Those with a vested interest in our economic "recovery" are crowing about the jobs growth over the last few months.
The United States economy showed signs of kicking into gear in March, adding 216,000 jobs and prompting President Obama to proclaim a corner finally turned.
The president and his fellow Democrats pointed to the latest jobs report on Friday, and to an unemployment rate that fell a touch to 8.8 percent, as evidence that their policies, like stimulus spending and the payroll tax cut, were working...
In a society whose health is judged by economic data & statistics, the triumph of quantity over quality is almost complete. If one actually looked at what kind of jobs were added, a few cracks appeared in the otherwise rosy facade.
In March, employment in the service-providing sector continued to expand, led by a gain of 78,000 in professional and business services. Most of the gain occurred in temporary help services (+29,000) and in professional and technical services (+35,000).
Employment in leisure and hospitality rose by 37,000 over the month, with more than two-thirds of the increase in food services and drinking places (+27,000).
In March, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls were unchanged at $22.87...
I am delighted that many more bartenders, waitresses and dishwashers have been hired recently, a trend which reflects the need of so many Americans to eat & drink their way through the current disaster. However, it is that last BLS number, the average hourly wage, that hides the grim truth—half the jobs added during the "recovery" pay very low wages. Yahoo News recently reported the trend in Jobs returning — but good ones not so much.
- Lower-wage industries — things like retail and food preparation — accounted for 23 percent of the jobs lost during the recession, but 49 percent of the jobs gained over the last year, a recent study (pdf) by the National Employment Law Project [NELP] found. Higher-wage industries, by contrast, accounted for 40 percent of the jobs lost, but just 14 percent of the jobs gained. In other words, low paying jobs are increasing as a percentage of total jobs, while high-paying jobs are on the decline [graph below from the study].
Lower wages = $9.03 to $12.91 per hour, mid-wages = $12.92 to $19.04, and higher wages = $19.05 to $31.40. Only 14% of the jobs added paid wages close to or higher than the BLS average wage ($22.87). Of course, the average wage is nearly useless as a valid measure in so far as it is distorted at the top end by America's enormous income inequality.
- Meanwhile, the percentage of those working who have part-time jobs and want full-time ones surged in mid-February to 19.6 percent — almost as high as it was a year ago before the recovery began, according to Gallup numbers. That suggests, of course, that a large number of the new jobs created over the last year are part-time. [The latest Gallup polling shows underemployment at 19.3%.]
- And a recent Wall Street Journal analysis found that even though productivity rose 5.2 percent from mid 2009 to the end of 2010, wages increased by just 0.3 percent. That means only 6 percent of productivity gains were shared with workers. In past recoveries, that figure has averaged 58 percent. This time around, far more of the gains went to shareholders, in the form of profits, which are at record levels. [See my post Gotta Love That Worker Productivity!]
Thus we have a resurgence of lousy jobs in the United States. These are not what David Stockman calls "breadwinner" jobs, which means you can not support a family on the low wages paid out. See my posts No New Jobs Is the New Normal and David Stockman Tells It Like It Is. You should also take a look at the New York Times' Many Low Wage Jobs Seen As Failing To Meet Basic Needs, and the study referenced therein.
As a general reminder of where we stand, look at the total number of private-sector jobs in the United States since January, 2000.
Private sector employment from January, 2000 to January 2011. Figure 1 from the NELP study cited above.
The next time you hear about how many jobs the economy created last month, take the time to wonder about what kind of jobs those were. The problem with combating propaganda is that it requires effort. When somebody is trying to sell you a used car, you've got to to look underneath the hood. Generally speaking, oblivious Americans are delusional about what's really going on, and thus do not comprehend their poor longer-term economic prospects, so it's easy for those running this country to sell you the recovery story. Keeping Americans in the dark has been the government's "unofficial" policy for many decades now. You are misled as a matter of course.
In reality, the "good" news they're selling you hides, among other atrocities, the ongoing destruction of the Middle Class.
The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.
Bonus Video
I posted this blog today http://bit.ly/dW2gXB then I spoke with Lilliput Review explaining that I take an interest in US politics as I have family there and blog about both US & UK politics. he suggested I read your blog then I replied with this:-
Having read this I notice everyone seems to have lost the obvious, the infrastructure is in ruins, rail tracks need updating so it can take the new high speed trains, the roads need relaying and more tankers, trucks etc need to be produced to move the oil thats stuck in Mid West America. There are no pipelines, and the bridges need re-building, all this would provide work for people, get the country moving and on the go again. If you dont invest in your own country why should anyone else? Lilliput suggested that I let you see this you might be interested you are welcome to fllow me on either facebook, twitter, or both. Kind regards
Michael Douglas Bosc (author)
Posted by: Michael Douglas Bosc | 04/03/2011 at 03:57 PM