Monday, January 05, 2009
Tweet[IWS] CRS: JOB LOSS & INFRASTRUCTURE JOB CREATION DURING THE RECESSION [23 December 2008]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Congressional Research Service (CRS)
R40080
Job Loss and Infrastructure Job Creation During the Recession
December 23, 2008
Linda Levine, Specialist in Labor Economics
http://opencrs.com/document/R40080
[full-text, 14 pages]
Summary
After the long economic expansion that characterized much of the current decade, the nation
entered its eleventh postwar recession in December 2007. The unemployment rate rose from
5.0% in that month to 6.7% in November 2008, the latest data released to date by the U.S. Bureau
of Labor Statistics (BLS). A majority of those unemployed in NovemberĀsome 6 out of 10
million peopleĀhad been laid off by their employers. In November 2008 alone, employment at
nonfarm businesses fell by 533,000, marking the biggest one-month drop recorded by the BLS
Current Employment Statistics program since December 1974.
The announcement by the Business Cycle Dating Committee in November 2008 that a recession
had begun, which preceded by one week the monthly BLS Employment Situation release
containing employment and unemployment data for November, intensified congressional interest
in passage of legislation aimed at encouraging creation of new jobs and warding off the further
loss of jobs. In the 110th Congress, the Senate did not act on legislation (H.R. 7110) the House
passed in September 2008, which contained among other things spending on infrastructure
(public works) projects to promote employment in the troubled construction industry and in
industries that supply it with goods and services (e.g., concrete and steel manufacturing). To
mitigate all but one recession since the 1960s, Congress has chosen to increase federal
expenditures on infrastructure. This means of job creation has not been without its critics,
however, chiefly because of how long it typically takes for public works projects to start up. (See
CRS Report 92-939, Countercyclical Job Creation Programs, by Linda Levine, for more
information.) This would seem to be less of an issue if the recession is a long one and if Congress
passes the legislation while the recession is still taking place.
Members of Congress have spoken of having ready for the president's signature shortly after his
inauguration a second economic stimulus bill that would include provisions to create and
maintain jobs in the construction industry and in other infrastructure-dependent industries. A
more expansive definition of public works than was used in the past is under consideration; one
which includes so-called green jobs. Although no consensus definition currently exists, they
appear to include jobs in the renewable energy industries (e.g., wind, solar), jobs retrofitting
buildings to be more energy efficient, and jobs expanding mass transit systems.
The report first examines trends in employment and job loss since the start of the latest recession.
It next focuses on job creation estimates associated with increased spending on infrastructure,
placing a heavy emphasis on explaining the limitations and caveats associated with the inputoutput
methodology that often is utilized to develop the estimates. The report will be updated
after the 111th Congress convenes to reflect legislation that includes "direct job creation"
provisions, i.e., economic stimulus bills having the government raise demand for goods and
services through increased federal spending for the purpose of creating and preserving jobs. It
will not discuss stimulus measures that give consumers more money in the hope they will spend
rather than save it and that provide income support such as extension of unemployment benefits.
(Information on these forms of fiscal stimulus can be found in CRS Report RL34349, Economic
Slowdown: Issues and Policies, by Jane G. Gravelle et al.)
