1999 vs. 2009 What a difference a decade makes

Okay, so I just read a report titled “Unemployment and Jobs In International Perspective” by two distinguished professors for the United States Congress and it read “The United States has low unemployment rates and substantial job creation, while much of the rest of the industrialized world has high unemployment and little or no expansion in employment. Why?“

The in-depth report went on to show many descriptive statistics and simple econometric evidence to underscore why the U.S. did it better than the rest of the industrialized world due to its untiring attention to controlling labor costs. The report was written 10 years ago when the US economy was labeled the "Goldilocks economy" because things were going just right… not too hot and not too cold. Unemployment and inflation were both lowest they had been in 30 years and the stock market was booming with blossoming day traders all over the place. According to Business Week, the U.S. economy had entered a "new era" in which rapid technological change (especially information technology) will make it possible for the U.S. economy to continue to achieve both low unemployment and low inflation for the foreseeable future.

Oh what a difference a decade makes. Let’s fast forward to 2009 with the highest unemployment rates since the 80’s. Since December 2007 more than 5 million people filed for unemployment according to a recent report from the Department of Labor. The national unemployment rate hit 10.2% not since the 1980’s have we seen such a high rate. The manufacturing sector accounted for 36 percent of all initial unemployment filings during October 2009 compared to 2008’s number of 45 percent, reflecting a slight decrease.

Industries Hardest Hit in 2009:
1. Temporary help services
2. Motion picture and video production
3. Professional employer organizations
4. Automobile manufacturing
5. Construction machinery manufacturing
6. Highway, street, and bridge construction
7. Farm labor contractors and crew leaders
8. Food service contractors
9. Discount department stores
10. Hotels and motels, except casino hotels

States with the highest recorded unemployment rates for Aug, Sep & Oct 2009
1. California
2. Illinois
3. Florida
4. Wisconsin
5. Pennsylvania
6. Ohio
7. Michigan
8. Texas
9. New York
10. Indiana

Shifting Home Balance

The Home Balance is Shifting – Men are being hit harder by the recession than women

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, men reported a higher unemployment rate than women for the Month of June with a 2.3 percentage-point difference. According to published statistics, men experienced a 10.6% unemployment rate and women a slightly less rate of 8.3%. Both numbers reflect the highest rates ever recorded since record keeping began in the 1940’s.

Much of this is due to the fact that industries typically dominated by men have been hit harder – construction, manufacturing, and auto.

Industries that appear to be showing some sign of gain are private sector – healthcare and education and those have a high concentration of women, typically more than 51%. The healthcare industry gained more than a half a million jobs and education more than 100,000 since the recession began in December 2007. Both sexes have been impacted by the recession and both nearly doubled since the beginning, in Jan 2008 women’s unemployment was 4.7% and men’s were just over 5%.

Has this affected your home balance?