Signs of the Times: Some Good, Some Bad Economic News
1. CNNMoney has a report on “Stressful jobs that pay badly,” and the list includes fundraisers – 67% of whom say their jobs are stressful. “Add in a recession and their job gets even more difficult. But fundraisers must persevere in order to keep worthy charities and non-profit organizations running.” Nonetheless, it’s better to have a job than not.
2. The national unemployment rate has risen into double-digits for the first time in 26 years – 10.2%. Delving into the numbers, Heather Boushey at the Center for American Progress, reveals a grim picture:
“The share of the unemployed who are ‘long-term unemployed’—that is, out of work and searching for a job for at least six months—remains at an all-time record high of 35.6 percent (going back to 1948). The typical worker is taking 18.7 weeks to find a new job—also a record high going back to 1948.”
And, “9.3 million workers are employed part-time even though they would prefer a full-time jobs; and the share of the population with a job has fallen to 58.5 percent, lower than at any point since 1983; adult men’s employment rates fell to 66.7 percent, hitting another all-time low (going back to 1948); and teens are seeing their worst labor market ever—unemployment among 16- to 19-year-olds is a record 27.6 percent.”
3. How many jobs have stimulus funds saved?
On October 20, the LA Times ran a story (by-line: Joe Markman) with this headline: “Stimulus saved 6,000 education jobs in L.A., report says.” The source of this information was a White House report.
Since then Recovery.gov – Track the Money – has touted 640,329 jobs created/saved (as of 10/30/2009) as reported by recipients of stimulus funds. A table suggests 110,185 jobs created/saved in California. Critics have complained that roughly 650,000 jobs have been created (or saved) at a cost of $160 billion. “By the critics’ calculations,” AP reports, “that’s over $246,000 a job — and a terrible deal for taxpayers. Why spend nearly $250,000 to employ a highway worker or a teacher making a small fraction of that?” But of course – it’s not just a job for a highway worker that was created; the cost includes construction materials and creation of a highway. There must be a value to that – as well as to the teacher’s efforts on behalf of students in the classroom.
As I mentioned, the Recovery.gov site numbers are tallies of reports by fund recipients. So it should probably not be surprising that a call to LAUSD’s communications office yielded figures even rosier than the administration’s: Stimulus funds received by the district – $358.8 million. Jobs saved – 7,601.
That’s only $47,200 a year per job. Feel better?
4. Warren Buffett says of Berkshire Hathaway’s purchase of the Burlington Northern “It’s an all-in wager on the economic future of the United States.” Coming from the shrewd investor, the surprising purchase is regarded as an expression of optimism for the direction of the economy.
5. The number of jobs advertised online declined by 83,200 in October the Conference Board reports (via Reuters). “The September and October numbers are a further indication that, thus far, the recovery is weak,” said Gad Levanon, Senior Economist, at The Conference Board. “Labor demand is a leading indicator of employment, and the numbers indicate that employment is not likely to rise for the rest of this year.”
6. The LA Times reports that CIT group, which provides loans to about a million businesses, filed for bankruptcy protection. “CIT is the first firm to fail after a government bailout.”
7. George Soros has pledged $50 million – $5 million a year for 1o years – according to a report last week in the Financial Times (registration required, but no subscription), to back a new economic think-tank, to be named the Institute of New Economic Thinking. “The ideologists in the free markets are still in command and I think they’ll be very difficult to remove because they have tenure,” Mr. Soros told the Financial Times. He hopes to “shift demand” among university students, so economics departments will offer courses of study that are less wedded to strict mathematical models that assume strictly rational behavior. (Via Philanthropy Today.)
