Two economic reports today show the deeply indebted US economy is in a decline that is likely to stretch into a recession that could be quite severe.
The BLS jobs report shows a loss of -17,000 jobs in January, an even sharper -0.3% loss in total hours worked and a decline in average weekly wages even before considering the effects of inflation. Annual revisions to data back to 1990 that are included in today’s report, shows the economy had -376,000 fewer jobs in December than previously estimated. Only 994,000 new jobs were created over the past year and of these, only 809,000 were created by the private sector.
I find this amusing for for what I have read, the good economists for a long time have said current trade policy is not in the national interests and often is glorified labor arbitrage agreements.
From Alan S. Blinder, a former vice-chairman of the Federal Reserve and member of the Council of Economic Advisers in the Clinton Administration, to Dartmouth's Matthew J. Slaughter, an international economist who served on President George W. Bush's CEA, many in the profession are reevaluating the impact of globalization. They have studied the growth of low-wage work abroad and seen how high-speed telecommunications make it possible to handle more jobs offshore. Now they fear these factors are more menacing than they first thought
Union leaders are also upset that Chrysler is employing foreign workers in Auburn Hills who were let into the country under immigration rules that allow companies to hire skilled foreigners for jobs that can't be filled with local workers.
"The only reason they're supposed to be here is to do work we can't perform," Hagler said.
Rich Harter, Local 412's second vice president and Unit 1 chairman, said he has begun the process of lodging a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board.
He said more than 150 contractors are costing the company an estimated $150,000 each annually and there are 30 to 100 so-called H1B workers.
"This isn't right. We've got American workers getting laid off but they're keeping foreigners," he said. He argues it would be cheaper for the company to use UAW members.
CUMMINGS: On immigration. The Republicans have had a pretty fierce debate over immigration. And it's now pretty clear that that's going to be an issue for you all, as well, not just in the general, but it's bubbled up in some of the primaries. And it's a divisive issue for you all, as it is for the Republicans. And that was pretty evident when we got a question through Politico.
This is from Kim Millman (ph) from Burnsville, Minnesota. And she says, "there's been no acknowledgement by any of the presidential candidates of the negative economic impact of immigration on the African-American community. How do you propose to address the high unemployment rates and the declining wages in the African-American community that are related to the flood of immigrant labor?"
Senator Obama, you want to go first on that? And it's for both of you.
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