The June jobs report came out. Unemployment rate now 9.2%

Ouch!

The economy added <gasp> 18,000 jobs in June.

Compare this to the 382,000 jobs needed monthly to get unemployment down to 6% over 3 years (Source: Peter Morici).

That is quite a gap.

Where's the Jobs?

The gap of 364,000 non filled jobs  is explained by the fact that temporary tax cuts, stimulus spending and large federal deficits do not address the 3 main structural problems holding back real economic growth and jobs creation:

  1.  The huge trade deficit,
  2.  Dysfunctional energy policies,
  3.  Rising health care costs.

These are the things that  are killing job creation.

  • Oil and trade with China account for nearly the entire U.S. trade deficit. The dollars leaving the U.S. are not buying U.S.goods in return, thereby killing our recovery. Where is Washington action on Chinese undervalued currency and mercantilism?
  • Much of the money  being spent outside the U.S. could be kept in country if we actually had functional energy and resource policies aligned with our National Strategic Interests.   Who is working on that?
  • Finally, the 2010 health care law is pushing up health care costs, rather than reducing those as promised. This makes insurance unaffordable for many small and medium sized businesses.  (Like precision machining shops.) Those smaller businesses  are the  real job creators in the U.S.  And they aren’t hiring.

You want to increase jobs and employment in the United States?

1) Cut the deficit;

2) Develop Energy and exploration policies that make sense;

3) Roll back the Health care juggernaut whose rising costs and obligations  is beginning to dissuade employers from hiring ;

4) Take action on China Currency Manipulation.

Now just might be a good time to start.

Tip of the hat to Peter Morici for keeping us advised of the economic facts.

Bad News Bears

Where’s the Beef?