June 7, 2013. The payroll jobs report for May released today continues the fantasy.
Goods producing jobs declined, with manufacturing losing another 4,000 jobs, but the New Economy produced 179,000 service jobs.
Are these jobs the high-powered, high-wage “innovation jobs” that economists promised would be our reward from Globalism. I’m afraid not.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the jobs created are the usual lowly paid
non-exportable domestic service jobs–the jobs of a third world country.
non-exportable domestic service jobs–the jobs of a third world country.
Retail trade accounts for 27,700 of the jobs.
Wholesale trade accounts for 7,900 jobs.
Ambulatory health care services accounts for 15,300 of the jobs.
Waitresses and bartenders account for 38,100 of the jobs.
Local government accounts for 13,000 of the jobs.
Amusements, gambling, and recreation account for 12,500 of the jobs.
Temporary help services provided 25,600 jobs.
Business support services provided 4,300 jobs.
Services to buildings and dwellings provided 6,400 jobs.
Accounting and bookkeeping services provided 3,100 jobs.
Architectural and engineering services provided 4,900 jobs.
Computer systems design and related provided 6,000 jobs (most likely filled by H-1B work visas).
Management and technical consulting services provided 3,200 jobs.
For a decade this has been the jobs profile of “the world’s most powerful economy.” It is the profile of third world India 40 years ago. The jobs that made the US the dominant economy have been moved off shore by corporations threatened by Wall Street with takeovers if they did not increase their profits.
The easiest way for corporations to increase profits is to take advantage of cheap labor in countries with massive quantities of unemployed labor.
So, if we believe the BLS report, and the reported new jobs are not simply a product of faulty season adjustments and a faulty birth-death model, why is the financial press happy that the US economy can only create third world jobs? Why was the stock market up on the news that the US economy has created 179,000 third world jobs? Would rational markets be up on such discouraging news?
But are the jobs really there?
With retail sales going nowhere, why 35,600 new jobs in wholesale and retail trade?
With real median incomes declining, why 38,100 more waitresses and bartenders? For every month as long as I can remember the BLS reports numerous new jobs in waitresses and bartenders, despite the long-term decline in real median income.
In the May jobs report, where are the jobs for the vast number of new college graduates?
The US now has more hotel maids, bartenders, and waitresses than it has manufacturing workers. The US has twice as many people employed in government than in manufacturing.
The services of maids, bartenders, waitresses, and government cannot be exported.
Therefore, the US trade deficit remains large and without exports to reduce it, a crisis in itself.
Therefore, the US trade deficit remains large and without exports to reduce it, a crisis in itself.
What the BLS jobs reports have been telling us for many years is that the US economy is in crisis, in a death-spiral. Yet, not a handful of economists’ voices have been raised...
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