I was recetly down in Western Virginia and staying at a Hampton Inn. Gone are the Mexican women house keepers; they have been replace by young Whites including a man !!! And there was one Chinese. The sad part was when I left some pocket change on table, like 57 cents or something, I found a note thanking me for my tip and wishing me a happy stay. I don't know if they were being sarcastic, or trying to get a better tip. The note was on official Hampton Inn guest thank you stationary.
I know you are supposed to tip the house keeper and many people don't. I also know that Hampton Inn and the hotel industry is one of the few places with the rich and middle class interact with the poor.
However, what struck me how the note just stopped short of begging for a tip. The tip jar is out every where now. Naturally, I left a tip, but the real cure is to pay people a decent minimum wage where they don't have to beg.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Well looking for a job again
I have been busy in the past two weeks looking for a job again. My current consulting contract ends in June. So I a being P-R-O- Active. Luckily the job market in IT consulting is getting a little better. Also, I am pretty flexible and can do a lot of different things in the technical world so I am better off than most. Anyway, It seems like there are two trends going on: one, anyone working is sitting tight. You almost never hear of anyone leaving for a better job. I have to check BLS JOLTS, but turnover must be near zero. And they are doing almost anything to keep there job.
Two, employers are very slow to hire and asking for extra qualifications. They are really asking for the impossible for new positions.
Two, employers are very slow to hire and asking for extra qualifications. They are really asking for the impossible for new positions.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Corporate profit near all time high
Corporate profits are near an all time high.
Quarterly corporate profits have reached 1.6401 trillion dollars or 5500 per person in the US. Corporate profits have grown for 7 consecutive quarters since 2008 Q4.
The large amount of corporate profits can make you question the rising inequality in the United States that goes with it.
Also, if you begin to think about investments open to corporations: dividends, capital investment, or job creating hiring. Obviously the return on people is lower than the return on other investments. So the questions is how to alter the equation.
The Evil Black Economist proposes a job subsidy similar to the R&D subsidy that corporations enjoy. Perhaps not a 100% write off but something similar.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Wanted: Mind Reader, X-ray vision and ability to fly
Maybe it is just me, but has anyone noticed that some of the want ads are asking for stuff that is darn near impossible. Some of the requirements far exceeds what is required or they asked for in the past. People with jobs are exploiting the market to get the beyond perfect candidate. They won't train or develop anyone internally or a smart new hire. Career development is dead. Instead they prefer to go to the open market and buy what they need. In a buyers market, I guess it works. But it doesn't seem like a good way to build employee loyalty.
It is also a little bit funny when people are asking for 7-10 years experience in the same job as a qualification, large team leadership ability for an analyst position or master degree and multiple professional certification for entry level postions. The people in the jobs doing the interviewing have none the same qualifications but have to ask the questions from the team interview guide with a straight face. Again buyers market.
I also think some companies with a lot of "churn" are also "fishing". They have permanent ads on monster, hotjobs, careerbuilder and dice looking for something better. Again a buyers market.
Summary
You have to wonder where it is all headed. In the short-term, employers are raising their hiring qualifications. In the long-term, hopefully employees will ask for more stability, training and career development in exchange for lower pay, innovation and long-term productivity.
It is also a little bit funny when people are asking for 7-10 years experience in the same job as a qualification, large team leadership ability for an analyst position or master degree and multiple professional certification for entry level postions. The people in the jobs doing the interviewing have none the same qualifications but have to ask the questions from the team interview guide with a straight face. Again buyers market.
I also think some companies with a lot of "churn" are also "fishing". They have permanent ads on monster, hotjobs, careerbuilder and dice looking for something better. Again a buyers market.
Summary
You have to wonder where it is all headed. In the short-term, employers are raising their hiring qualifications. In the long-term, hopefully employees will ask for more stability, training and career development in exchange for lower pay, innovation and long-term productivity.
January Unemployment drops because people are leaving the labor force
January Unemployment drops because people are leaving the labor force
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on Friday, February 4th, 2011, that the US unemployment rate (U-3) dropped to 9.0%. The 0.4% drop in the rate, which on the surface, may increase business and consumer confidence, is the results of people leaving the labor market.
