In today’s job market, quality employment opportunities are highly sought after. Unfortunately, they are also in short supply. The era when anyone could waltz in wearing a suit and tie, engage in mundane office tasks, and enjoy generous perks while earning a consistent paycheck is behind us.
Securing a desirable job now requires a financially beneficial skill set that adds real value to employers. Furthermore, relentless hard work is essential. This is the takeaway from recent experience.
Many academic degrees are no longer sufficient, particularly for those in niche areas like the sociology of zebras in captivity. Recent graduates from such programs are quickly realizing their qualifications do not translate into practical job skills, often leaving them unprepared for even the simplest roles.
This past Tuesday, the Senate opted against President Obama’s proposed jobs bill, which sought to add $447 billion to the national debt to fund job creation that the market cannot support. This decision may very well be one of the wisest moves made by legislators this century.
By refraining from utilizing unearned funds to generate jobs that are unnecessary, the government has allowed the economy a chance to recover authentically. Continue reading
Last Friday, the Labor Department reported the addition of 103,000 jobs in September. Given the sluggish economic climate, this figure might seem acceptable at first glance. However, a closer look indicates that the headline number is somewhat misleading.
Among the reported jobs were 45,000 communications workers who returned after a strike. Excluding them from the count reveals a meager increase of just 58,000 jobs. Even with the reported 103,000 jobs created, the unemployment rate remained stubbornly high at 9.1 percent, with several other concerning statistics hidden beneath the surface.
For instance, the average duration of unemployment reached a record 40.5 weeks. Moreover, about 45 percent of the 14 million unemployed individuals had been out of work for over six months, which is an increase from 42.9 percent in August. Alarmingly, when we factor in those who have stopped seeking jobs and those working part-time but desiring full-time employment, the true unemployment rate rises to 16.5 percent. Continue reading
Something significant is happening; you can sense it. Unfortunately, the nation’s two leading figures are at the helm.
On Monday, as Wall Street marked down American Airlines’ stock by 33 percent, President Obama remarked that Americans are no better off than they were four years ago.
The following day, while 10-Year Treasury yields dipped to 1.72 percent, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke addressed Congress with a grave assessment of monetary policy. “Monetary policy can be a powerful tool, but it is not a cure-all for the current issues facing the U.S. economy,” Bernanke stated.
Clearly, both the President and the Federal Reserve Chairman are not making these statements for the sake of honest conversation. Their political careers were not built by merely presenting optimistic views. They aim to garner support for their next grand plan purportedly designed to rescue us from our own missteps.
What does this imply? It suggests a continued reliance on borrowed funds and the devaluation of currency—an approach they have consistently favored. Continue reading
Last Friday, the Commerce Department revealed a decline in both private sector wages and government benefits during August. This marked the first decrease in overall personal income since October 2009, indicating that, for many, financial situations worsened during this period.
Additionally, the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI), a leading authority on business cycles, reported that their most reliable indicators are now signaling a potential recession rather than a simple economic adjustment. Although ECRI may be mistaken, they have correctly predicted the last three recessions without any false alarms.
They warn that “a new recession isn’t merely a statistical anomaly; it initiates a vicious cycle that must run its course. A drop in sales can lead to reduced production, which in turn results in job losses and decreased income, ultimately weakening sales even further. This cycle can spread rapidly across industries and regions.” Continue reading
