Out of Work Bum

According to the Department of Labor productivity rose to an annual rate of  9.5% last quarter.  This is compared to the economist’s estimates of 6.4%.  This is the quickest pace for increases in the last six years.  This is great news for companies.  They are producing more with fewer workers.  Note I said with fewer workers.  In the long run this will be great for everyone.  But in the short term this is bad news for those of us that are looking for a job.  It means that companies will be slower in hiring.    Some experts agree with that assessment.  Joel Naroff, chief economistat Naroff Economic Advisors believes that hiring could be sluggish for several more months.  On the brighter side, not everyone agrees with him.  Michelle Meyer, an economist at Barclays Capital was quoted as saying, “We believe businesses will have to start to increase hours worked and payrolls around the turn of the year since they cannot expect their current work force to sustain such rapid productivity growth.”  Who you believe depends on whether you are a glass-half-full or a glass -half-empty kind of person. Looks like another bleak Christmas season either way. I haven’t seen any improvement yet but  I will wait to see what the Labor Department has to say. For convenience I post their latest unemployment figures on the Labor Statistics page.

Let’s hope that the glass-half-full pundits are right.  I, like many of us, need a job.