The Change Mariner

A Profound Change in the U.S. Economy?

Deleware New Journal:

For months, economists have been reassuring Americans that the employment market drought would soon end.

With corporate profits surging and economic indicators improving, they said, it wouldn't be long before there was a downpour of jobs. After all, history shows that strong economic growth is quickly followed by robust job creation.

With this recovery, that still hasn't happened.

Most economists aren't quite ready to throw out the history books, but the release month after month of disappointing payroll-gains reports has intensified a debate about whether a profound change in the way the U.S. economy operates is under way or has already come about: With advances in technology, rising productivity rates and the outsourcing of work to foreign countries, more economic activity won't translate into more jobs.

"I'm growing increasingly suspicious that something more fundamental may be happening to the job market and the economy," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Economy.com, a research and consulting firm in West Chester, Pa

Posted by Timothy Fredel at March 11, 2004 02:18 PM | TrackBack
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