Jobs in Jeopardy

The lead article in today’s New York Times is titled, “85,00 More Jobs Cut in December, Fogging Outlook.” The article lists the latest economic statistics and their possible impact on the Obama administration.

The unemployment rate for December remains in double digits at 10.0 percent, and some economists predict it will get worse. For the unemployment rate to stabilize, the economy needs to add 100,000 new jobs every month to match the rate of growth in the work force.

Economists had expected a job loss of about 10,000 jobs so the current statistics are significantly worse. However, to put the numbers into perspective, at one point during the recession, we were losing 700,000 jobs per month.

The Obama administration is faced with a dilemma. The Republicans are making a lot of noise about the size of the deficit; however, the economy still needs a significant boost, and trying to re-balance the budget at this point could throw us into a double-dip recession. Paradoxically, if we do try to balance the budget, and this happens, the deficit will become even worse because of the impact on revenues.

I’m not an economist, but I recognize when we seem to be between a rock and a hard place. President Obama will have to walk a tightrope, with the Republicans trying to sabotage him every step of the way. I still think there’s hope, though. The strength of the American people, our inherent creativity and work ethic, and especially our resilience, will see us through this tunnel to the light at the other side.