Unemployment Just Went Higher

grandma said:
If 8,000 in one fell-swoop from one company is nothing like the number of jobs lost by other companies in the past, I wonder the ratio - the percentage.
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Losing 8,000 at Johnson and Johnson is about 6% of their workforce.

Compare that to a company like General Motors.

GM now, today, has about 43, 000 hourly workers. They 113,000 workers two year ago. They've lost 73,000 workers just since 2006,

Back in 2000- they had a work force of almost 180,000.

So they've gone from 180,000 in 2000, to 43,000 today. GM had lost 76% of it's workforce in the last ten years,

I feel for the workers at Johnson and Johnson- 8,000 jobs hurts. But 6% lost, compared to 76% lost, and you can see the effect of Americans choosing foreign cars for the last decade. In large part because it's cheaper to buy a Hundya, then it is a Chevy. Because South Korea has an excellent national health care system, which doesn't get added into the price of a car.

Anyway- that's my rant for the day.
 
Credit Suise sees a capex boom as corporations begin to leverage up their strong balance sheets. A large result of this capex boom will be rapid hiring. Wait for it.
 
Show-me said:
Remember to get to 5% unemployment in the next 5 years we need to create a average of 250k jobs a month.
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Good point. Great point actually. It's kind of like- Lose 50%, you need to gain 100% to break even.

I can see it right now. Barney, Nancy and Chuck grandstanding on the nightly news- "We don't care if it costs us our seats, we will force big banks to start lending to small business!"
 
James48843 said:
Actually, layoffs appear to be slowing down. 8,000 is painful, but is nothing like the numbers we've been seeing over the last year.
Here's hoping we begin hiring back soon.
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If 8,000 in one fell-swoop from one company is nothing like the number of jobs lost by other companies in the past, I wonder the ratio - the percentage. When smaller places of business are laying off that same percentage, though the actual number might be low, even
negligible low (comparatively) are they getting noticed by other than the local area/state papers?
I'm curious if they actually get into the `national current lay-off reports.' They might eventually show up in the unemployment benefit list, but that wouldn't be too accurate, because some on the other end of that specrtrum are falling off the list.
 
Remember to get to 5% unemployment in the next 5 years we need to create a average of 250k jobs a month.
 
You can only drink so many cups of coffee before you completely pass out and fall asleep. Looks like the TBTF's will be getting more small fry borrowers coming to their doorstep with their palms cupped up. Will this force the TBTF's to finally begin lending to the little guy?

CIT:
The 101-year old company is widely expected to clear that hurdle, and could file for bankruptcy as soon as this weekend. CIT warned last week that if investors did not support its restructuring efforts, it could end up filing for bankruptcy without a plan for how to fix itself. Exiting bankruptcy could take a long time and destroy much of the company, CIT's management said in a presentation.
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Well, I'm just sick at heart tonight as I learned a unique educational institution that's been a part of my life and the life of many of my friends for 25 years or more is about to close its doors forever, $100,000 in debt. The most recent husband/wife team of jack-of-all trades/caretakers/managers/educators who've given over 15 years of their lives to a nearly selfless labors of love, survived on 30K/year max for 7day a week/16 hour days/52 weeks a year work in a shoestring operation in the middle of a remote survival-oriented desert landscape-they have not been paid for the past 4 months. The institution is supported solely by users of the facility and by membership dues, managed by a board of directors. It's been run on a shoestring ever since my first time there with a group of friends, stayed in a dormitory with old recycled hospital beds. One of the most wonderful places on earth and if the facility disappears, it will disappear forever I'm afraid. At one time the facility was supported by a consortium of 8 western higher ed institutions at $1/student, but local politics turned against the facility years ago and ended the reliable funding base. The facility draws people from all over the U.S. and from around the world, has brought substantial tourism $ into a very rural county for decades, but with the economic downturn lasting as long as it has..... When the institution goes down, tourism $ will disappear and will probably never come back due to loss of infrastructure and unique character of the situation-in a county that already has 20% unemployment. I'm just sick. Will be sending some additonal funds their way to help pay the backdue wages of 2 dedicated wonderful people who've worked harder for their money all these years than probably most anyone I've ever met.

This is the institution I'm talking about. http://www.malheurfieldstation.org/
 
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Insiderscore.com reports that companies marked by selling, outnumbered those with buying by more than a 2-to-1 ratio – the first time that’s occurred since the week ended February 27, 2007.
 
Subdued unit labor costs will act to academically boost bottom line results, but for how long? What is good for corporate bottom lines is not good for employee wages, job growth, etc. We are currently seeing extremes in labor stats never seen before. Average hours worked hit a record low in June before recovering very slightly in July, as did the year over year change in aggregate weekly hours (the combo of wages and hours). We’re seeing record highs consistently month by month in average weeks of unemployment. And in terms of job growth so far in to the current decade, NEVER have we experienced anything like what you see in the table below. Without reaching for melodrama, I consider current decade payroll growth experience a secular game changer.

Decade
Total Growth In US Payroll Employment​

1940's
38.0%
1950's
24.5
1960's
31.5
1970's
27.2
1980's
20.0
1990's
19.9
2000's
0.6​


The number for the current decade will clearly be negative (a first) before the year is out. And this is what CEO’s are increasingly optimistic about? ....

If indeed CEO’s and CFO’s are feeling much better about the future of the economy and their business prospects, then we would expect to see a number of tangible real world events occur in the not too distant future. We would expect to see the hiring of temporary help pick up, and perhaps quite substantially and very soon. We would also expect to see corporate capital expenditures begin to advance. These are just two very simple examples of real world expressions of “confidence”. As always, it’s what the CEO's do, not what they say, that’s the important tell.
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http://www.financialsense.com/Market/daily/friday.htm
 
With the financial sector already in ruins, this doesn't bode well for anyone currently looking to obtain a degree in economics/finance/banking, or for anyone with a career in the sector. This may be the beginnings of a giant paradigm shift. What new innovation will come of this? More Smartphones?

Bank of America Corp., the largest U.S. bank, may cut branches over the next three years because customers increasingly rely on the Internet and mobile phones to manage their accounts, an executive said.

The bank had 6,109 branches as of June 30, 22 fewer than a year earlier, according to a July 17 filing. Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Lewis has told investors he plans to shrink branches by 10 percent, the Wall Street Journal reported. Lewis’s comment came in response to a questioner and was hypothetical “as opposed to anything definitive.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20603037&sid=aB8n6M8hGlwE
 
My state --Michigan--unemployment hits 15.2%, the highest since 1984.

Now 3/4 of a million unemployed in my state alone, and climbing fast.

Metro Detroit area hits an unemployment rate of 16.3%.

And that doesn't take into account the tens of thousands who will be filing in July, now that many auto suppliers are going bankrupt and closing down as well. That wave is still ahead.

Not good.
 
I still believe that a consortium in Private Equity will step up and save the day or I end up with another write off for the year. Tax loss carry forwards can be beneficial.
 
That's manipulation folks. CIT up 26% two days ago, down 75% today? I wonder how the insiders made out today after selling their shares to the public during the past two days of euphoria..
 
One of the reasons I'm getting cap ex work done on house now, before more local small businesses disappear, while I still have a choice and don't have to import contractors from out of town to maintain competive pricing, and don't have to worry about researching contractor reputations as much.
 
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