Get to Work!
One of my friends from downstate pointed out this bit of good news for our state and the administration. The Decatur Herald & Review had an editorial pointing out that Illinois July job numbers led the nation. Coming from an area that knows a thing or two about job loss, this is some welcome reinforcement that things are trending in the right direction. They did temper the news however by stating:
There are some concerns in the July employment numbers, however. Government hires drove the month's increase, with that sector adding 5,800 job. The education and health services sector added 1,400 jobs. There were 1,900 jobs lost in the trade, transportation and utility sector, and 1,500 fewer jobs in the professional business services sectors. Those last two categories had been contributing significantly to job growth earlier in the year. While government provides much-need services, it's generally better for an economy if the job growth comes from private business and industry.
posted by Rep. John Fritchey @ 8/30/2005
4 comments
4 Comments:
I don't believe that I have ever met Amy, yet I am enamored with her solely as the result of her steadfastly impeccable grammar :)
Amy is also a walking thesaurus and a whiz at algebra.
"While government provides much-need services, it's generally better for an economy if the job growth comes from private business and industry."
Heresay. Where is the proof?
The government provides stable, secure jobs with good benefits and pensions. The private sector is subject to economic swings, greed, and uncertainty. Most private sector workers have no rights.
I can see why these jobs are growing at a faster rate.
There are a couple of additional considerations here.
First is the types of jobs being filled. Most are low wage and few if any provide for worker benefits. Higher paying industry sectors like manufacturing are still suffering from the last recession and the 2003 and 2004 state tax and fee increases significantly slowed recovery and/or growth in these sectors.
The other interesting observation, and something I commented on the other day, Illinois has two major oil refineries that are currently shuttered. What, I wondered, would it take to get them both back online and producing gas and oil products?
With such massive destruction in the south, why is anyone dragging their feet in trying to expand industry in Illinois to make up for lost productivity in the gulf area? There is opportunity here and government needs to lead in crafting a solution.
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