I have been causually watching USA manufacturing, which seems to be on a down ward slope
Today I read in Zero Hedge that USA manufacturing has declined for 7 months straight. I am assuming this information is correct, otherwise I am looking a bit foollish to believe such numbers
Assuming these numbers are correct
How can anybody say the economy is so strong. Yes, wages have increased but is that low paid wages such as 10.00 to 10.75 for instance or are high paying jobs the majority of wage increases. I dunno
One thing I do think is you need a teachers job of be a civil servant to be well paid.
On the other hand:
The number of homeless is a tragedy, pan handling is in your face most every where, people living in cars, vans, tents is hugely evident. People with mental illness is a common sight. Human trafficking is rampant, you don't dare let your children wander far from your immediate vicinity, suicides are on the increase, shootings with multiple deaths are increasing, and golly is gang turf ever at such a peak of danger. You have to belong to some gang or everybody is your enemy, drug use is rampant and obvious, late nite business has bullet proof glass and bars with a panic switch near by, garbage is every where
And then you have those who can afford protection. Gated communities everry where, with lovely boulevards, wonderful homes and new cars or pick ups that cost a fortune
Now the diffference in the have vs the have nots is something nobody has been able to solve
But how can we say with all the have nots, plus manufacturing on a down ward slope that the economy is strong???
What is so strong about the econo]my to be more than all the not so good things I have mentioned, and all I have mentioned is clearly visible to anybody who wishes to simply take a look
Looking in from the outside I see a country that is clearly not very strong as it is the population that makes a country strong. And I clearly see a lot of problems
Now that is just MHO
Tim new reported Jan employment in post below
Started by TimNew - Feb. 7, 2020, 8:45 a.m.
Average Hourly +3.1% year over year.
Participation up 2 tics to 63.4
Prior revised up 2k to 147.
U1 up .1 to 3.6.
A pretty good report.
the only people saying the economy is strong are the people on TV and they are saying it cause they are being paid to say it.
I disagree with Richard. 2 of the 3 residential house builders that we work for sold a record number of houses in January. We have a record amount of backlog. We do foundations
Have you tried to fill any positions lately? Wages are going up. Even with a rising $
https://www.census.gov/construction/nrs/pdf/newressales.pdf
An estimated 681,000 new homes were sold in 2019. This is 10.3 percent (±6.4 percent) above the 2018 figure of 617,000.
Richard,
If you can, please show us some statistics/numbers to back up that statement or links from economic sources.
MFG has been saddled with uncertainty over the trade war and I strongly suspect we'll be seeing a moderate to significant rebound in the coming months as that uncertainty abates. While MFG is certainly important, it accounts for about 11.4% of the economy and employs roughly 8.5% of the population.
The service sector, which has been running very strong for several years makes up a much more significant 80%. Consumer spending remains very healthy along with consumer and small business sentiment. Wages are growing at the fastest post recession rate we've seen.
There is some nibbling around the edges, I suspect largely due to the trade war, but the underlying fundamentals remain very positive. Baring unforeseen events, 2020 should be a pretty good year.