FourFreedomsBlog - Ball is in their court.

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Ball is in their court.
Author: Raine Date: 10/29/2009 13:23:37

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46632000/gif/_46632314_us_rec_oct09_466.gif

Is this the Obama recovery? Is the Bush recession over? Is it to early to tell?

From the BBC:

"The US economy grew at an annualised rate of 3.5% between July and September, its first expansion in more than a year, official data has shown.

Commentators say the growth was helped by President Obama's $787bn (£480bn) stimulus plan, and the fear is growth will now fall as this comes to an end.

The US economy was also lifted by the "Cash for Clunkers" car scrappage scheme, which finished in August.

But with unemployment still high, the ongoing recovery is set to be slow. "

With unemployment still headed upwards, it is still a recession for many Americans. Until the private sector starts employing people, all the recovery in the world is useless. People need money to spend money.

Last year Holiday jobs were no where to be found. Retail stores simply were not hiring due to a tanking economy. This year however, it looks like things are looking up. Gamestop will be adding 150 temporary seasonal jobs this year in the Atlanta area. In Upstate NY, they have added 3000 jobs already compared to only 1800 last year.

It might not be the best news in the world, but things are slowly turning.

The National Retail Federation is projecting a further 1 percent decline in holiday spending this year, after a 3.4 percent fall last year.

"Last year was very weak," said James Ross, the Capital Region's market analyst for the state Labor Department. "It was the fourth quarter last year when everything just tanked."

Ross said it's very possible that sales could still rebound by Christmas. And if they do, retailers wouldn't have a problem adding people, given the large number of unemployed.

Nationally, retailers added just 231,000 seasonal workers last year, down more than 60 percent from the 618,000 they hired in 2007, according to the National Retail Federation.

While these jobs may be temporary, they are vital to many people. They are an indicator that the private sector is dipping its toes back in the water to see if it safe again. I don't have to tell you how important these jobs have been to a few of our very own 4Fer's.

I believe the stimulous is working, but now it's time for companies to do their part by hiring workers. We are seeing a shift in the retail sector, but until people have cash in hand, nothing will matter. The ball in now in the private sector's court. It is time to put people back to work.