State of the Economy
Two of the indicators that are frequently quoted by economists and financial analysts (besides unemployment) are wages (which recently rose 0.2%, the first rise in quite a while) and aggregate hours worked (which has been declining for 10 months).
A friend, who is concerned about losing her job, just found out that her pay is being cut 4%. Because she is salary, the company is making it up to her by giving her an additional two weeks of vacation. So while the dollar per hour worked remains constant, she is losing both salary and aggregate hours worked.
Want to bet that she loses the extra two weeks vacation before she gains the 4% salary back? Want to bet that she will still be grateful just to continue having a job? I would.
Technorati Tags: Unemployment, Stimulis and Other Big Government Failures
