Federal Government Hiring Drives Jobs Growth

[marmar]

from 24/7WallStreet:



Signs Of The Apocalypse: Federal Government Hiring Drives Jobs Growth
Posted: May 3, 2010 at 7:36 pm


The major concern about the March employment numbers is that the economy added 162,000 jobs, but of those, 48,000 were temporary workers who have been hired for the 2010 Census. Economists pointed out that this Census employee trend does very little for long-term job creation. It will take years to replace the eight million jobs lost during the recession. The government will have to do a lot of hiring.

And, the government is doing just that.

Gallup’s Job Creation Index for April shows that the federal government was the primary engine for new hiring during the month. The private sector made a very modest contribution, and state and local governments continue to aggressively lay people off as their taxes bases go through rapid contractions. This process at the local level is not over. Property taxes are a great part of the money brought in by cities and municipalities. Real estate prices are still down over 30% from their peaks three-years ago. Whatever money comes from local income taxes has been eroded by high unemployment.

Gallup reports that

“The overall Index value for American workers in April tilts positive, with 27% of workers saying their places of employment are hiring, and 22% saying their employers are letting people go — resulting in an overall +5 Job Creation Index.”

The most noteworthy data may be the extent to which businesses are still firing people. There is a popular assumption that lay-offs are largely lower and that employers, while not hiring, are in a steady state of worker retention. Productivity has gone up so much in the last two quarters that the amount of work that any one person can do has probably reached a point past which is cannot reasonably go. The fact that over one out of five enterprises, private and public, are still letting workers go is a sign the aftershocks of the recession are still powerful. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://247wallst.com/2010/05/03/signs-of-the-apocalypse-federal-government-hiring-drives-jobs-growth/

[The_Casual_Observer]

1. As if the "real" economy has encouraged sustainable job growth

since NAFTA or China "Free Trade". The government funded stuff is all there is folks, learn to love it.