By Maxine Shapiro, KERA 90.1 business commentator
Dallas, TX – It's Friday so "It's Only Money," a review of the big and not-so-big stories of the week. I'm Maxine Shapiro with KERA Marketplace Midday.
Okay, give those economists a cigar. They were right! The jobless rate fell in July to 6.2%, from June's nine-year high of 6.4%. Now, I'll cut 'em a little slack - they were expecting it to come in at 6.3%. But wait - take the cigar back. Business payrolls declined by another 44,000 jobs. Economists projected an increase of 25,000. That makes a total of 486,000 jobs lost since the beginning of this year. And our friends in manufacturing are feeling the brunt of it all. Another 71,000 jobs were cut in that industry. The sad part is, I hear no one addressing how to help those being laid off in manufacturing. The monologue from the play "Death of a Salesman" keeps ring in my ear: "He's a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid. He's not to be allowed to fall into his grave like an old dog. Attention, attention must finally be paid to such a person."
The states have been forced to cut training programs due to budgetary deficits. Those still employed in manufacturing and see the writing on the wall have also seen evening and weekend educational programs dropped. This is a big portion of our American workforce. The statistics are clear. Now what are we going to do about it?
On a much lighter note, boarding on absurdity, you've probably already heard. There's a new reality show in town, literally. Southwest Airlines has teamed up with A&E to bring us - the obviously comatose public - a TV show revealing Southwest's "real passion for service." It's titled "Airline." Coincidentally or not, the day after the show was announced, Southwest chairman Herb Kelleher sold $1.7 million worth of his holdings in the company. A couple of other officers followed suit, but to a lesser degree. You figure it out. For KERA Marketplace Midday, I'm Maxine Shapiro.
Marketplace Midday Reports air on KERA 90.1 Monday - Friday at 1:04 p.m.
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