Premte Peeves

Retailers created 151,000 new jobs in October, nearly triple the number for the Octobers of 2009 and 2008, according to John Challenger and Barack Obama. Talking heads from the White House to WKRP have lauded this as the turn around we’ve waited for.

Let’s see what the prez to the pundits didn’t tell us:
(a) The number of US workers who filed new claims for unemployment benefits fell 24,000 last week to 446,500. That’s a net loss <mumble><mumble> carry-the-two of 295,500 jobs.
(b) The people losing those $50,000 jobs are engineers and teachers and not $17,000 Wally World clerks.
(c) Seasonal jobs like these always post gains during the holidays. Guess what happens after the holidays?
(d) Most surprising of all, population growth means we need 100,000 jobs just to stay even so October’s net loss wasn’t almost 300,000 jobs. It was nearly 400,000 jobs.

So what’s the peeve? Other than the fact that my friend and my wife are both still unemployed, everyone from the prez to the pundits have pulled the wool over your eyes. Again.




8 thoughts on “Premte Peeves

  1. But you have to start adding somewhere. And if retailers have started adding staff, that means they expect people to start shopping, which means people might start spending money, which is a big improvement over the store a day closings we’ve seen for the last couple of years.

    So did they report the number of new non-retail jobs?

  2. @Throckey: “if retailers have started adding staff, that means they expect people to start shopping…”

    That’s maybe reasonable to expect IF it didn’t happen during the normal seasonal run-ups. The Obamanation wants to take credit for a “slow” recovery. People without jobs don’t see much happening.

    What the reports don’t show is whether the retailers are hiring fewer this year than they did in earlier “normal” shopping years. What the reports do show is that manufacturers are indeed hiring fewer this year than they did in earlier “normal” years.

  3. Yahbut. Last year I saw stores closing during the normal seasonal run-up.

    Manufacturing jobs were sold down the river long ago. They’ve been in a steady rate of decline for twenty years. There ain’t no cycle that’s gonna fix that.

    Does it really matter if politicians take credit for an economy they can’t control? They’ve been doing it forever.

  4. IMO meatspace stores will continue to close cuz they are a pain in the ASS compared to online. First, there’s driving and parking … hate hate hate. Second, there’s other people, ugh. Bumping rude perfumey icky kids tripping yelling Christmas music blech. Third, the selection is totally sucky compared to online, which has every size in every color … and you do not have to special order or drive to the other store three towns over bla bla bla. Fourth, no snotty salesclerks on their cell phones when you need them or in your face bugging you when you don’t. Fifth, bathrooms all gross and/or waiting in line … who needs that when you can use your nice blue/green coordinated one at home?

    I don’t understand wanting to hate on one group of politicians v the other. THEY ALL SUCK MONKEYBUTT. And none of them, none zero zippo zilch, care about any of US. We should hate all of them!!

  5. Sounds like this Paula person needs a blog to kvetch on. <g>

    Real stores are tolerable when you have to feel the keyboard on the netbook before committing to it, or want to make sure the cut of the cute jeans really doesn’t make your butt look too fat/flat/shapeless.

    Other’n that, I started and finished (most) of my Xmas shopping entirely yesterday. All on-line and quite pleased. I did have to run to a store to get some dental floss (for the teeth, not the beach) and there were three adorable kids bouncing (literally) in front of the candy display they put by each and every cash register while the scary looking grandma was zoning out ignoring them. It was just starting to make my teeth extend into sharp rippy gnashy fangs when scary grandma turned her baleful soulless stare upon the bouncing children and, hissing, bade them be still. They ran and hid beneath the place you stow the shopping carts.

    Yay scary grandma!

  6. @gekko: “I started and finished (most) of my Xmas shopping entirely…”

    But … but … but there is still the draw of the Big Pine Flea Market where $1 fleas are available for just $2 and genuine Florida t-shirts can be had 3/$10. Plus Key Weird where $1 fleas are available for just $5 and genuine Florida t-shirts can be had 3/$25.

    Key Weird has plenty of dental floss, though. And body paint.

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