Although the Bureau of Labor Statistics had good news when it came to the month of May's unemployment claims and job creation, all I have heard in the news lately are stories about layoffs.
IBM is allegedly sacking at least 3,000 employees worldwide. There was big hoopla over a Manhattan law firm, Weil, Gotshal & Manges, laying off 60 attorneys and 110 support staff, something that was unprecedented in its 82 year history. The construction vehicle and equipment company, Caterpillar, has laid off about 800 works starting last month. And many banks and other businesses are allegedly laying off workers in spite of record profits. Also not to mention all of the layoffs that have and will result from congresses budget sequester.
These layoffs will have ripple effects as all of these people loose their spending power and can no longer pump their dollars into the economy. Businesses that once served them will stop getting a regular money in and they will eventually be forced to close their doors. Layoffs like the ones reported above are likely to have a strong ripple effect on other jobs and the economy as a whole.
On a side note, I think that companies are starting to realize that they can work much more efficiently with today's computer and networking technology and there is no point in keeping around workers that they don't have to keep around.
To me it looks like we are getting ready for recession round-two and I think it is going to be a scarier bout than the first one.
This is where the government should step in and create more jobs, but the Ayn Rand disciple Republicans will have none of that, as they make sure the government sequester takes away even more jobs.
Another scary bit of news I have heard that it is getting harder and harder for Harvard Law School graduates to find jobs. A Harvard Law degree was an almost certain path to employment years ago, I have heard that as much as 30 percent of their graduates cannot find jobs.
I am not sure why so many people want to go into law and not study medicine. Law must be an easier way to earn money, but now that lawyers seem to be tripping over each other you would think that at least some people would want to choose medicine for a guaranteed well paying job and career. One thing that scares me about the glut of lawyers is that they have to find ways to drum-up business which will mean a future of a lot of unnecessary lawsuits.
I hope all of these layoffs stop at some point, but I get the feeling that this is only the beginning.
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