[LordOpie]

so I was reading this article and came across something suspicious...

The Labor Department's announcement last week that U.S. employers added 513,000 jobs to their payrolls the first quarter of 2004...
...
...Second, many jobs being created by the American economic recovery are actually in other countries -- like China and India -- where positions in manufacturing and technology have been outsourced," The Herald said.

WTF??!! Are they saying that jobs created in other countries by American companies are included in the "jobs created" reports??!!

And if my cursory interpretation is right, then... WTF? That's totally bullsh:t and those reports mean nothing.

If you've got a few minutes, can you look up what "jobs created" means. (I'd google, but I'm busy at work... w00t!)

Full article...
US business confidence seen at 20-year high
By Dan Roberts in New York
Published: April 5 2004 18:43 | Last Updated: April 5 2004 18:43


Confidence among US business leaders is stronger than it has been for 20 years, according to a long-running measure of boardroom attitudes, as rising profits finally encourage companies to start hiring.


The quarterly survey by the Conference Board confirms last week's official employment data suggesting concerns about a jobless recovery may be waning.

In recent quarters, companies have been wary of hiring staff, preferring to make greater use of existing capacity, but continued growth and record profitability appears to be convincing managers that productivity improvements alone may not be enough to meet rising demand.

Half the chief executives who responded to the Conference Board's lastest poll said they expected employment in their industry to rise, compared with just 12 per cent who predicted a fall - the most optimistic response on jobs since the research group began its analysis in 1976.

Overall confidence levels about the economy are the highest since 1983, with more than three quarters of CEOs expecting continued growth over the next six months.

Lynn Franco, director of the conference board's consumer research centre, said: "We were expecting a strong confidence reading given the last two quarters of back-to-back growth but the optimism about hiring is particularly interesting and suggests we may have turned the corner.

"They now forsee enough growth that despite productivity gains they will need to hire more bodies."

The bullish results, based on responses from more than 100 members of Conference Board, follow signs of a turnaround in official US employment data, which last week showed the biggest monthly increase for four years.

Expectations that a healthier job market will allow a rise in US interest rates also helped push the dollar to a four-month high against the euro yesterday

In contrast, confidence polls reflect only a partial snapshot of the mood among some business leaders, but the Conference Board's results are neverthless in line with other recent surveys showing a rising trend.

Last month, an employment outlook survey by Manpower found US employers expect the seasonally adjusted hiring pace from April to June to be stronger than it has been since the first quarter of 2001.

Based on a survey of 16,000 U.S. employers, 28 per cent said they plan to increase hiring activity for the April - June period, while 6 per cent expect a decrease in employment opportunities.

When the seasonal variations are removed from the data, the outlook for the second quarter is more positive than it was last quarter and is nearly twice as strong as it was last year at this time.

Earlier in the year, The Business Council, which reflects the mood among large companies, also reported the first signs of a similar pick-up in confidence.

Nevertheless, companies continue to report a number of negative factors which may slow the pace of hiring.

The latest Conference Board survey singled out rising healthcare costs as by far the biggest factor, with 44 per cent saying it was a "major obstacle" to hiring.

 

[Toshi]

that's really lame. i bet companies count their overseas subcontractors in their reports on how many jobs they "created".

 

[Lexx D]

Another great way for Bushy to make it look like he's doing well. Of course most of middle america will see it as new jobs and give the pres the

 

[LordOpie]

Originally posted by Lexx D
Another great way for Bushy to make it look like he's doing well. Of course most of middle america will see it as new jobs and give the pres the

damnit! Do NOT make me defend, even indirectly, Bush!

The problem has nothing to do with any specific administration. I'm sure the reporting tools were the same under Clinton. Still, IF I understood the data collected, then it is bogus and needs to be fixed.

 

[Lexx D]

Originally posted by LordOpie
damnit! Do NOT make me defend, even indirectly, Bush!

The problem has nothing to do with any specific administration. I'm sure the reporting tools were the same under Clinton. Still, IF I understood the data collected, then it is bogus and needs to be fixed.

hahahaha....got ya going didn't I.
Republicans are so easy

 

[Tenchiro]

At least I have never been in this guys shoes. Personally I would lose it!

Workers asked to train foreign replacements
Tue Apr 6, 6:51 AM ET

By Stephanie Armour, USA TODAY

When computer programmer Stephen Gentry learned last year that Boeing was laying him off and shipping his job overseas, he wasn't too surprised. Many of his friends had suffered the same experience.

What really stunned him was his last assignment: Managers had him train the worker from India who'd be taking his job.

"It was very callous," says Gentry, 51, of Auburn, Wash., a father of three who is still unemployed. "They asked us to make them feel at home while we trained them to take our jobs."

Clicky...

 

[Jr_Bullit]

Originally posted by Tenchiro
At least I have never been in this guys shoes. Personally I would lose it!

Workers asked to train foreign replacements
Tue Apr 6, 6:51 AM ET

By Stephanie Armour, USA TODAY

When computer programmer Stephen Gentry learned last year that Boeing was laying him off and shipping his job overseas, he wasn't too surprised. Many of his friends had suffered the same experience.

What really stunned him was his last assignment: Managers had him train the worker from India who'd be taking his job.

"It was very callous," says Gentry, 51, of Auburn, Wash., a father of three who is still unemployed. "They asked us to make them feel at home while we trained them to take our jobs."

Clicky...

Oh man...that would suck!!! So tempting to give the boss the finger and walk out...but then what? No unemployment for who knows how long until you find another job...in this market? blech...horrible horrible!!!

 

[Tenchiro]

Originally posted by Jr_Bullit
Oh man...that would suck!!! So tempting to give the boss the finger and walk out...but then what? No unemployment for who knows how long until you find another job...in this market? blech...horrible horrible!!!

Nothing to do but train them to be horribly inept and ill prepared. :devil: