by Jackson T Benbridge III
More Jobs, Happy People?
By Seth Kelley
308,000 jobs. What do you say to that? The month of March has become the single greatest achievement in the Bush administration's economic policy. The increases sparked a robust day on Wall Street and a hopeful perspective from Democrats and Republicans.
George Bush credited the tax cuts and job training for the increase in employment. He managed to stay clear of the Democratic hopeful John Kerry in his speeches in West Virginia. The increase in jobs is further accented by the fact that only 46,000 jobs were created in February. Another key for the presidential race is the fact that no jobs were lost in the manufacturing sector. This is the first time since the recession started in 2001.
What does it all mean? First of all, this gives the Republicans a chance to breath easier for one month. The Democrats need to show that the job gains are only temporary. But all in all the new agenda will be that tax cuts work. Any way you slice it, March is a victory for the economic policy of the Republicans. April could bring us a dose of reality or it could be the beginning of a very good future.
But there are other factors to the economic victory banner. For instance the economic factors that demonstrate a growth in the economy have been rising for months. Incredibly jobs have not risen very much except for this report.
Here is why. The profits from companies are growing. This is because machines and technology have been replacing live workers. The use of temporary workers has risen this year, meaning temporary workers, who receive lower wages and no benefits are entering the work force.
The gains in jobs have come from sectors that either hire part time with no benefits or involved more technology. The largest gains were seen in health care (tech oriented) and the service sector (restaurants, department stores, part time).
The manufacturing sector, which traditionally employs people full time, has the backing of strong unions and needs people in its plants to actually do the work, has steadily shown job loss. For the first time since 2001 the manufacturing sector has not shown job loss, but it did not gain any either. Now we are at a point when the profits of the companies have become more important than the people who work for them.
�Average hourly wages rose 2 cents to $15.54, but average weekly earnings slipped 88 cents to $523.70. Hourly wages have grown just 1.8 percent in the past year, near the lowest level since 1986.� -CNN.Money 4/2/04
If we want to claim that our jobs are recovering we need to look at what kinds of jobs and what they supply. For instance getting a paycheck and working 33 hours a week means you have money but no health insurance. Working in restaurants and department stores means your job is subject to seasonal booms and busts and job security falls short.
There are many people going back to work because they need to find some way to support their families. The job falls short when you have to settle for a job that pays less than you were making before. Employment goes up but families still suffer. Currently the amount of time people work a week is falling and the amount of new jobs that have benefits is also far below where it once stood.
And now big companies are manufacturing goods with cheaper employees over seas. They are hiring part time and temp workers to cut costs on benefits and they are further hurting the market by replacing living people with more technology and machinery.
I do hope the trend continues but please keep the idea in perspective. We are gaining jobs but we continue to loose strength and confidence in our economy.
