-Caveat Lector-

JOB GROWTH FIGURES BADLY MISLEADING

PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS, COUNTERPUNCH -

The US continues its descent into the Third World, but you would never k
now it from news reports of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ July payroll 
jobs release.

The media gives a bare bones jobs report that is misleading. The public
heard that 207,000 jobs were created in July. If not a reassuring figure, at
least it is not a disturbing one. On the surface things look to be pretty 
much OK.
It is when you look into the composition of these jobs that the concern
arises.

Of the new jobs, 26,000 (about 13%) are tax-supported government jobs.
That leaves 181,000 private sector jobs. Of these private sector jobs,
177,000, or 98%, are in the domestic service sector.

Here is the breakdown of the major categories:

- 30,000 food servers and bar tenders
- 28,000 health care and social assistance
- 12,000 real estate
- 6,000 credit intermediation
- 8,000 transit and ground passenger transportation
- 50,000 retail trade
- 8,000 wholesale trade
- 7,000 construction jobs, most of which were filled by Mexicans
immigrants.

Not a single one of these jobs produces a tradable good or service that
can be exported or serve as an import substitute to help reduce the
massive and growing US trade deficit. The US economy is employing people
to sell things, to move people around, and to serve them fast food and
alcoholic beverages. The items may have an American brand name, but they
are mainly made off shore. For example, 70% of Wal-Mart’s goods are made
in China.

Where are the jobs for the 65,000 engineers the US graduates each year?
Where are the jobs for the physics, chemistry, and math majors? Who
needs a university degree to wait tables and serve drinks, to build
houses, to work as hospital orderlies, bus drivers, and sales clerks? 

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