"SeaDweller" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 08 Aug 2003 03:06:02 GMT, "Jim"
wrote:


Ahh, but if you bothered to read my entire post, it was not only a one week drop I
reported but a drop in the month of July. Spin it anyway you want to. The fact is
that unemployment dropped in July.


I'm only jumping into this, because it is somewhat related to boating,
as this economy is impacting all industries.

It has not been shown that unemployment dropped, only that the folks
being put out of work dropped. Not that alone, the media that spins
this news routinely forgets to mention that thousands of folks finally
run out of their benefits, and are no longer a "statistic." It
doesn't mean they've entered the workforce, or it would show in other
data. Jobs are moving overseas, and will continue to do so.
Companies are myopic in this regard, because their only concern is
profits, which makes corporate executives rich, and gives analysts
their fuel to prosper.

Unemployment rates have been calculated in exactly the same way for decades. If you
find flaw in the way they are developed I suggest you contact the US BLS.



Another spin on your part. The fact is that productivity increased for 2 straight
quarters.

Spin? Productivity.........Part of Greenspan's "new economy."
Productivity is wonderful for corporate America, as it drives, that's
right, profits. Take a look at what the media and analysts purport to
be "surprisingly good earnings" for Q2. Earnings on cost cutting, tax
benefits, aquisitions, and a weak dollar are not earnings.

Companies are now finding that they can squeeze more work out of each
employee, so they're unlikely to hire. Moreover, they'll use these
current metrics when the economy does start to recover, so as business
does improve, the rate of adding new employees will be much lower than
in the past. Q2 GDP was driven almost exclusively by mortgage
activity, and with interest rates surging upward, GDP likely won't see
this benefit in Q3.

With greater productivity comes higher corporate profits (that is, afterall, what
companies are in business for, correct?) which leads to expansions and more employees.
That is Economy 101.

The productivity rate increased to 5.7%, almost twice the annual average of 2.8% from
'96 to '02.

Jobless claims also fell almost 1%, the lowest since February, 03.

The economy also expanded last quarter at a 2.4% annual rate, a full % point faster
than the first quarter '03.

The Dow and NASDAQ have shown strong gains the 1st 2 quarters of this year.

Add it all together and the end result will be more people working and lower
unemployment. We have already seen a dip in unemployment from June to July.

You put whatever negative spin you want on it but the numbers show otherwise.