LB,
It gets harder to run on optimism when we read economic facts. Following was forwarded to me at 'Howard Dean for President' forum:
Jobs shift to lower-paying sectors
LABOR LOSSES LARGE IN MANUFACTURING, PROFESSIONAL INDUSTRIES
In almost every state, including California, jobs are shifting from higher-paying industries to lower-paying ones, according to a report released Wednesday by the Economic Policy Institute.
Underneath this relatively small job loss, however, were larger losses in industries that typically pay well: manufacturing, the information sector and professional and business services. Job gains came in areas that often pay less: education and health services, leisure and hospitality and retail.
The average pay in California in industries that grew during the period studied was $34,742, 40 percent less than the average wage in industries that shrank, $57,800.
``What I found most surprising was that the job shift to lower-paying industries has happened in 48 of the 50 states,'' said Michael Ettlinger, a policy analyst at the Economic Policy Institute who worked on the study.
The study's authors said previous research showed that during the boom years of the late 1990s, the pattern was the opposite, with jobs shifting toward higher-paying work.
siliconvalley.com
(Personally I think this trend is obvious to most professionals. But the Bush team chooses to operate in a sort of denial, with obviously incorrect economic figures.) |