The lower rate was really due to a drop of 2.29 million people between Jan 2010 and Jan 2011 who are not in the labor force. (See BLS data here.) . Obviously the drop is due to the poor labor economy, but no is quite sure of the specific reasons why people leave the market. Some reasons include early retirement, lack of work, unable to retrain, geographic limits or being discouraged. The labor participation dropped from 64.3% in December to 64.2% in January 2011.
There were some statistical changes by the BLS starting in the month of January. There was a statistical reduction of civilian labor force by 504,000 (0.3%) and a large reduction in the unemployed by 622,000 (4.5% drop). The labor force dropped a tiny bit but the number of unemployed dropped by 14 times as much. They dropped off the unemployment rolls and are no longer counted thus reducing the rate.
In a more realistic job reports, the Non-Farm payroll grew by only 36,000 jobs. The biggest gains were in manufacturing (+49,000) and retail sales (+27,000) however courier and messengers lost 44,000. Government lost 14,000 jobs. Education as flat and healthcare added 13,000. Construction lost 32,000. One bright spot was durable goods manufacturing which added 62,000 jobs.
As mentioned earlier, the number of people “Not in the Labor Force” increased from 83.876 million in January 2010 to 86.168 million in January 2011 and increase of 2.29 million workers. That’s a huge number of people who are no longer participating in the labor market. The figure includes 6.643 million who want work and 993,000 who are “discouraged”.
While the general unemployment rate (U-3) dropped 0.4% to 9%, the Black Unemployment rate was little changed at 15.7%. The rate for Hispanics was 11.9% and teenage unemployment was 26%. Black teenage unemployment was 45%. U-6, the widest measure of unemployment, was 16.1 percent. Basically 16% of the labor force wants to work and cannot.
Average unemployment duration also increased. The new average duration was 36.9 weeks. However, the old figure from December 2010, 34.2 weeks, is not directly comparable. The BLS will now collect unemployment duration for 5 years rather than two years. The median (half under / half over) decreased to 21.8 weeks. 6.2 Million people (44% of the total) were out of work for more than 27 weeks.
The number of people working part time for economic reasons was approximately 8.4 million. The number of discouraged workers remained at about 1 million. Discouraged workers are people who have not looked in the past 4 weeks because they believe no work is available, could not find work, lack training or employer discrimination.
The ADP employment report on Feb 2nd, 2011 which showed an increase of 187,000 jobs created in January. The December number of 297,000 was revised downward to 247,000. Economist believe employment must grow by 130K to 150K to keep up with population growth.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on Friday, February 4th, 2011, that the US unemployment rate (U-3) dropped to 9.0%. The 0.4% drop in the rate, which on the surface, may increase business and consumer confidence, is the results of people leaving the labor market.
The lower rate was really due to a drop of 2.29 million people between Jan 2010 and Jan 2011 who are not in the labor force. (See BLS data here.) . Obviously the drop is due to the poor labor economy, but no is quite sure of the specific reasons why people leave the market. Some reasons include early retirement, lack of work, unable to retrain, geographic limits or being discouraged. The labor participation dropped from 64.3% in December to 64.2% in January 2011.
There were some statistical changes by the BLS starting in the month of January. There was a statistical reduction of civilian labor force by 504,000 (0.3%) and a large reduction in the unemployed by 622,000 (4.5% drop). The labor force dropped a tiny bit but the number of unemployed dropped by 14 times as much. They dropped off the unemployment rolls and are no longer counted thus reducing the rate.
In a more realistic job reports, the Non-Farm payroll grew by only 36,000 jobs. The biggest gains were in manufacturing (+49,000) and retail sales (+27,000) however courier and messengers lost 44,000. Government lost 14,000 jobs. Education as flat and healthcare added 13,000. Construction lost 32,000. One bright spot was durable goods manufacturing which added 62,000 jobs.
As mentioned earlier, the number of people “Not in the Labor Force” increased from 83.876 million in January 2010 to 86.168 million in January 2011 and increase of 2.29 million workers. That’s a huge number of people who are no longer participating in the labor market. The figure includes 6.643 million who want work and 993,000 who are “discouraged”.
While the general unemployment rate (U-3) dropped 0.4% to 9%, the Black Unemployment rate was little changed at 15.7%. The rate for Hispanics was 11.9% and teenage unemployment was 26%. Black teenage unemployment was 45%. U-6, the widest measure of unemployment, was 16.1 percent. Basically 16% of the labor force wants to work and cannot.
