12/31/03 : Congratulations, we've made it through 2003 and no less for the wear. As a matter of fact, our economy -- and our industry -- ended up much better than we anticipated 12 months ago. Of course, now is a perfect time to take stock of how much we've accomplished and to ponder what is needed to nurture this nascent economic expansion. The biggest question mark we will face is whether or not there will be true growth of domestic employment. By this I mean meaningful job growth. It is one thing for statistics to show an up tick in employment, but is this growth additional minimum - wage jobs or is it rehiring and expansion - hiring in white - collar positions? Manufacturing jobs have been steadily declining for the past 40 years. However, this is the first time we can track a loss in white - collar jobs, those that have been moving overseas. This will continue to be the issue for 2004 and beyond. |