Where are the jobs?

Dang.... Where are the jobs?

Unemployment is still pretty high as of early May, 2010.(New figures are due out tomorrow.) Unemployment peaked at 10.1% in October 2009, but is still high at 9.7% as reported in early March.

Is this the federal government's fault? Obama's fault?

It seems to ne that if Obama were really a 'socialist,' they high unemployment rate would be the government's, his, fault, since in 'socialism' the government would be doing the hiring ... not unlike the depression era Works Progress Administration which directly employed millions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Works_Progress_Administration.

But in today's world and with Obama's government, it is the private sector which does the hiring; most of the stimulus money is being channeled through projects being done by private sector companies.

Not much/enough hiring going on? Maybe we should ask the private sector: "why aren't you hiring?"

The answer? Partly, at least, it is that worker productivity has soared, and productivity is the amount of production a company gets out of each employee.

"Efficiency advanced 6.3 percent over the past four quarters, the biggest 12-month increase since 1962. Labor costs fell more than projected." http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-06/productivity-of-u-s-workers-rises-more-than-forecast-update2-.html

Government can create conditions conducive for job growth; it can stimulate the economy; but, without much direct government hiring (socialism), the government doesn't create jobs, the private sector is responsible for whether there is job growth.

And the unemployment rate will remain high until the private sector realizes that the more people there are at work, the higher the demand there will be for their products. (Think Henry Ford who paid high wages so his workers could create demand for the products they made.)

Are you out of work? Ask the companies why they aren't hiring, even with all sorts of positive stimulus from the federal government.

(Unless you're a newly out of work teacher or other state or local worker -- the folks to ask are those who insist that all tax cuts are always good, apparently forgetting that you simply don't get what you don't pay for.)