Ongoing disaster evident in too many states

[HiPointDem]

Earlier this month, the national jobs report was released, revealing the ongoing disaster resulting from a persistently weak economic recovery. Today’s release of state employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics helps identify the states that face the most grave economic challenges more than five years after the beginning of the Great Recession.

Between January 2013 and April 2013, twelve states and the District of Columbia experienced decline in overall employment. Earlier signs of weakness in the Northeast and Midwest were further realized over the three-month period from January 2013 to April 2013, with the Midwest job market stagnant at 0.0 percent, and the Northeast at 0.3 percent.

Both the South and West experienced growth of 0.5 percent during this period. Utah’s growth of 1.7 percent leads the nation, with Texas’ job growth of 1.0 percent the only other state at or above 1 percent growth.

In April 2013, there were four states—Nevada, Illinois, Mississippi and California—with unemployment rates of 9.0 or more (down from seven states in March). The number of states in which the unemployment rate is now less than 5.0 percent increased to nine, led by Nebraska and North Dakota, each with rates less than 4.0 percent.

http://www.epi.org/publication/ongoing-disaster-evident-states/

[graham4anything]

1. alas, those stats are just not true. They cover up just how great the comeback is.

one always can look at a glass as half empty or half full

But it hides the fact that the glass is now 2/3 full and not just half.

Whereas the glass used to be empty.

You gotta believe!

[jtuck004]

6. The glass used to be full of milk. Now it's 2/3 full of sewage. But perhaps you have a point. n/t

[Summer Hathaway]

2. I have to agree.

"Ongoing disaster evident on too many sites."

This is why we should all be on our guard for people on websites who - oh.

Nevermind.

[SoCalDem]

3. The folly of the "consumer/service" economy in action

It's inevitable, and brutal.

I think the "planners" from back in the 80's thought the whole thing would hold together long enough for the Boomers to die off before trouble started...and with so many workers leaving at the same time, they could mask it with volume of jobs suddenly available.. The folly in their thinking is that as wages stagnated/declined and costs rose dramatically it's a hellish mix to maintain, no matter how many people check out.

A country like ours (or any country) cannot sustain itself with jobs where people do each other's nails & hair, sell each other fast food and do other menial low paid jobs.

Family-sustaining incomes are necessary, but more and more, are unavailable to many.

[HiPointDem]

4. "thought the whole thing would hold together long enough for the Boomers to die off"

interesting thought and creepy if true.

[SoCalDem]

5. It's no accident that as pensions (which used to be the norm) were eliminated

at the same time as 401-k (a 40 year stake for wall street gamblers) came along to replace them.

Legislation (planning) put the final nail in coffin for savings account interest that made sense..wages fell/stagnated just as EZ-credit plastic came along to "fill the gap".. replace wages & real assets with borrowed money.

Not accidental at all.

[Recursion]

7. How is doing nails any different from making widgets for each other?

There's still nothing magic about manufacturing as opposed to services.

[Skittles]

8. one used to pay a living wage

[Recursion]

9. And doesn't anymore. That doesn't have anything to do with service vs. manufacture

For that matter an aesthetician can make a decent living compared to a factory floor worker today.

[Skittles]

10. mmmm,.......

sorry, I do not want to waste my time

[Recursion]

12. Yes, arguing that manufacturing is magically better than service is a waste of time

So, there we are.

[House of Roberts]

14. How does a service economy create wealth from raw materials?

It can't. I can exchange labor with you. You can wash my car, and I can mow your grass. The car is dirty again by the time the grass needs mowing, but in the meantime, how do we pay our bills?

Even agriculture is a form of manufacturing, growing fruits and vegetables from seed. Mining ore, making steel, making parts with that steel. Each process adds value to the product, and we have something to sell or trade.

It's not magic. It's why corporations with too many overhead personnel lose money. It takes a surplus of manufacturing creating wealth to support a service sector. It can't exist in reverse.

[Recursion]

15. Services and goods both have finite lifetimes, and both increase quality of life

Each process adds value to the product, and we have something to sell or trade.

I'm glad that you see that about manufacturing and agriculture. Why don't you see it about services? Things like teaching, cleaning, food preparation, car repair, computer administration, guarding and protecting people and property: those all increase quality of life as well.

In the early 20th century the US got so good at farming that we didn't need millions of people on the farm to grow enough food for us and to export. Late in the 20th century we got so good at manufacturing that we didn't need millions of people in factories to make stuff for us (remember, we still manufacture more than China, and the US currently manufactures more than it ever has in the past it just doesn't need as many people to do it.)

[fasttense]

11. We have an 11.2% unemployment rate in our rural county

It got better for a few years then increased again. Before the bushes had their coupe, we had dropped to as low as 2% unemployment. But it has never gone that low since.

And yet the fools around here, living out of trailers, vote RepubliCON every chance they get.

[HiPointDem]

13. we have about 10% last i checked. the view is different from this angle.