My postings have been even more meager than usual, and as much as i would like to blame the difficult economic times, I really can’t.   I don’t get paid to write this blog (except for the $50 I collect a year from advertising - a problogger I am not).   I’m getting paid as much as ever which is about nothing.  However, I do want to comment on the state of the job market.   The recent unemployment numbers have been encouraging, but I would probably tend to agree with Jeff Frankel that overall unemployment is ultimately less important than hours worked.

Anecedotally, I’ve seen many people I know who have either been furloughed or had others at their place of work furloughed.   I didn’t see this duing the last recession (2001), and don’t necessarily think it’s a such a bad thing.    On a human level, coworkers are often quite selfless.  They rather have their own wages cut rather than see friends layed off.   The other advantage of furloughs is that because people are keot on the payroll when good times come again, it’s much easier to pick up work.  I’m a fan of the flexible job market.  I think a well functioning society is dependent on both workers willing to move and change their work, and employers being able to change the parameters of work when circumstances force it.  As in baseball, long term employee contracts are an albatross around the neck - just as GM and Chrysler found with it’s legacy retiree benefits.

While I believe in the flexibile labor market, and encourages others to believe in one as well, American society as whole is not particularly well prepared for it.  We are a society of grasshoppers rather than ants.  We do not prepare for the winter, and most of us have not prepared for this winter.  Ideally we would have saved up the long days of summer for the coming winter.  If that were so then workers would be better able to deal temporarily reduced hours and pay.