Read this little gem from an article this morning: “Construction lost 64,000 jobs. As we noted last month, we consider the continued loss of construction jobs a sign that the real economy is undergoing a healthy transition away from the bubble. The big danger with all our new subsidies to housing was that it would thwart the ongoing liquidation of human and financial capital allocated to housing, producing another round of malinvestment. In short, the continued loss of construction jobs is hopeful sign that we aren’t creating an artificial recovery by re-inflating the housing bubble.” It felt like someone was pouring vinegar on mt brain. I became stupider. Link to article: http://www.businessinsider.com/what-todays-jobs-numbers-really-mean-for-our-economy-2010-3
I heard someone on one of the business channels last Friday say a similar thing. That the loss in construction jobs is a positive for the economy. He said the more losses in construction and manufacturing, and the more hirings in services is a healthy sign for the economy that our labor force is transitioning to more sustainable industries.
You didn’t stop reading once you saw the picture associated with that article?
I think you are misunderstanding the point of the article. It’s just saying that it’s positive that jobs are relocating from construction to other industries. Clearly in 2007-2008, there was more construction than was optimal for the economy.
Hello Mister Walrus Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I think you are misunderstanding the point of the > article. It’s just saying that it’s positive that > jobs are relocating from construction to other > industries. Clearly in 2007-2008, there was more > construction than was optimal for the economy. Sure, but what about construction now? Without looking at any data, I would say construction today is better represented as a bust than a bubble. Another minor note, didn’t construction peak in '05 or early '06?
You are over thinking it. The article is just saying that the economic recovery is not another real estate bubble. The supporting evidence is that construction jobs are not rising.
It would be positive if the construction jobs were relocating somewhere else or being allocated to bigger projects. Truth is the jobs are being shed, more unskilled labor on the government tab with no real prospects for employment. On a side note, I highly encourage this article. It’s very long but VERY good. http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2010/04/wall-street-excerpt-201004?currentPage=1
You are over thinking it. The point of the article is that there is no more real estate bubble. That’s it.
Construction jobs are like finance jobs - there was an oversupply (bubbles in both sectors)and this is now correcting.
Read the Vanity Fair article. It’s amazing.
nuppal Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Read the Vanity Fair article. It’s amazing. It’s by Michael Lewis, and it’s written in the future! Of course it’s amazing.
Wow that is an awesome read . I’m buying that book .
former trader Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I heard someone on one of the business channels > last Friday say a similar thing. That the loss in > construction jobs is a positive for the economy. > He said the more losses in construction and > manufacturing, and the more hirings in services is > a healthy sign for the economy that our labor > force is transitioning to more sustainable > industries. I do have an issue with such proclaimations. First, its a structural change for these workers, which is much harder to manage than a cyclical change, especially manufacturing. Think of defence industry workers in early 90’s or telecom workers in early 00’s. Yes, they probably managed, but I am certain that experienced people in those industries would not make same $$ as they made earlier. Secondly, how do you stimulate a services based industry. Give everyone a tax break for getting a haircut? When did services become sustainable sector? Unless we have all those construction & manufacturing worker moving to healthcare to cater to our aging population.