Actually I think it is declining due to the rise in gas prices which are felt not only at the pump but everywhere else. Any small gains have been not only nullified, but overwhelmed by this fact.
Well, we see what happens with gas prices, but we've had four straight quarters of increased sales tax, two months of dropping unemployment and increased jobs, and the feedback I'm getting from local business owners is positive.
That's all good news, and I am glad to hear it Howard. But the meteoric rise in fuel prices is a more recent event, and I worry that it will have a devastating impact on the positive strides we've made recently.
I have had to double our gas budget and limit our travel (which was already quite limited) just in the last 3-4 weeks.
I've never been fond of using unemployment numbers to represent the state of the economy. Unemployment is greatly underreported. If I am not mistaken, once your 99 weeks of unemployment are used up you drop from the official list of unemployed and aren't counted any longer. If there are more people running out of unemployment benefits than there are new claims coming in the unemployment numbers go down and it appears that the economy is growing, when in reality it isn't.
And it doesn't take underemployment into account at all. If you went off of unemployment to accept a job that pays a fraction of your former salary I wouldn't consider that a positive move for the economy. It certainly indicates you are working, but the net effect isn't a gain to the economy compared to your previous employment. I'll start believing Genesee County's economy is improving when I start seeing evidence of jobs being created that wouldn't be underemployment situations for most middle class households.
Actually I think it is
Actually I think it is declining due to the rise in gas prices which are felt not only at the pump but everywhere else. Any small gains have been not only nullified, but overwhelmed by this fact.
Well, we see what happens
Well, we see what happens with gas prices, but we've had four straight quarters of increased sales tax, two months of dropping unemployment and increased jobs, and the feedback I'm getting from local business owners is positive.
That's all good news, and I
That's all good news, and I am glad to hear it Howard. But the meteoric rise in fuel prices is a more recent event, and I worry that it will have a devastating impact on the positive strides we've made recently.
I have had to double our gas budget and limit our travel (which was already quite limited) just in the last 3-4 weeks.
I've never been fond of using
I've never been fond of using unemployment numbers to represent the state of the economy. Unemployment is greatly underreported. If I am not mistaken, once your 99 weeks of unemployment are used up you drop from the official list of unemployed and aren't counted any longer. If there are more people running out of unemployment benefits than there are new claims coming in the unemployment numbers go down and it appears that the economy is growing, when in reality it isn't.
And it doesn't take underemployment into account at all. If you went off of unemployment to accept a job that pays a fraction of your former salary I wouldn't consider that a positive move for the economy. It certainly indicates you are working, but the net effect isn't a gain to the economy compared to your previous employment. I'll start believing Genesee County's economy is improving when I start seeing evidence of jobs being created that wouldn't be underemployment situations for most middle class households.