Thursday, August 20, 2009

Jobs: Can the Economy Truly Recover Without Them?

Today the weekly jobless claims number rose another 15,000 to a weekly moving average of around 550,000. Most economist believed that this number would be in the neighborhood of an 8,000 increase. This begs the question, "How can we be in a meaningful economic recovery if the nation continues to layoff it work force? It can't.

If we look at the current inflation data for July we can see the cost of goods and services continue to decline, which in essence reduces a companies profitability. If a company is not bringing in more revenue, how can they justify hiring new employees? I am baffled to continue hearing from the "over-zealous wall-street strategist" each and everyday that we are going to have a "jobless recovery".

I have two neighbors, a successful business owner and a top corporate executive at a large semi-conductor firm, that are both out-of-work. I have another neighbor who is a seasoned airline pilot that is scared to death that he is going to loose his job.

Folks, until we see an increase in consumer prices, new job creation, and an increase in consumer confidence. This "so-called" economic recovery will be short lived.