Unemployment Numbers Not Likely to Recover Any Time Soon

By dubayns on 11/24/09 6:35pm
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JoblessJoblessIn a recent New York Daily News article, columnist Nouriel Roubini explains that the unemployment rate will likely peak close to where it is now, but the worst is yet to come.  There may not be a full recovery until 2011, and millions more could lose their jobs in the months and years to come.  The article goes on to explain that in October alone, the US lost over 200,000 jobs.  Many of these jobs are unrecoverable, as they have been outsourced to other countries never to be seen stateside again.

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Unemployment Benefit Extension Passes As National Unemployment Rate Hits 10.2%

By dubayns on 11/13/09 1:46pm
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Unemployment Benefit ExtensionUnemployment Benefit Extension

 

The last time the nation's unemployment rate was over 10% was in 1983.  It’s been 26 years and October’s numbers reflect a worsening of the recession.  The official US unemployment rate is 10.2%, but this does not count people who no longer qualify for unemployment benefits, those who are under employed, and those who are discouraged and no longer looking for work.  The real unemployment rate, if these groups were considered, would rival that of the Great Depression, when 25% unemployment was seen.  At least back in the 1930’s the official numbers were not skewed and changed to try and reflect a rosier-than-reality employment environment.

 

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Seattle Employment Report

By dubayns on 11/11/09 5:37pm
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The greater Seattle area is home to a wide variety of firms and companies and has been one of the most economically diverse areas for the past couple of decades.  Early on Seattle was a port city.  AS it began to grow, companies like Boeing and Microsoft have dominated to corporate landscape.  Hundreds of startups and entrepreneurs make Seattle their home and the economy has been able to really reinvent itself recently so as to not so closely follow the successes and failures of the bigger companies like Boeing and Microsoft.  No longer tied to its corporate roots, the Seattle area has been able to thrive during the economic recession.

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Boeing deal may take 3,800 jobs with it

By Lipps on 10/28/09 2:26pm
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Boeing 787 Dreamliner concept art.Boeing 787 Dreamliner concept art.It appears Boeing is going to land its next plant in Charleston, South Carolina, after negotiations appear to have completely failed between the Aerospace giant and the a Washington Machinists union.

“I really wanted this marriage to work out, but I think it’s irreparably broken,” John Monroe, a former Boeing executive, told the Charleston Regional Business Journal.

The Seattle Times is reporting that the talks went bust and the second Boeing 787 Dreamliner assembly plant will be located in South Carolina. Word is that Boeing is already done talking, but the union wants to keep discussions open.

Scott Hamilton, a consultant with Seattle-based Leeham Co., told the Charleston Regional Business Journal, “Basically, it’s over.”

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Unemployment Data: An Ever-Changing Standard of Measurement

By dubayns on 10/15/09 10:27pm
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The current unemployment rate may be as high as 30% for non-farm workers in the US.  The official numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) state that nationally, it’s closer to 10%.  But if you take a look at the way the government measures unemployment, and how that scale has changed over the past half century, you will begin to see that the numbers coming out of the Government’s Bureau and the actual numbers are quite different.

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