Send a Tweet
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 15 Share on Twitter Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 4/6/13

The Big Stall

By       (Page 1 of 1 pages)   1 comment
Follow Me on Twitter     Message Robert Reich
Become a Fan
  (130 fans)


(Image by Unknown Owner)   Details   DMCA

Bad news on the economy. It added only 88,000 jobs in March -- the slowest pace of job growth in nine months.

While the jobless rate fell to 7.6 percent, much of the drop was due to the labor force shrinking by almost a half million people. If you're not looking for work, you're not counted as unemployed.

That means the percentage of working-age Americans either with a job or looking for one dropped to 63.3 percent -- its lowest level since 1979.

The direction isn't encouraging. The pace of job growth this year is slower than its pace last year.

What's going on? The simple fact is companies won't hire if consumers aren't buying enough to justify the new hires. And consumers don't have enough money, or credit, or confidence to buy enough.

It's likely Americans are beginning to feel the pinches of January's hike in the payroll tax combined with the government budget cuts known as the sequester. Increases in gas prices haven't helped. All are taking money out of the pockets of most people -- whose job situation remains precarious. So they can't and won't buy much.

One indicator: Retailers cut their staffs in March -- by 24,100.

Yes, the stock market has rebounded. But only a small portion of Americans are affected by the rebound. The richest 1 percent own 35 percent of all shares of stock; the richest 10 percent own 90 percent.

And, yes, housing prices have stopped falling, and construction of new homes has picked up. The construction sector added 18,000 jobs in March.

But the turnaround in housing isn't because prospective homeowners have been able to get new mortgages. It's because investors are buying or building homes to rent. And a buoyant rental market doesn't make most people feel wealthier.

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of all this is that we're in the fifth year of a supposed economic recovery from the second-worst economic downturn of the past century, and we're still not nearly back on track. Instead, we've had the most anemic recovery in history.

A Gallup survey released Thursday showed that the percentage of Americans holding full-time jobs has remained essentially unchanged over the past year. With 12 million people out of work and another 8 million holding part-time jobs who'd rather have full-time ones, this just isn't nearly good enough.

We're experiencing the burden of austerity economics and the continued scourge of widening inequality. Both are squeezing average Americans. Yet it's impossible to have a buoyant and sustained recovery without a large and growing middle class.

Must Read 1  
Rate It | View Ratings

Robert Reich Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor and Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley, has a new film, "Inequality for All," to be released September 27. He blogs at www.robertreich.org.

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Trump Cornered

The Republican's Big Lies About Jobs (And Why Obama Must Repudiate Them)

Paul Ryan Still Doesn't Get It

What Mitt Romney Really Represents

What to Do About Disloyal Corporations

The Gas Wars

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend