One reason the economy has been growing slowly is due to large productivity increases. GDP is 3% higher than before the bust, yet employment is down by 1.6%. Similarly, industrial production is 2% shy of its all-time high, yet capacity utilization is 4% below what it was on 12/07. As a result, spending on plant and equipment has been substantially delayed along with the concomitant rise in hiring.
Tag Archives: Employment Growth
Texas; #1 in Job Growth
37% of all net new jobs created since the recovery began were created in TX. TX has added 265K net jobs. NY was 2nd with 98K, PA 93K. TX is also one of 4 states that has more jobs now than when the recession began; the others are ND, AK and DC. Over the last 20 years TX has grown 3.3% vs. 2.6% for the US. TX stands out for its free market and business friendly climate.
No Jobs, Weak Productivity
Jobs, where are they? The Labor Dept. employment tally came in at 54K well off the 232K in April and 194K in March. While our economy may be entering another “soft patch” the thing is you don’t get 2 of them in the first 2 years of a normal economic recovery! The silver lining, labor productivity growth was lousy; just 1.8% in Q1, so more output will require more workers; someday.