From April to June, 13 percent of Lehigh Valley companies interviewed by staffing service Manpower Inc. said they plan to hire more employees. Just 2 percent of companies expected to reduce payrolls.This is obviously welcome news. In a related story, the Senate will soon vote on the extension of unemployment benefits that was blocked last week by Kentucky Republican Senator Jim Bunning. That bill now contains a range of tax cuts and incentives, as well as the "Doc Fix" for Medicare that prevents the program from implementing cuts in reimbursements to doctors.
That's a dramatic turnaround from the previous survey. It found 10 percent of companies planned to hire while 12 percent planned staff cutbacks.
This bill offsets some of its cost by closing tax loopholes. By providing extended financial support for people who have been unemployed a for a long time, it helps keep consumer demand up since nearly 100% of those dollars will wind up back in the economy in the form of purchases of goods and services.
4 comments:
I thought Obama was going to be foused like a laser beam on jobs.
All I hear about is Obamacare.
PS - people don't believe Democrats about jobs anymore.
The past year has already taken a heavy toll on credibility.
I take a wait and see approach. Businesses in Kutztown seem to be holding their own on the job front with some looking to expand and perhaps hire another part-timer or two. So much of this is predicated on confidence: business owners, customers, investors, etc. The collective mood is better today than it was last year at this time here in town, but it's hard to quantify. But even if the numbers you cite are true, I can't call it good news. Better, perhaps, but not good. There are still too many people and businesses on the verge of collapse.
Geoff
Fair enough, Geoff.
I agree that a lot of it is confidence. This turn around isn't going to happen with lightning speed, obviously, but the better retail sales figures in February are another hopeful sign. Things seem to be heading in the right direction, although clearly we'd all like it to happen more quickly.
"...nearly 100% of those dollars will wind up back in the economy in the form of purchases of goods and services"
just don't buy them at WalMart
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