Data show fuzzy jobs picture
American workers and their employers have decidedly different
views about the nation's overall economic health, according to
two reports released Wednesday.
Anticipated job cuts rose to a 17-month high in June as U.S.
companies announced plans to shed 110,996 jobs, according to
Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a Chicago-area outplacement firm
that tracks monthly job-cut announcements.
The auto and retailing industries were the hardest hit, with a
combined 69,443 expected job cuts announced last month.
Meanwhile, workers' confidence in the job market rebounded
noticeably, rising to its highest reading since January.
But pockets of workers -- such as Atlantans -- aren't so sure
about their jobs, finances or the job market, the latest monthly
Hudson Employment Index shows. The index is a monthly measure of
American workers' confidence in the job market.
Tampa residents were the most optimistic, at 112. Philadelphians
were the least confident, at 86.8. The U.S. average is 103.
Atlantans fell in the middle, registering 102.5. Twenty-seven
percent of Atlantans reported they were worried about losing a
job, up from 20 percent in May.
"What you've got is some fundamental changes," said Georgia
Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond. "You have a stable economy
and continued job losses."
Thurmond cited high gasoline prices, outsourcing and offshoring
as contributing factors.
Atlanta has just had "an incredibly long run of bad luck,"
Wachovia Corp. senior economist Mark Vitner said.
"Even though Atlanta has one of the most diverse economies in
the country, it has found itself behind the eight ball because a
number of key industries are struggling," Vitner said.
He warns not to put too much stock in Wednesday's reports.
Vitner says other reports provide a more accurate reading of the
nation's job market: weekly first-time unemployment claims and
the federal job openings and labor turnover survey, or JOLT.
The monthly jobs report, due out Friday, also provides some
perspective. Most economists expect the report to be
dramatically better than last month's dismal showing.
"There's a whole lot more information [about the job market] out
there today than we've had in the past," Vitner said.
"Unfortunately, the jobs outlook is a very mixed picture." The
paradoxes are numerous:
* Atlanta is home to the world's busiest airport at a time when
airlines are suffering their worst financial crisis.
* The region has grown tremendously because companies moved or
expanded here, but that has not been the case in the last few
years.
Increased regulatory scrutiny has made companies less willing to
take risks. "If they're less willing to take on risk, they're
less likely to expand, carry more inventory or hire more
workers."
Vitner also noted some pluses in metro Atlanta :
* Office leasing is up, indicating "hiring is picking up."
* The logistics industries of trucking, rail and shipping, all
significant to Atlanta , are booming.
* Layoffs in general have been subsiding across the country.
"The economy's moving in the right direction," Vitner said.
"It's just not moving fast enough to make everybody happy
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