On Friday, the Jobs Report showed the economy added 117,000 jobs and unemployment dropped to 9.1%. This is better than the either the May or June report -- so, why did the Dow lose 400 points? (and gain it back, to end up up 61 points) Because the stock market is just catching up with economic indicators that haven't been too stellar for a few months.
- First, GDP growth in the first half of the year.
- Second, the debt deal created more uncertainty -- which the stock market hates.
- Third, the Fed is not looking like it wants to launch another version of QE2. Too worried about inflation.
- Fourth, the debt crisis in Europe is really getting on investors' nerves.
- Fifth, it's the summer. The stock market tends to dip in the summer -- remember last year, when the Dow dropped 1,000 points in a day.
Let's keep in mind the economic situation is dreary, not catastrophic. Furthermore, the jobs report showed that employment was 1.3 million jobs higher than last year. Folks, the jobs situation is improving -- just not as fast as the stock market would like. And this trend is better than June's, which was better May's. In the last several recessions, there was this same type of bumpiness in employment numbers. The most important thing is to be sure that employment doesn't go down year-over-year.
What This Means for You
The jobs number for total private employment was even better -- it rose by 154,000 jobs, mostly in health care, retail trade, manufacturing, and mining. Whatever you do, don't look into a government job. More than 32,000 government jobs were lost last month -- mostly from the Minnesota government shut-down.
Related Jobs Articles
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- How Can I Protect Myself from Unemployment?
Articles from Alison Doyle, About.com Guide to Job Searching
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(Photo Credit: John Moore /Getty Images)
Comments
Ms. Amadeo- For such an educated person, your assessment of our current economic conditions are, with all due respect, ‘way out of touch.’
The unemployment numbers are down only because of people leaving the job market. 154k new jobs in July does not even cover the country’s attrition rate. High income jobs have been devastated….believe me, I know this all too well. You should focus on ‘underemployed’ factors which are far more dire.
The underlying economic conditions (i.e. GDP growth rates) are miserable for this country right now. Small businesses are in bankruptcy at a run rate double that of the last decade and increasing.
Banks are not lending. The federal government spending rates are ‘crowding out’ private access to capital exacerbated by allowing banks to hoard TARP capital with proprietary spreads.
This leaves only a very few well capitalized people to clean up as ‘blood runs’ in the streets.
Your advice on how to profit in this economy is good for someone who does not have a family to support (or maybe for someone willing to walk out on their family and leave them to fend for themselves)
Please re-think your approach by way of your stellar educational pedigree and push for the federal government to repeal the health care burdens, stop the out of control spending in other entitlements and bloated government jobs. Push for energy policies that will put the EPA in perspective and allow this country to leverage its vast energy resources.
With these initiatives your readers will have a far better chance of success with their positive attitudes and entrepreneurial spirit.
Kind Regards-
Anthony Ghosn
Mr. Ghosn,
The super-rich/ultra-rich have, by dint of their wealth, bought control of the governments of the world.
They are now in the process of taking vast amounts of the liquidity out of the economy.
By dint of their having control of the governments, they have enforced austerity on the great unwashed masses of the world, cutting entitlement and services.
Here in the United States, the proposals to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid is the method they are using to bring about a necessary-for-survival of humanity (and the planet), depopulation of mankind from nearly seven billion people to two billion?
Focusing on symptoms such as unemployment, underemployment, poverty, national debts, budget deficits, and etc., doesn’t address the real issue, which is over-population. But the way that it is being dealt with by the super-rich/ultra-rich who are in control of the governments seems to be quite sinister. And they are counting on the disbelief of everyone to deem it unthinkable as a way of keeping it a secret.
I don’t disagree with the concept that less people on the planet is the solution to the world’s economic problems. But for the super-rich/ultra-rich to proceed with a plan to create economic problems, and then use the obvious economic solutions (cut spending) to depopulate the planet is not the most efficacious way to do it.
They are risking the very existence of civilization by what they are doing.
MEL
Mr. Ghosn,
I agree with your points about underemployment, GDP, small business bankruptcies, etc. However, I disagree with your solution:
“Push for the federal government to repeal the health care burdens, stop the out of control spending in other entitlements and bloated government jobs. Push for energy policies that will put the EPA in perspective and allow this country to leverage its vast energy resources. ”
The #1 out-of-control spending problem is defense, which is too capital-intensive (benefits defense industries and their lobbyists) and not jobs-intensive. Spending should be transferred to solve the foreclosure/housing problem, and support small businesses/self-employed to create jobs.
MEL,
I agree that the policies of the super-rich are making the quality of life for the middle-class worse. Income inequality in the U.S. has worsened over the last 20 years. Even Warren Buffett says “Make us pay our fair share.”
My question is — Why does the middle-class keep voting for elected officials who are taking away their benefits?
Kimberly