Say, how about those jobs numbers?

Posted on | December 5, 2008 | Comments Off

Half a million jobs lost in a single month. At this rate, everybody is going to start looking like that deer in the headlights.

Or maybe they already do.

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This is one of those glass half empty/glass half full moments. The unemployment rate is up to 6.7%, the highest rate in 15 years. That’s a lot worse that most economists were expecting and it’s evidently enough to justify hand wringing, tooth gnashing and various other manifestations of panic.

Well, think about this.

The labor force participation rate in the United States right now is 65.8%; at the beginning of the year, it was over 66%. So, yes, people are losing their jobs and we certainly need to do something about that.

But at the same time, I remind you, the numbers say that close to two-thirds of the nation’s able-bodied workers are still working. In other words, by a rather wide margin, most people still have a job.

In this economic climate, the biggest challenge you face is not necessarily finding people with money to spend. It’s convincing people that it is safe to spend their money. We’re all being battered with such scarifying headlines day after day that nobody should be surprised when folks are tempted to sew their money into mattress and refuse to spend a dime on anything that isn’t food, clothing or shelter.

If you have any doubts about whether people still have jobs and whether they are still willing to spend the money they make, I remind you of what is reported to have happened on Black Friday. Massive crowds, people lining up at 5 am (that’s dedication), a good old fashioned holiday shopping zoo was had by all.

If there was ever a time for a microbusiness owner to develop selective tunnel vision, this is it. Never mind the terrifying headlines. You just keep doing business. You might find any number of your customers or clients are a bit more reluctant to spend, or to spend as much. But it’s nothing you can’t handle.

If you keep your eyes on your business and off the headlines for now, you might find that things aren’t anywhere near as bad as they are said to be.

Have a great weekend, folks.


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