November.
But many economists expect hiring to ramp up in 2011. Goldman Sachs projects that employers will add 2.2 million jobs this year, or about 180,000 a month, double last year's amount. Moody's Analytics puts the figure at about 250,000 per month.
Still, the recession left a deep hole in the job market. More than 7.3 million jobs were eliminated during the downturn. Most economists expect the unemployment rate will still be near 9 percent by the end of 2011.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who is scheduled to testify about the economic outlook Friday on Capitol Hill, has said it will take years for the unemployment rate to return to a healthy level of about 5.5 percent.
One positive development is that small businesses are starting to add more workers after lagging behind their larger counterparts. The National Federation of Independent Business said Thursday that its measure of the small business hiring outlook rose to its highest level in more than two years in December.
More at link.