Average unemployment duration also increased. The new average duration was 36.9 weeks. However, the old figure from December 2010, 34.2 weeks, is not directly comparable. The BLS will now collect unemployment duration for 5 years rather than two years. The median (half under / half over) decreased to 21.8 weeks. 6.2 Million people (44% of the total) were out of work for more than 27 weeks.
The number of people working part time for economic reasons was approximately 8.4 million. The number of discouraged workers remained at about 1 million. Discouraged workers are people who have not looked in the past 4 weeks because they believe no work is available, could not find work, lack training or employer discrimination.
The ADP employment report on Feb 2nd, 2011 which showed an increase of 187,000 jobs created in January. The December number of 297,000 was revised downward to 247,000. Economist believe employment must grow by 130K to 150K to keep up with population growth.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Black - White happiness gap is narrowing
Two professors at the University of Pennsylvania have found the gap in happiness between Blacks and Whites has narrowed in the US. The gap has narrow because of a decrease in happiness by Whites and and significant increase in happiness of Blacks. The gains in Black happiness exceed expected gains due only to income. Gains were also concentrated in Women and people living in the South.
The researchers used data from the General Social Survey. They looked at data from 1972 to 2008. The survey asked respondents to answer the question: "Taken all together, how would you say things are these days, would you say you are very happy, pretty happy or not too happy ?" The responses were coded to "Not to Happy" = 1; "Pretty Happy" = 2; and "Very Happy" = 3. The results were standardized by subtracting the mean and dividing by the standard deviation(STD). So, the results are reported in units of standard deviations. (Whew!). So, basically, to make the comparison, the researchers had to rank and standardize their measure.
The results show that in 1972 Blacks were 0.45 standard deviations less happy than whites, but by 2008 the gap has closed to 0.27 STD. The gap is continuing to close because of increases in Black happiness and small decreases in White happiness. In addition, the change in happiness is more than can explained by changes in income over the same period. The Black - White income gap has closed little over the period.
The paper also tried to account for other factors that might influence Black happiness during the study period such as region, gender, income, age, health, job, and marital status.
"In 1972 the racial gap in happiness was largest among women, the young, Southerners, college graduates, the unemployed, married people, and the top half of the income distribution." By 2008, the gaps for women was eliminated. There were also larges gain in the South. Those with more education and higher incomes still and had large happiness gaps as did 18-29 year olds.
You can read the report details here. They used data from the General Social survey which measures reported happiness in different groups since 1972.
The researchers used data from the General Social Survey. They looked at data from 1972 to 2008. The survey asked respondents to answer the question: "Taken all together, how would you say things are these days, would you say you are very happy, pretty happy or not too happy ?" The responses were coded to "Not to Happy" = 1; "Pretty Happy" = 2; and "Very Happy" = 3. The results were standardized by subtracting the mean and dividing by the standard deviation(STD). So, the results are reported in units of standard deviations. (Whew!). So, basically, to make the comparison, the researchers had to rank and standardize their measure.
The results show that in 1972 Blacks were 0.45 standard deviations less happy than whites, but by 2008 the gap has closed to 0.27 STD. The gap is continuing to close because of increases in Black happiness and small decreases in White happiness. In addition, the change in happiness is more than can explained by changes in income over the same period. The Black - White income gap has closed little over the period.
The paper also tried to account for other factors that might influence Black happiness during the study period such as region, gender, income, age, health, job, and marital status.
"In 1972 the racial gap in happiness was largest among women, the young, Southerners, college graduates, the unemployed, married people, and the top half of the income distribution." By 2008, the gaps for women was eliminated. There were also larges gain in the South. Those with more education and higher incomes still and had large happiness gaps as did 18-29 year olds.
You can read the report details here. They used data from the General Social survey which measures reported happiness in different groups since 1972.
Harvard Study Says College is not for Everyone
Sunday, January 30, 2011
State of the Union Review: An adult speech for difficult times
An adult speech for difficult times
The president’s state of the union address was a refreshing discussion of economic truth in these tough times. America is facing a changed economic environment: the rate of innovation and technical change have slowed while the globalization has moved manufacturing and IT jobs overseas. He chose these tough times to discuss the america’s economic future in three broad categories: Innovation, education and infrastructure investment. Mr. Obama liked all of these ideas under the theme: “Winning the future.”
