May retail sales another sign of slowing economy
Analysts are putting a positive spin on the May retail sales report, saying the 2 percent month-to-month decline wasn't as bad as expected. Still, it's the first monthly drop in a while. And as Invictus shows on Big Picture, retail sales are a leading indicator of job creation. The red line is jobs, the blue line is retail sales. 
Comments
I've attempted to make this point before (to varying degrees of positive reception) but I'll keep plugging away at it...
The unemployment problem is far less about not having enough jobs for everyone who needs (or wants) one... than it is about having far too many people available for the jobs that actually need doing.
The simple raw number of warm bodies is too great even before we start drilling down into that mass for things like skill or talent or experience or any of the other traditional issues that might inhibit securing employment.
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Look around you. Is the sky falling?
Is anything not getting done that needs doing? I'll go a step further down this trail and suggest that a VERY LARGE portion of what did get done over the last twenty years... didn't really need doing either.
Posted by: MrRational | June 14, 2011 12:34 PM