Click to enlarge.
How can people be optimistic about the future of long-term employment when looking at that chart? Is it because they are looking at the following chart instead (and cherry picking just the good stuff)?
Cherry Picked Goodness
1. The growth rate is still positive! Hurray!
2. It's different this time! Woohoo!
3. Thanks to the Fed, recessions are now impossible!
Can't you see that we're being Khan'd?
He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two-dimensional thinking. - Spock, The Wrath of Khan (1982)
One-dimensional thinking: The growth rate is still positive.
Two-dimensional thinking: The growth rate is positive but slowing.
Three-dimensional thinking: Somethin's poppin' and it ain't popcorn.
This is not investment advice. As always, just opinions.
Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Manufacturing Employment Growth
St. Louis Fed: All Employees: Manufacturing
Can manufacturing growth turn up from here? Sure, anything is possible.
ReplyDeleteWill manufacturing growth turn up from here? In my opinion, probably not.
Can the optimists really believe that the Great Recession caused the long-term trend in manufacturing employment to reverse?
ReplyDeleteIf that's true, then we should have a Great Recession every other year. Just think of all the prosperity that would generate!
Forehead. Desk. Whack. Whack. Whack.