He opened with remarks on the shooting in Tucson. He then moved on to talk about bi-partisan cooperation. He referenced the success of the lame-duck session in passing several pieces of legislation. Then, getting down to business, he described the changing the jobs climate the American worker faced. “The rules have changed. In a single generation, revolutions in technology have transformed the way we live, work and do business.” The US is completing in a globalized world against India and China.
We need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world. (Applause.) We have to make America the best place on Earth to do business.
He hinted that we must compete for jobs and industries which in the past would have been handled by US industry.
So how will the US win the future ? President Obama proposed programs in there areas.
Encourage American innovation with new programs for biomedical research, information technology and clean energy. The new investments will be paid for by eliminating subsidies for the oil companies. An additional goals is by 2035 , 80 percent of the America’s energy will come from clean energy.
Educate our kids. Prepare 100,000 teachers in science, technology, engineering and math. And reform immigration to keep educated kids in the country
Thirdly, rebuild America – Repair crumbling bridges and roads. Invest in high speed rail.
He proposed several miscellaneous programs…
1. Improve the business tax system by eliminating loopholes and deducations.
2. Have congress pass the Korean free trade agreement. Add new free trade agreements with Panama and Columbia.
3. Reduce the deficit. Freeze domestic spending for five years . However, he noted, he would affect on only 12 percent of the budget. Real budget reductions require cuts in domestic spending, defense spending, health–care spending and reducing tax subsidies.
4. Reorganize the federal government
And some programs he opposed…
1. He continues to oppose to extending tax cuts for the rich.
2. He restated that he is unwilling to change the healthcare bill, “so let’s move on.”
He discussed the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Nearing the end of his speech, he covered some real life examples of American perseverance. Then finally, he ended with a call for the US to move forward. To loosely paraphrase the president, “We have work ahead, but we do big things.”
The president’s state of the union address was a refreshing discussion of economic truth in these tough times. America is facing a changed economic environment: the rate of innovation and technical change have slowed while the globalization has moved manufacturing and IT jobs overseas. He chose these tough times to discuss the america’s economic future in three broad categories: Innovation, education and infrastructure investment. Mr. Obama liked all of these ideas under the theme: “Winning the future.”
He opened with remarks on the shooting in Tucson. He then moved on to talk about bi-partisan cooperation. He referenced the success of the lame-duck session in passing several pieces of legislation. Then, getting down to business, he described the changing the jobs climate the American worker faced. “The rules have changed. In a single generation, revolutions in technology have transformed the way we live, work and do business.” The US is completing in a globalized world against India and China.
We need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world. (Applause.) We have to make America the best place on Earth to do business.
He hinted that we must compete for jobs and industries which in the past would have been handled by US industry.
So how will the US win the future ? President Obama proposed programs in there areas.
Encourage American innovation with new programs for biomedical research, information technology and clean energy. The new investments will be paid for by eliminating subsidies for the oil companies. An additional goals is by 2035 , 80 percent of the America’s energy will come from clean energy.
Educate our kids. Prepare 100,000 teachers in science, technology, engineering and math. And reform immigration to keep educated kids in the country
Thirdly, rebuild America – Repair crumbling bridges and roads. Invest in high speed rail.
He proposed several miscellaneous programs…
1. Improve the business tax system by eliminating loopholes and deducations.
2. Have congress pass the Korean free trade agreement. Add new free trade agreements with Panama and Columbia.
3. Reduce the deficit. Freeze domestic spending for five years . However, he noted, he would affect on only 12 percent of the budget. Real budget reductions require cuts in domestic spending, defense spending, health–care spending and reducing tax subsidies.
4. Reorganize the federal government
And some programs he opposed…
1. He continues to oppose to extending tax cuts for the rich.
2. He restated that he is unwilling to change the healthcare bill, “so let’s move on.”
He discussed the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Nearing the end of his speech, he covered some real life examples of American perseverance. Then finally, he ended with a call for the US to move forward. To loosely paraphrase the president, “We have work ahead, but we do big things.”
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Black Economic and Business News
The Evil Black Economist Blog has a sister blog, Black Economic and Business News, with links to the news paper and research articles used for commentary.
Please visit Black Economic and Business News.
http://blackbusinessnews.blogspot.com/
Please visit Black Economic and Business News.
http://blackbusinessnews.blogspot.com/
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