How’s this sound:
Many major U.S. companies are making big plans to expand overseas even as some of them announce new layoffs at home, and there’s a chilling reason why: They’re beginning to give up on the American consumer as a source for future growth.
–http://o.seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2015848990_econoverseas08.html
Not to mention that “Major layoff announcements by big corporations have already begun to rise again in the U.S., hitting a 16-month high of 66,414 jobs to be shed in coming months,” from the same article.
And why is this happening? Because American consumers are tapped out, working without raises for years on end as commodities get more and more expensive, unable to buy all those new cars and homes because a quarter of the workforce is unemployed or underemployed. We can’t work longer or cheaper, so we can’t buy stuff. So demand is weak, and people are scared more than ever now that Standard & Poor’s has downgraded America’s debt.
It’s not that the big corporations are hurting. They’re sitting on a trillion dollars in cash, just in the U.S., that they’re not planning to invest or spend here; and they hold far more overseas. Weren’t we supposed to get more jobs if we let corporations keep more money? Yet somehow that hasn’t happened. Weren’t the Bush tax cuts supposed to create jobs? I’m just mystified. Isn’t a rising tide supposed to lift all boats? Because middle-class Americans are now inhabiting submarines.
I do see some hope in all of this, however, specifically for those who are willing constantly to update their skills. Personally I still see the various branches of IT enjoying very strong demand, particularly for contractors. The key to playing this game is to be valuable, and to know your value. If you’re working for no benefits, and paying your own payroll taxes, you need to charge at least twice the rate you’d take at a job. If you’re flexible and willing to be occasional, plus have high-end skills, double that rate again. You should be approaching triple digits fast. And if your skills are current and in demand, you should get it.
Just my opinion.