In recent months, many economists have declared the recession is coming to an end while ignoring one of the strongest indicators of a country’s economic strength—employment rates. A “jobless recovery” is not very likely, yet economists have been ignoring these high unemployment rates while focusing on other economic indicators.
Even though the U.S. economy grew in the third quarter for the first time in over a year, we are still facing increased job loss for the 22nd consecutive month. Even though it appears that companies may be reducing the threat of bankruptcy, everyday Americans have been faced with the increasing threat of job loss and financial insecurity. There has been a trend in recent months that demonstrate a shorter work week. This is a bad indicator for two reasons—one, workers will be receiving less monthly income than a full 40 hour work week; second, companies are not considering hiring new employees at this time.
There has been an overall drop in private sector employment since 2000. This is disturbing due to the fact that population grew by 11% in the same period. John Harrington of Harrington investments weighed in on the matter: “To have a real recovery you need to put people to work. Right now we are not doing that.” It is ignorant for one to disregard the massive unemployment issues that this country is currently facing. To truly repair the economy from the ground up we must first get Americans back to work. While indicators such as the growing economy as well as the impressive rebound on Wall Street are positive signs for the future, make sure to take a look at unemployment statistics before buying into a “jobless recovery” theory.
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