Another reality check on why there are no jobs
News blogs, sports blogs, entertainment blogs, and more from Philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.
Another reality check on why there are no jobs
The Wall Street Journal may be under attack these days, and with editorials like this one straight out of bizarro world, that's understandable. However, the news side of the Murdoch-owned operation continues to produce moments of good journalism, like this one.
The wireless telecom industry just posted its worst employment numbers in 12 years -- so business must be totally in the toilet, right? Hardly. To the contrary, the industry is booming:
While the industry's revenue has grown 28% since 2006, when wireless employment peaked at 207,000 workers, its mostly nonunion work force has shrunk about 20%.
The disconnect between employment and industry growth reflects the broader head winds lashing the U.S. job market, as consolidation, outsourcing and productivity gains from new technology and business methods combine to undermine job growth.
At wireless carriers, leaps forward in smartphone and network technology haven't generally required increases in the call-center workers and salespeople that make up much of the wireless-telecom work force.
Those advances do show up, however, in skyrocketing productivity statistics. In 2009, the latest data available, the output per hour of wireless-carrier workers jumped 24.3%, more than in nearly any other service industry, according to a Labor Department report in May. Since 2002, output per hour in the industry has nearly tripled.
So from everything I can tell from the article, the lack of hiring has nothing to do with "uncertainty over the national debt" or "Obamacare" or all the reasons that people keep shouting at me from my AM button on my car radio. Nope, like a lot of businesses they're not hiring because they don't need to. Better technology has meant the wireless companies get fewer complaints and conduct more of their business online. If you think that's President Obama's fault, well OK then -- but I'm not seeing it.
Kind of reminds me of a story I heard somewhere about an ATM machine...
Since we may or may not be redoing some of the tax code as part of some "grand bargain" (which I'll believe when I see), it would be good to see major tax credits or tax breaks go to companies that create American jobs, even if -- or maybe especially if -- if means higher levies for firms that ship jobs overseas, etc. It would be an admission that the "invisible hand" of job creation has flown the coop.
At least they are not Borders!!
BTW Will just how overcompensated are those telecom CEOs? I thought they were the cause of all the downsizing?— DuncanIdaho
Will, if history teaches us anything, it's that technology crea- ahem, as I typing before technology sabotaged me, it's that technology always creates far more demand for labor in the long run than it displaces in the short term. The simple cotton gin is my favorite example of this supposed paradox - given how it ultimatey shook the foundations of civilization - so just imagine where we're headed now, if you dare.
Comment removed.- Way to site one example again Willy to put a blanket over the entire economy. I'll site one - check on Steve Wynn's recent rant. That is reality. Which one speaks more truth to reality.— vh1
- You can be certain that recent surveys by the U of M and the BLS show a majority of businesses are not hiring due to demand for their products, due to consumers being tapped out, in debt past their eyeballs, and underwater. Strange that, the notion that people stop buying as much when they are tapped out, and have lost staggering amounts of wealth. Granted the surveys have shown business owners concerned about uncertainty of policy, but it pales to demand. I can just shake my head. — Murrayman
- Steve Wynn? Didn't he make his fortune exploiting people's addiction to gambling? That was "progress"? LOL, no wonder he's mad.
- Comment removed.
- Comment removed.
- *LOL* I often wondered if you guys ever had milkmen, still have them in Britain its a piggin nuisance if you get stuck behind one on a narrow country lane the milk floats only go 10mph.
— PAEnglish - yawn— rysagr
- "Nope, like a lot of businesses they're not hiring because they don't need to. Better technology has meant the wireless companies get fewer complaints and conduct more of their business online." So the Bush tax cuts weren't at fault?— RG
- Comment removed.
- Andrew Sullivan
- Blinq
- Blogorrhea
- Blonde Sagacity
- Free Republic
- Instapundit
- James Taranto
- ScrappleFace
- The Corner
- Buzzmachine
- Eat the Press
- Editor and Publisher
- Media (Huffington Post)
- Media Bloodhound
- Mickey Kaus
- Pressthink
- Romenesko
- The Inksniffer
- A List of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago
- Above Average Jane
- BlankBaby
- Citizen Mom
- Keystone Blog
- Metroblogging Philadelphia
- Phawker
- Philadelphia - America's Hometown
- Philadelphia Will Do
- Philebrity
- Philly Future
- Phillyblog
- Phillyist
- The Clog
- The Next Mayor
- Welcome to Phillyville
- Young Philly Politics
- Afro-Netizen
- All-Spin Zone
- Atrios
- Bad Attitudes
- Billmon
- Booman Tribune
- CorrenteWire
- Fables of the Reconstruction
- iFlipFlop
- Kiko's House
- MyDD
- Philly (Dragonballyee)
- Rowhouse Logic
- Slacktivist
- Suburban Guerilla
- Tattered Coat
- upyernoz
- AmericaBlog
- Andy Borowitz
- BuzzFlash
- Crooks and Liars
- Cursor
- Daily Kos
- David Sirota
- Drudge Report
- Echidne of the Snakes
- Fire Dog Lake
- Glenn Greenwald
- Hullabaloo
- Jesus' General
- Jon Swift
- Josh Marshall
- Juan Cole
- Kevin Drum
- Mad Kane
- Majikthise
- Matthew Yglesias
- Oliver Willis
- Raw Story
- Swing State Project
- Talk Left
- Taylor Marsh
- TBogg
- The Carpetbagger Report
- Think Progress
- War and Piece
- Wonkette
- A Citizen's Blog
- Balls, Sticks and Stuff
- Beer Leaguer
- Dick Polman
- Phillies Nation
- Philling Station
- Shallow Center
- The 700 Level
- The Good Phight
