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I thought the economy was starting to progress.....

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by Rockets34Legend, Jun 17, 2003.

  1. Rockets34Legend

    Rockets34Legend Contributing Member

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    http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=&e=5&u=/ap/20030617/ap_on_bi_ge/jobs_outlook_7

    Job Market Worst Since Early 1990s

    MILWAUKEE - Three out of four employers expect to cut jobs or hold off on hiring this summer, contributing to the worst employment market since the early 1990s, a new survey said Tuesday.

    About two-thirds of employers said they don't expect to hire any additional workers and 9 percent plan to eliminate jobs during the July-to-September quarter, according to the survey by Manpower Inc.

    "Let's try not to get anyone too depressed, but the facts are the facts," said Jeffrey Joerres, chairman and chief executive officer of Manpower, which surveys 16,000 businesses for its quarterly survey.

    Although 20 percent of employers in the survey said they plan to add jobs, competition for work is expected to be high. Six percent are uncertain about their employment plans.

    "It's a buyer's market right now if you're an employer," said economist Patrick Anderson, principal of Anderson Economic Group in Lansing, Mich. "Some of those who are getting a real shock are those who are emerging from college and don't have strong work skills."

    Manpower, which is based in Glendale, Wis., and is the nation's largest staffing company, has conducted the survey for 27 years.

    The company collected the most recent data in April during the war in Iraq (news - web sites) and the SARS (news - web sites) crisis, which analysts say could account for some employer pessimism.

    "April has to be one of the worst months in recent history to take an outlook survey," Anderson said. "We would expect that a war would depress hiring plans."

    Joerres said employers face uncertainty in this downturn because of its duration and multiple fits and starts. By contrast, the "classic" recession during the first Gulf War (news - web sites) was followed by a relatively smooth recovery, Joerres said.

    "I do think we're in uncharted waters from a labor perspective," he said.

    Doug Thomas, operations manager of TemPro Staffing of Green Bay, Wis., called the job outlook for light industrial semiskilled workers, "very, very weak."

    "More manufacturing is leaving than coming," Thomas said.

    Art Ayre, state employment economist for Oregon, said his state has lost 8,500 manufacturing jobs in the last year, but he is expecting a slight rebound for his state and for the rest of the nation in the third quarter.

    "We're still waiting for some indication that we'll achieve stability and then actually gain some growth," Ayre said.

    The education and nondurable goods manufacturing sectors are facing the biggest impact, with each group's employment levels for the third quarter the lowest in 20 years, according to the survey.

    Education jobs are at their lowest level in 27 years of Manpower data, with more employers expecting to cut jobs than those who are expecting to increase jobs.

    Employment estimates across the United States are relatively consistent, with the South reporting slightly stronger hiring expectations and the Northeast expecting the slowest hiring pace for the third consecutive quarter.
     
  2. Buck Turgidson

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    WRONG FORUM.

    I've always wanted to do that.
     
  3. RocketMan Tex

    RocketMan Tex Contributing Member

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    ClutchCity.Net...where everyone's dreams really do come true!:D
     
  4. ima_drummer2k

    ima_drummer2k Contributing Member

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    Yeah, this forum is for important issues of the day.

    Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go start a fart thread. :D
     
  5. Woofer

    Woofer Contributing Member

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    Hey we got WMD to find, gotta keep that economy stuff out of the news until after Bush's reelection...
     
  6. Mr. Clutch

    Mr. Clutch Contributing Member

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    I think Greenspan is making it worse by lowering interest rates. He is propping up crappy companies that need to downsize.
     
  7. MadMax

    MadMax Contributing Member

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    yawn...

    maybe if you could post another article?
     
  8. pgabriel

    pgabriel Educated Negro

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    Maybe you could find the WMD. But I digress, I know its not important.
     
  9. MadMax

    MadMax Contributing Member

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    i'm too busy trying to hold down my job, build a practice, root for the astros and post on this freaking site to go out and find WMD. sorry...i just don't have the time for it right now.
     
  10. Mr. Clutch

    Mr. Clutch Contributing Member

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    I was about to say that this could be posted in the Hangout, but nevermind
     
  11. pgabriel

    pgabriel Educated Negro

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    So now its the I'm to busy with my life to worry about my government's reason for starting a war argument. You're right the Astros are way more important.
     
  12. Rocketman95

    Rocketman95 Hangout Boy

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    Slacker.
     
  13. MadMax

    MadMax Contributing Member

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    wait...are you asking me to find the weapons...or are you asking me to worry? i have time to worry...your original post asked me to find the weapons. if you want me to worry, i might be able to fit that in.
     
  14. Rockets34Legend

    Rockets34Legend Contributing Member

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    If it's in the wrong forum, sorry about that. Admins, can you move it to the right forum? If it isn't, that's fine w/ me.
     
