Category Archives: Recession

Jobless recovery continues

Here’s why job growth has yet to catch up and why it will be awhile before it does.

The Commerce Department reported that the U.S. economy in the 4th quarter last year grew 5.6 percent, less than previously estimated.

While any growth is good news after the worst recession in decades, projections of 3 percent growth in the first quarter of 2010 are disturbing. That’s not near fast enough to put much of a dent in the unemployment rate.

 Knoxville’s often lags the national trends so it looks like we’re in for a sluggish year.

Inflation — a matter of time

The Curious Capitalist asks an interesting question: Is Inflation Coming Back?

Hmmmm….

Pain was widespread during the Great Recession, but the one bright spot experts and pundits always talked about was the absence of runaway inflation.

A few months ago in my News Sentinel column on the up-and-down recovery, University of Tennessee economist William Fox asid that until consumer demand perks up inflation would be minimal.

“(Inflation) might eventually be a problem, but you have to think of it in phases and over the next year or two it’s not going to be a problem,” Fox said.

Let’s hope that’s the still the tiemtable. The economy — and my bank account — could use a little more cushion before inflation becomes an problem. And you know that eventually it will.

What do your employees crave?

The employee-employer relationship is undergoing a massive transformation in the wake of the Great Recession, according to a global survey by professional services firm Towers Watson.

In today’s workplace, employees prefer the stability of a job for life with one company instead of jumping from job to job, the Global Workforce Study found.

Key findings of the survey of 20,000 employees in 22 countries include:

— Security and stability trump all.

— Employees know they are responsible for their own financial security, health, career and performance “but have serious doubts about their ability to take on these roles.”

— Mobility is low as many employees give up potential career growth for job security.

— Employee “confidence in leaders and managers is disturbingly low.”

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