Sunday, November 7, 2010

Just in time for the holidays: Bigger paychecks

Things are looking up for the labor force. CNN reported that October saw 151,000 new jobs created, higher rates of job findings then have occurred in over six months, and to top it off there was a noticeable increase in the wages of those who already have jobs. Weekly wages increased more than any month since the Recession began which can be explained in an increase in average hours worked, which shows the largest year-over-year gain in over 25 years.

Hopefully this rise in wages will help induce consumers to start spending more, something that is already expected in the upcoming holiday season, but that could be improved upon nonetheless. If retail sees a good return for the holidays it could be a sign of more good to come.

While these are all optimistic indicators for employment, it is said that even greater rates of job higherings and wage increases will have to occur to pull us out of the Recession. But it is a move in the right direction.

4 comments:

  1. I agree that this is a move in the right direction. With bigger paychecks being given to American workers just in time for a holiday that is centered around spending money, the economy should be effected in a positive way. The winter months also bring thousands upon thousands of seasonal jobs, which should further build upon the recent employment opportunities.

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  2. This article shows good signs of things to come. The fact that more jobs are being found by unemployed people and people with jobs are seeing increases in wages is great news. The companies who are giving employees raises obviously have a positive outlook on the future of the economy to be able to do this.

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  3. I agree with Tyler that most of this is due to the seasonal employment that the economy has seen very recently. If you just go on Monster or even Craigslist, there are so many companies looking for people to cover the holiday rush, mostly in retail positions. For example, the clothing store, Delia's, only has one call center and it's here in Westerville, OH and has hired about 30 people recently. Unfortunately, most of these jobs will be lost once the holiday rush has slowed down.

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  4. The bigger paychecks and the high spending expected during the holiday season should help stimulate the economy some more. This is also a good sign that consumers are not as afraid of spending as they were before and firms and stores are hiring again (which shows that they need the labor force to cover for the increased consumer demand).

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