Contents
Employment and Unemployment Through Job Loss ...................................................................... 2
Infrastructure Spending and Job Creation Estimates....................................................................... 4
Job Creation Estimates: What Are They?.................................................................................. 5
Some Caveats...................................................................................................................... 6
The Multiplier Effect .......................................................................................................... 6
Job Estimates and Construction Spending ................................................................................ 7
The Federal Highway Administration................................................................................. 7
BLS Employment Requirements Table............................................................................... 8
Job Estimates and Green Infrastructure Spending .................................................................... 9
TABLES
Table 1. Payroll Jobs at Nonfarm Employers .................................................................................. 2
Table 2. Number of Payroll Jobs by Industry.................................................................................. 3
CONTACTS
Author Contact Information ...........................................................................................................11
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Congressional Research Service (CRS)
R40080
Job Loss and Infrastructure Job Creation During the Recession
December 23, 2008
Linda Levine, Specialist in Labor Economics
http://opencrs.com/document/R40080
[full-text, 14 pages]
Summary
After the long economic expansion that characterized much of the current decade, the nation
entered its eleventh postwar recession in December 2007. The unemployment rate rose from
5.0% in that month to 6.7% in November 2008, the latest data released to date by the U.S. Bureau
of Labor Statistics (BLS). A majority of those unemployed in NovemberĀsome 6 out of 10
million peopleĀhad been laid off by their employers. In November 2008 alone, employment at
nonfarm businesses fell by 533,000, marking the biggest one-month drop recorded by the BLS
Current Employment Statistics program since December 1974.
The announcement by the Business Cycle Dating Committee in November 2008 that a recession
had begun, which preceded by one week the monthly BLS Employment Situation release
containing employment and unemployment data for November, intensified congressional interest
in passage of legislation aimed at encouraging creation of new jobs and warding off the further
loss of jobs. In the 110th Congress, the Senate did not act on legislation (H.R. 7110) the House
passed in September 2008, which contained among other things spending on infrastructure
(public works) projects to promote employment in the troubled construction industry and in
industries that supply it with goods and services (e.g., concrete and steel manufacturing). To
mitigate all but one recession since the 1960s, Congress has chosen to increase federal
expenditures on infrastructure. This means of job creation has not been without its critics,
however, chiefly because of how long it typically takes for public works projects to start up. (See
CRS Report 92-939, Countercyclical Job Creation Programs, by Linda Levine, for more
information.) This would seem to be less of an issue if the recession is a long one and if Congress
passes the legislation while the recession is still taking place.
Members of Congress have spoken of having ready for the president's signature shortly after his
inauguration a second economic stimulus bill that would include provisions to create and
maintain jobs in the construction industry and in other infrastructure-dependent industries. A
more expansive definition of public works than was used in the past is under consideration; one
which includes so-called green jobs. Although no consensus definition currently exists, they
appear to include jobs in the renewable energy industries (e.g., wind, solar), jobs retrofitting
buildings to be more energy efficient, and jobs expanding mass transit systems.
The report first examines trends in employment and job loss since the start of the latest recession.
It next focuses on job creation estimates associated with increased spending on infrastructure,
placing a heavy emphasis on explaining the limitations and caveats associated with the inputoutput
methodology that often is utilized to develop the estimates. The report will be updated
after the 111th Congress convenes to reflect legislation that includes "direct job creation"
provisions, i.e., economic stimulus bills having the government raise demand for goods and
services through increased federal spending for the purpose of creating and preserving jobs. It
will not discuss stimulus measures that give consumers more money in the hope they will spend
rather than save it and that provide income support such as extension of unemployment benefits.
(Information on these forms of fiscal stimulus can be found in CRS Report RL34349, Economic
Slowdown: Issues and Policies, by Jane G. Gravelle et al.)
Contents
Employment and Unemployment Through Job Loss ...................................................................... 2
Infrastructure Spending and Job Creation Estimates....................................................................... 4
Job Creation Estimates: What Are They?.................................................................................. 5
Some Caveats...................................................................................................................... 6
The Multiplier Effect .......................................................................................................... 6
Job Estimates and Construction Spending ................................................................................ 7
The Federal Highway Administration................................................................................. 7
BLS Employment Requirements Table............................................................................... 8
Job Estimates and Green Infrastructure Spending .................................................................... 9
TABLES
Table 1. Payroll Jobs at Nonfarm Employers .................................................................................. 2
Table 2. Number of Payroll Jobs by Industry.................................................................................. 3
CONTACTS
Author Contact Information ...........................................................................................................11
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
# posted by SBasefsky : 10:35 AM
