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John Lounsbury
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John Lounsbury, Managing Editor and Co-founder of Global Economic Intersection, provides comprehensive financial planning and investment advisory services to a small number of families on a fee only basis. He has a background which includes 34 years with a major international corporation, 25... More
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  • Permanent Job Loss 2 comments
    Oct 22, 2009 8:04 PM
    David Altig, Atlanta Fed, provides the following graph (courtesy of Bureau of Labor Statistics) in his discussion of the poor outlook for employment (here).


    Altig writes:

    "Underneath the usual total unemployment numbers are the reasons an individual is unemployed: You are on temporary layoff; you quit your job; you have reentered the labor market and have yet to find a job; or you are entering the job market for the first time and have yet to find a job. Or, finally, you have been permanently separated from your previous employer, who has no expectation of hiring you back.

    The last category is the dominant reason for unemployment at this time. That might not seem surprising, but it actually is. Never, in the six recessions preceding the latest one, did permanent separations account for more than 45 percent of the unemployed. The current percentage stands at 56 percent as of September and appears to be still climbing:"

    This means that the number of jobs that have gone away and are not coming back is unprecedented.  I have read this stated as opinion a number of times, but I don't know that I have seen the data before.

    Themes: unemployment
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  •  
    The world is definitely changing. For the better? Who knows.
    22 Oct 2009, 10:07 PM Reply Like
  •  
    John,
    Interesting post. Thanks for posting it.

    Saw the CEO of Nucor in an interview today. He was essentially complaining that government should be creating jobs, and that Nucor has not laid off any employees (presumably reduced salaries and time, instead).

    But that is exactly the main part of the problem. Even hard core business like Nucor want the government to do everything, but neither corporations or individuals are willing to pay for anything. And that is assuming the government could do anything well of efficiently, who they rarely can.

    Everybody always wants their share increased, but nobody is ever willing to suggest where it is supposed to come from or whose share is supposed to by decreased so they can have more. Therein lies the US, state, and local debts of trillions and trillons of dollars.

    What the CEO of Nucor really needs to do is, start a third political party and get himself elected so he can start resolving the problems. Until the US gets some talent from outside the career politicans that exist now, there is little reason to hope that anything will change.
    23 Oct 2009, 05:37 AM Reply Like
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