Service economy - From Andy on the motley fool
You want a clue as to where the American economy is headed? The Sunday Boston Globe had a front-page article on the New Hampshire economy which listed the top-ten employers in the state for 1992 and 2002. In 1992 the top employer was Digital Equipment Corp. In 2002 it was Wal-Mart. That's right, Wal-Mart. Also missing from the 2002 top-ten list are Lockheed, GE, and Textron.
The 2002 top-ten list includes two hospitals (#2, #10), three super-market chains (#3, #5, #7), a college (#4), an insurance company (#6), a financial services company (#8), and a foreign-owned defense systems contractor (#9).
If I had to guess as to how New Hampshireites are compensating for the shift from a manufacturing to a service-based economy I'd say the re-fi boom has a lot to do with it. By the way, Craig Benson, one of the founders of Cabletron, is the governor of NH. Makes you wonder if he understands the problem.
IMO, if Wal-Mart is the largest employer in the state, NH is in deep trouble. Maybe this issue will come up in the NH primary scheduled for January 19. Somehow I doubt it.
Andy |
