Bert Dirschell
Centertown
Dear Editor:
The National Federation of Independent Business reported that 38 percent of small businesses have at least 1 job opening they can’t fill, the highest in over 12 years. Last month the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported 7.1 million job openings in the U.S., a record number. It further reported that the number of job openings have exceeded the number of unemployed for several months.
The November BLS Employment Situation Summary noted that the unemployment rate remained at 3.7 percent (the lowest in two generations) with a jobs increase of 250,000. During the past three months an average of 218,000 jobs have been created every month. More importantly, during the past six months the average has been 216,000, the sixth highest six-month average since January 2016. Our economy is strong and growing.
An even bigger win was that from October 2017 to October 2018 the average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory employees rose from $22.18 to $22.89, a 3.2 percent annual increase.
The Labor Participation Rate (LFPR — the labor force as a percentage of the civilian non-institutional population) improved slightly to 62.9. From June 1988 through December 2008 the number was never below 65.8. From March 1997 through June 2000 it was never below 67.0. If we could get the LFPR back up to even the December 2008 level it would increase the number of those working, or at least looking for a job, by 7.4 million people.
We need more U.S. citizens in the job market, not more illegal immigrants. Some will label me a racist because of this comment. Actually I don’t care about the color or nationality of those who are trying to illegally invade our nation. I do care about their ability to earn a living without taking advantage of our welfare system and whether or not they are criminals. Why the vast majority of those trying to escape their home nations, and invade the U.S., are not Caucasians is worthy of some consideration; especially when considering that in 2017 the Obama administration requested $1.78 billion in foreign aid for Latin America and the Caribbean. $1.7 billion funded by more debt piled on our children.