  15. pgabriel

    pgabriel Educated Negro

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    I'm just giving you a hard time. I'm not spending my time on it either, I haven't posted in one of those threads for at least a week. But I still want to know the truth.
     
  16. Woofer

    Woofer Contributing Member

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  17. Woofer

    Woofer Contributing Member

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    Things are getting cheaper and cheaper, but then we may only be able to make this stuff overseas.
    http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0618/p01s01-usec.html

    Is bargain aisle also deflation alley?

    Low and falling prices are becoming ingrained in the consumer psyche - for better or worse.

    By Ron Scherer | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

    OYSTER BAY, N.Y. – Retiree Herb Tamres considers himself a "careful" shopper. He waits for sales. He remembers what he's paid for his groceries in prior weeks. So, as he walks out of a Stop & Shop in Oyster Bay, N.Y., he's pleased that he's got a pound of ham and cheese that were on sale.
    "When I shop, I want to know what are the specials," says the Mill Neck resident.
    He's not alone. Cost-conscious shoppers have been seeing prices plunge on goods such as computers, blue jeans, sandals, and even Harry Potter card games. Bargains are evident from Circuit City to the local auto mile. And while food prices haven't fallen overall, alert buyers at this Stop & Shop can find hot deals from Aisle 1 to Aisle 10: half-price bottled water, discounted razors, and more.

    Welcome to "I can get it for you cheaper" America. It's a phenomenon that has Alan Greenspan watching prices as closely as Mr. Tamres. The Federal Reserve chairman worries that tumbling prices on many goods - while they make shoppers happy - could lead to broader deflation that harms the economy.

    Tuesday, there was more evidence of this bargain hunter's paradise. The consumer price index for May, after falling in April, showed no increase. Last week, the producer price index, a measure of wholesale prices, dropped for the second consecutive month. The prices of goods other than food and energy - known as the core inflation rate - were up slightly. The White House Tuesday tried to cast a favorable light on the report.

    Spokesman Ari Fleischer said the CPI report suggests deflation "is not a serious worry."

    The concern among economists is that if consumers don't buy - as they wait for prices to fall still further - the economy shrinks and jobs can disappear.

    Wall Street showed a bit more concern than the White House, as stock prices fell in the morning after a sharp rise on Monday.

    "Almost all goods are falling in prices," says Mark Zandi of The Economy.com, an economic website and consulting service. "I can't think of anything other than college tuition and private-school tuition that had a significant acceleration of inflation."

    The low prices are having an affect on the way consumer expectations. The University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers has found that consumers expect the inflation rate to average 2.6 percent annually for the next 10 years. "It's lowest since we started asking in the mid-1970s," says survey director Richard Curtin.

    THE Michigan surveys show that consumers expect "stable" prices. Only 5 percent expect declining prices. This is significant, says Mr. Curtin, because when consumers begin to expect prices to be lower in the future, they hold-off buying. "This encourages business firms, as their sales decrease, to offer larger discounts."

    An example of this is the auto industry. The May CPI report showed auto prices dropping by 0.1 percent. In order to stimulate sales, auto companies continue to offer incentives to entice buyers to the showroom. For example, Kia, the Korean manufacturer, is offering zero-percent financing and $2,000 rebates on some models. If the buyer is a past customer, they will add another $1,000. General Motors' Saturn division is giving college grads $750.

    Businesses are warily watching this trend. For example, Dave Sneddon runs three New York area specialty/produce markets called Fairway. He would prefer to see prices creeping up instead of remaining flat or going down.

    Most of his employees are unionized, so they receive wage hikes that are built into their contract. But he can't think of anything other than imports that have gone up in price. If "your expenses rise and prices are falling, ... this is not good," he says.

    Even when prices are rising, many retailers are absorbing the price increases in order to keep their customers happy. That's the case for Berk's Shoes in Cambridge, Mass., a trendy Harvard Square store. Kenneth Berk, the owner, says he is seeing on average a 3- to 5-percent increase in his costs. "My customers are price-sensitive, so when something goes up in price, we absorb the increase and don't pass it on."

    Out at Oyster Bay, consumers are happy with the price trends. As he leaves the store, Chuck Bartlett says he is especially glad to see the price of gasoline dropping. He drives a Land Rover that gets about 12 miles to the gallon. "I am definitely aware of the fact gasoline is down about 10 to 15 cents a gallon," he says.

    Another customer, Michael Buzzeo, remembers the 1970s, "the Carter days when prices felt like they were rising at 10 percent per week." As he walks out with some half-price Poland Spring water, he says, "I have very low expectations for inflation."

    Some of those price reductions at the store are aimed at generating traffic, says the manager. And it seems to be working.

    After Mr. Tamres paid for his ham and cheese, he finds out razor blades have four dollars off the price. He ducks back in and buys some. "It's worth it to wait for a sale," he says.

    • Elizabeth Nesoff contributed.
     

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