[Strummer]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('copious.abundance', 'B')ut the global economy has shown signs of stabilizing in recent months, leading to more orders for American petroleum, industrial supplies, capital goods and autos.

[Loki]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('copious.abundance', 'T')his:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Loki', 'T')he decline of manufacturing employment is not an insignificant metric when it comes to evaluating your recovery hypothesis, as suggested by this:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')here has been a long-term decline in manufacturing jobs in the US, one of the factors explaining the decline in median household income.

[copious.abundance]

The following two charts would seem to completely contradict pstarr's claim. Notice how much more volatile manufacturing employment is compared to the service sector.


LINKY


LINKY

[copious.abundance]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pstarr', 'N')otice the inverse correlation between manufacturing employment and volatility.

[copious.abundance]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pstarr', ' '). . . and the leadup to $1000/barrel petroleum

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pstarr', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('copious.abundance', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pstarr', 'a')ll financial stuff in now tied directly to $100/barrel petroleum . . . and the leadup to $1000/barrel petroleum

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pstarr', 'H')ow did you come up with that

[copious.abundance]

Still awaiting that double-dip!



Companies in U.S. Added 238,000 Jobs in December, ADP Says
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]Companies added more workers than projected in December as U.S. employers grew more optimistic about the prospects for demand, a private report based on payrolls showed today.

The 238,000 increase in employment was the biggest since November 2012 and followed a revised 229,000 gain in November that was stronger than initially estimated, according to the ADP Research Institute in Roseland, New Jersey. The December tally exceeded the most optimistic forecast in a Bloomberg survey in which the median projection called for a 200,000 advance.

[...]

Estimates in the Bloomberg survey of 36 economists ranged from gains of 170,000 to 225,000 after a previously reported increase of 215,000 in November.

The December gain brought the 2013 average to 179,600 compared with 163,000 per month in the previous year, according to ADP data.

Construction increased headcount by 48,000 in December, the biggest gain since February 2006. Factories added 19,000 jobs. Goods producers in 2013 added 286,000 workers, with almost 75 percent of the gains coming from the construction industry, ADP said.

Employment in trade, transportation and utilities increased 47,000, today’s report showed. Professional and business services employment rose by 53,000 last month, the most since November 2012.

Payrolls at service providers climbed by 170,000 jobs in December.

[...]

[copious.abundance]

US Dec. planned layoffs plunge to lowest since 2000: Challenger
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]The number of planned layoffs at U.S. firms plunged by 32 percent in December to the lowest monthly total in more than 13 years, a report on Thursday showed.

Employers announced 30,623 layoffs last month, down from 45,314 in November, according to the report from consultants Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

The last time employers announced fewer job cuts was June of 2000, when 17,241 planned layoffs were recorded.

[...]

[copious.abundance]

Gov. Brown Outlines Budget Plan to Tackle California's "Wall of Debt"
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]New spending on schools, healthcare, social services and environmental programs are all part of Gov. Jerry Brown's budget proposal that includes an increase over the current budget tempered by what the governor called "wisdom and prudence" in the face of a projected multibillion dollar budget surplus.

The governor scheduled a news conference for 3 p.m. in downtown Los Angeles to discuss details of the plan. The announcement was bumped up by one day after the 271-page blueprint was leaked to news organizations.

Soaring revenue from an improving economy and voter-approved tax increases have put the nation's most populous state in the rare position of having a projected multibillion dollar budget surplus, a financial surprise that has fueled the big-spending dreams of Democratic state lawmakers. Brown proposes an 8.5 percent boost in spending from the current year's budget, but also takes aim at nearly $355 billion in unfunded liabilities and debts.

"In the face of such liabilities, our current budget surplus is rather modest," the governor wrote in the leaked budget summary. "That is why wisdom and prudence should be the order of the day."

His budget proposal for the 2014-15 fiscal year dedicates $11 billion to paying down the debts and liabilities. That includes $6 billion in payments that had been deferred to schools and nearly $4 billion to pay down the so-called economic recovery bonds left over from administration of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

[...]

[copious.abundance]

And speaking of budgets ...

This, of course, is merely one man's projection, but nonetheless ...

Here’s Why U.S. Could Have a Budget Surplus by 2016

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Daniel_Plainview', 't')he only other way for the economy to "recover" would be for it to undertake the decades-long retooling, revamping, remodeling, restructuring, regalvanizing, rebooting, reforming, etc.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Daniel_Plainview', 't')he only other way for the economy to "recover" would be for it to undertake the decades-long retooling, revamping, remodeling, restructuring, regalvanizing, rebooting, reforming, etc.