There is no question in my mind that the US economy is headed down,
but there is a question -- ignored by everyone else--as to how this
will affect the rest of the world. Also, everyone is also ignoring the
fact that Japan is (and has been) in a slump for almost two decades
now. And, recently, spending in UK and Europe is also declining.
On Sat, 1 Mar 2008 20:16:48 -0800 (PST), indiaBPOking
<indiabpoking@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-jobs1mar01,0,280420.story
>
>The state added just under 15,000 positions in 2007 and January saw
>another shrink in employers' payrolls. Training programs and other
>initiatives will be pursued, officials say.
>By Lisa Girion and Ken Bensinger, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
>
>March 1, 2008
>
>Here's more evidence that California is losing its struggle against
>recession: The state shed 20,300 jobs in January, more than the other
>49 states combined for the month, a government re****t showed Friday.
>
>That comes on top of more bad news. California's job engine sputtered
>nearly to a halt last year, adding just under 15,000 positions, or
>0.1%, to the state's payrolls, according to the Employment Development
>Department's revised annual figures, also released Friday.
>
>The state's job losses in the first month of the year swept across
>several sectors, with construction, information and financial services
>among the hardest hit.
>
>In Los Angeles County, strain from the Hollywood writers strike was
>apparent. Nearly 20,000 of the 75,800 jobs that disappeared in the
>county in January were in the information category, which includes
>film-industry and sound-recording workers.
>
>The slump is taking its toll on people such as Gabriele Larmon of ****t
>Hueneme, who was laid off from her administrative university job more
>than two years ago. Larmon's insurance is set to run out this month,
>and she's been unable to find a new job in academics or to get new
>insurance.
>
>"I'd just like to get my foot in the door for anything," said Larmon,
>52, who estimates that she's applied for 600 to 700 positions online
>in the last year. "I don't know if it's my age, but I just can't get a
>job."
>
>Larmon said she had to move in with her daughter because she could no
>longer make her mortgage payments and the bank refused to renegotiate
>the terms. "Everything has just fallen apart," she said.
>
>In all, 15.2 million people were employed in California in January.
>The state's unemployment rate held at 5.9%, unchanged from December's
>revised rate and up from 5% in January 2007.
>
>The figures show California's hard-hit home-construction sector was a
>drag not only on the state economy but also figured prominently in the
>U.S., posting its first job losses in more than four years in January.
>
>The U.S. economy as a whole dropped a net 17,000 jobs during the month
>-- fewer than California alone, meaning that California's losses were
>offset by gains elsewhere. The nation's unemployment rate edged lower
>to 4.9% in January from December's 5%.
>
>Economists said the latest figures showed that the state economy was
>sluggish at best and might be headed toward recession.
>
>"These estimates, combined with the latest national economic news,
>confirm that the state has entered a period of slow or negative
>economic growth that is likely to persist for at least a few months,"
>said Steve Levy, an economist with the Center for Continuing Study of
>the California Economy.
>
>A separate forecast issued Friday projected worsening doldrums for
>Southern California over the next six months. The index of leading
>economic indicators for the region declined by 0.7% in the last
>quarter of 2007, following a 0.5% drop in the previous quarter.
>
>The fourth-quarter decline was the steepest since the indicator was
>created in May 2000, the eve of the last recession, said Adrian
>Fleissig, the Cal State Fullerton economist who compiles the index.
>
>"There is now no doubt that economic activity in the Southland has
>slowed down and is likely to continue to slow down in the next three
>to six months," he said.
>
>The state's revised benchmark employment figures released Friday --
>enriched by more detailed and accurate data available in hindsight --
>were particularly troubling, said Esmael Adibi, an economics professor
>at Chapman University.
>
>Toward the end of last year, he said, growth slowed even further to
>"practically zero," Adibi said.
>
>The revisions show that some areas had been hit harder than others, he
>added. San Francisco and San Jose were posting slim gains through the
>end of last year, while Los Angeles County began losing jobs in
>November.
>
>Orange County posted two consecutive quarters of job loss in the first
>half of 2007, and the Inland Empire had two negative quarters in the
>second half of the year.
>
>"If this lasts a couple of quarters, California as a whole is, by
>definition, going to be in a recession," Adibi said, adding that he
>expected statewide unemployment to hit 6.3% by year-end. "It is a very
>grim forecast."
|
