Economists estimate that between 90,000 and 150,000 jobs could be lost in February, as the snow kept people home from work and stalled hiring during the month. Analysts had been expecting good news on the jobs front, forecasting that payrolls would expand. Instead, both people who have jobs and those who were set to start new positions couldn't get to work because of the weather. As a result, they'll file for unemployment benefits.
These jobs will be mostly from retail, manufacturing, construction and transportation. This could break the trend of improving jobs data. However, economists are maintaining their positive outlooks and saying that the storm's negative impact is only a temporary blip.
When I first heard of Snowmageddon, I didn't think about the economic problems it could bring, I was simply in awe of the amount of snow. I know driving in snow can slow the morning commute but I figured road crews would be up and at it clearing the roadways. It really makes me realize how important road crews are when it comes to winter travel. Supply and demand will be effected in both positive and negative ways as well. Positive impacts will come for a greater demand for snow clearing supplies such as shovel, snow blowers and salt while negative impacts will occur on luxuries such as movie theaters and restaurants. This will hurt our GDP as well, since consumption will decrease.
What are your thoughts on Snowmageddon and the jobs lost? Do you think Snowmageddon will have any effect on other economic areas?
Full article:
http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/11/news/economy/snow_buries_payrolls/index.htm
Yeah the thought that this winter storm could negatively affect our economy never really crossed my mind. It's quite unfortunate to hear that so many jobs could be lost just by the hand of nature. Especially, like the article mentions, since economists were predicting us to be on the rise. Hopefully they're right though and this will only be a minor blip. A
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting article. This snow storm affects several areas areas of our economy not only job losses. I was watchly Fox News on Thursday and they were reporting that the cold weather and bad economy are impacting Valentine's Day sales. In Florida, because the snow storm resulted in colder temperatures, less flowers are being produced and are also sold a higher price.
ReplyDeleteThe snow storm also has a few positive impacts. Areas such as Baltimore the blizzard has created temporary job opportunities clearing snow. I was supposed when one of the interviewee stated that he made a few thousand dollars just clearing snow! But on the other hand, the mayor said that she has spent over a $1,000,000 just compensating for snow damages so far (this amount doubled the amount budgeted to be spent on snow).
The snow storm creates many damages and economic setbacks but it also created a few temporary positives. A, T
I agree with Mysha, the snow doesn’t only have to bring unpleasant situations. There will be new jobs that the snow will bring along such as the road crews mention above. Although the snow has caused many agricultural areas to have a loss in their produce, it has created some provisional jobs. A
ReplyDeleteI think that snow has been impacting communities even more this year than in years past due to budget cuts in snow removal. My home town has cut back on overtime snow removal which means that the roads are messier and that they call off school more often. It seems a little counterintuitive since the city ends up spending money heating buildings that are not used and then paying further into the summer to make up for lost school days. I'm sure in the end the number balance out to make some sense of this all. Like Mysha said the spending on accidents related to snow or damage to buildings due to snow must have increased? I would like to know who is doing this cost benefit analysis to see how things balance out and if such penny saving policies will be laid out for next snow season.
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ReplyDeleteMan I never really thought that the weather could affect the job market so much. I guess it makes sense but it never really clicked until I read this. I think that this is horrible and hopefully this economy will improve
ReplyDeleteSnow days always had positive connotations for me as a child. Now, however, I agree that they're becoming a nuisance and possibly even becoming dangerous. Sure, people may stock up on supplies to get ready for the storm. However, if it's harder for people to get out and shop, then less products will be bought; people will tend to get only the necessities. And cities who budget for only a certain amount of snow clear-up may be hard pressed to find the money to match the larger amounts of snow than was expected. This may result in cutting corners (only clearing snow when it's over a certain amount, or cutting salt distribution) which could be dangerous for people who are travelling around despite the weather.
ReplyDeleteWho knew the weather couldhave his muc of an effect on the economy? 90,000 to 150,000 jobs could potentially be lost? I'm not quite sure I fully understand, is the artile talking about jobs that already exist or about jobs that are hiring? Also, once the snow calms down can't businesses just go back to the hiring process?
ReplyDeleteI didn't realized that nature could have such a negative impact on our economy. It is especially shocking because so many jobs are being lost. Hopefully, economists are right about this economic hardship in the fact that this will just blow over.
ReplyDeleteI really dont think this "snowmaggedon" wil lhave too much of an effect. True it affects jobs such as construction and retail, but in construction the jobs need to get done so all the snow has an affect on is time in which it takes to get done and if somebody wants to see a movie or buy and item chances are they are still going to see or buy it....they will just wait till tomorrow when the roads are clear. The snow also does increase demand for snow related products. I think this is a win for businesses and will have more pros than cons. Darn that global warming.
ReplyDeleteThis kind of thing really interests me. It's interesting to see how one event that no one could have prevented can have such tremendous consequences. It's easy to see how things like the weather can impact individual choices (people like to talk about the weather on poll days in terms of who is less likely to vote during bad weather) but to put in a broader economic scale is something I never really thought to do.
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