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03-26-2010, 04:20 PM
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#1
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 350
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Hope?
I've read economists predict 170K jobs created in March. I live in So Cal and belong to a very large family and have many friends. Except for the gov't workers, most of them are un or under employed. The local economy really looks bad to me. Any reason to believe my sample is too small or too localized, and that the economists predictions are right? How does it look in your areas?
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03-26-2010, 04:23 PM
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#2
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Hooverville
Posts: 22,983
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pete
I've read economists predict 170K jobs created in March. I live in So Cal and belong to a very large family and have many friends. Except for the gov't workers, most of them are un or under employed. The local economy really looks bad to me. Any reason to believe my sample is too small or too localized, and that the economists predictions are right? How does it look in your areas?
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Weak here in Seattle. Even RE agents are talking about a double dip real estate market, and they are a very optimistic group. At least when talking to potential buyers.
Ha
__________________
"As a general rule, the more dangerous or inappropriate a conversation, the more interesting it is."-Scott Adams
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03-26-2010, 04:27 PM
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#3
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,934
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I'm in the Inland Empire, CA. One of my friends is a fireman with a steady job. Another co-owns a boat dealership and is struggling big time. Another owns a manufacturing company and is staying fairly busy. Another owns a trucking company and is very busy & adding trucks.
__________________
And if I claim to be a wise man, it surely means that I don't know.
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03-26-2010, 04:36 PM
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#4
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: North of Montana
Posts: 2,769
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Employment is high here. Unemployment rate < 5%. Winter temps < -40 (go figure).
__________________
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who can extrapolate conclusions from insufficient data and ..
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03-26-2010, 04:43 PM
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#5
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,473
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We, too, were hit less severely than areas like California.
Of course the TYPE of employment available in Louisiana has always been an issue though past decades to the present - - if you want a high paying job, it probably isn't here and never has been here. Our unemployment is higher than it used to be, but we are not seeing massive unemployment to the degree that you are seeing.
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Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.
Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
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03-26-2010, 05:17 PM
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#6
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Pittsburgh, PA suburbs
Posts: 1,796
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I don't have first hand knowledge of the employment picture here in western PA. We went through a big contraction in jobs in the late 70's and early 80s's when the steel mills closed. However, the area has regained jobs in health care, education, government, tech sector. A recently retired friend just told me today she sold her house for near the asking price after 3 weeks on the market(tripled her purchase price in 15 years). She is moving home to Alabama to be near family. We never had the big run ups in the economy and real estate that places like CA, Wash. D. C area, Boston, New York, resort areas had.
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03-26-2010, 05:34 PM
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#7
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 10,252
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Weak in Texas. Wife's company laid off 10% of the employees this week. My company laid off 3% of employees last week.
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03-26-2010, 07:06 PM
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#8
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 5,381
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170,000 new jobs out of a labor force of 154MM is 0.1%. That means if you know 1,000 people, one will probably have gotten a job in March.
Do you think you'd notice?
__________________
Retired early, traveling perpetually.
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03-26-2010, 07:12 PM
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#9
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Rio Grande Valley
Posts: 38,007
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Things are hopping here in deep south TX. Even though this area traditionally has high unemployment, two nearby cities are going great gangbusters.
And the Mexican day shoppers crossing the border to buy up goodies at the big box stores around here seem really well off and are spending like crazy!
Audrey
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03-26-2010, 07:31 PM
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#10
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Cavalier
Posts: 2,317
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North Dakota is another area with a good economy. Unemployment is less than 5%, the state has a budget surplus, and taxes are low. Most of that is due to large oil and coal deposits and a great potential for wind energy. However, we also have 5 or 6 months of winter and in January the temps can be -40.
__________________
"Don't take life so serious, son. It ain't nohow permanent." Pogo Possum (Walt Kelly)
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03-26-2010, 10:02 PM
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#11
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,473
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists February, 2010 unemployment rates by state here. I thought reading them (on the right hand side of the webpage) was interesting, and also they provide maps.
__________________
Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.
Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
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03-27-2010, 07:04 AM
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#12
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Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Eastern WV Panhandle
Posts: 25,299
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WV is looking better overall. But when unemployment was at 10.5% that leaves a lot of room for improvement.
The company I work for is going to add four positions at our site, two full time and two part time, but that is due to federal government spending on contracting work.
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When I was a kid I wanted to be older. This is not what I expected.
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03-27-2010, 07:25 AM
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#13
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 51
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I'm involved with hiring people for my company in many parts of the country so here's my take:
- Chicago - it took a beating so folks, especially financial services industry are still worried about more regulations so definitely being conservative with the hiring or making any drastic changes; hearing of still some cuts, but may have settled down for the most part
- Detroit - seems to be calming down - haven't heard much about any more serious cuts, but no hiring either
- Other mid-west states (WI, MN, for example) - unfortunately, if employers aren't cutting, they are thinking twice about hiring for replacement, so not a lot of job growth
- DC Metro (DC, VA, MD) has been insulated given the Fed's presence (and all the contractors in the area supporting them), but despite that, reality is that there are still a lot of folks unemployed.
AARA funds are just now hitting the streets though, so hopefully there is hope...if you have the right skill sets and can move to the area where the right match for your skills are going to be.....
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03-27-2010, 08:07 AM
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#14
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 1,688
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March 2009 - I went to several cities in the US on business. AIG bonuses and Madoff were the hot topics of the day. There was a huge amount of negative sentiment among most of the people I met (predominantly finance types). Most people worked for organisations that had made extensive headcount reductions - none were hiring.
March 2010 - a trip to NY during which I experienced a measure of cautious optimisim. Some of the people I spoke to mentioned that they (or their employers) were hiring or had already done so.
These are relatively small samples taken over a very short period, but the difference in sentiment was very noticable.
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Budgeting is a skill practised by people who are bad at politics.
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