Staggering Job Loss

On February 7, 2009, the Chicago Sun-Times reported “The United States lost nearly 600,000 jobs last month, sending the unemployment rate to 7.6 percent.”

Bloomberg reported, “US Initial Unemployment Claims Jump to 26-Year High.” And Newsday reported, “the national unemployment rate is at a 16-year high.”

That’s beyond troubling and it raises some important questions.

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Our most important questions surround President Obama’s 900 billion economic stimulus package designed to “create or save more than 3 million jobs.” And they ask, “What types of resources can stabilize the job situation today?” “Where are these resources?” “How can these resources be implemented in an emergency fashion?” And “Who qualifies for these resources?”

Causes of Today´s Unemployment

What we’ve seen over the recent years is comparable to trickle-down lean manufacturing on steroids. Companies now view employees as expenditures instead of cash cows — and as a result, they’re firing or laying off workers all in an effort to save money.

Only this strategy doesn’t save money because like the game of dominos – one unemployed American takes down another. And another. And another. And another.

Example: The unemployed mother loses her job and cannot afford to take her children to childcare. The childcare worker who watched her children loses her clientele and cannot afford to make a car payment. The used car dealer who sold her the car cannot sell his inventory and he cannot pay for the car lot he rents. The real estate company who rented him the lot cannot afford to keep its employees and it lays off a large group of its own workers to stay afloat.

Now take a wild guess at what happens to the dry cleaning staff, the local grocer staff, and the gas stations affected by those job losses. Shortly after this article was written, CNN issued a report describing how one job loss can spark economic chain reactions. I watched a little of it, but still had questions. Ultimately, I had to answer them on my own.

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