Economists have been suggesting that we may be nearing the end of a severe two-year job loss streak, however, at the end of its run, it looks as though seven million jobs may be lost forever. The managing director of Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI), interviewed by CNNMoney.com, said that it were possible, it would require a long require to get those jobs back.
Where the Jobs Went
Over the course of this recession, many employers have found ways to adjust their companies for fewer workers. Many increased hours per worker, or adjusted their production demands. No matter the adjustments, they made them, which may have effectively shut out the need to bring some jobs back.
So while ECRI Managing Director, Lakshman Achuthan, believes there should be decent growth this year – employers may start adding payrolls early this year – there will likely be slow growth over the course of the expansion. In other words, it might take as long as 10 years to recover all of the jobs that were lost over the course of the recession.
Things Will Get Worse Before They Get Better
The chief economist of Moody’s Economy.com, Mark Zandi, notes that the economy could add more than 200,000 jobs a month by March or April. However, another prediction he’s made points to the possibility that things will get worse before we see a true economic recovery.
Zandi explained will probably peak at 10.8 percent late in 2010. Afterward, it will start to decline, but not a hugely significant amount. In fact, he predicts that it won’t be until 2012 that we see unemployment drop to 7 percent.
Do you feel the unemployment might improve sooner or later than the economists are predicting?