Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Snowmageddon could cost up to 150,000 jobs in February
This very interesting article concerns the back to back snow storms that have pummeled various regions of the country and their effect on the economy. It is estimated that between 90,000 to 150,000 jobs could be lost this month due to the snow trapping people at home and halting the hiring process. People notable to get to their new jobs will file for unemployment benefits. Businesses in the retail, construction, manufacturing, and transportation industries will be particularly hit hard, driving up job loss estimates. However, on a more positive note, economists are saying the storms impact is only temporary and growth will continue shortly.
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I currently manage a Subway in the Polaris area and this article is extremely accurate. Currently we are doing are big promotion which typically increases sales by 8% or more. For the past 3 weeks our store is around 1500 dollars less than it was last year during this time period. The current weather has hurt us much worse than the recession ever did as we are all so cutting staff and cost.
ReplyDeleteThis article made me wonder how the monthly unemployment figures varied in previous years. Has historic snow fall increase unemployment rates in the past due to weather condition? It would also be interesting to see the variations in unemployment rates due to snowfall in areas of the country that received record levels of snow. I would imagine that locations on the east coast such as Washington D.C. have seen higher numbers than areas in Ohio.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting article because it is certainly a factor that we rarely consider in our calculation and discussion of unemployment. Has a factor such as the weather ever been used to describe a particular type of unemployment? My understanding of seasonal unemployment is that it relates to the change of seasons and occupations like farming which results in unemployment during the winter. I wonder whether an increased impact of the weather will result in a new unemployment measure or perhaps a special comment on the impact of the snow during this time period on unemployment when calculated.
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