Not too long ago, I wrote about how context in articles and statistics is critical regarding the huge boom in employment in North Dakota. Now, North Dakota and a handful of other states lead the U.S. in job losses.
Of course, not too long ago, the gains in these states were due to the genius of their governors or legislatures. Now, it’s just market forces. Of course, it was the same thing both times around, the oil and gas industry. When oil was booming and drillers were hiring as fast as people would show up, job growth exploded in North Dakota. Now, that oil prices have plunged and the industry is mothballing rigs, while entirely stopping drilling new ones, employment numbers are crashing.
Context is everything. Overall, nothing new is happening, good or bad, in the states with the greatest number of job losses, it is just that in one particular industry, the bottom fell out. Interestingly enough, this might be the actual bottom, meaning that there is nowhere but up for these job numbers to go. When they do start climbing, watch for the politicians who claim no blame for this downturn, come scurrying out of the woodwork to claim credit for the rebound, whenever that happens.
For everyone not in the oil, coal, and gas industries, employment continues to move in the same direction it has for the past decade. Most importantly to remember, none of the political candidates (no candidate ever, really) can do anything about these particular job losses short of directly subsidizing them, which no one seems inclined to do.
Look this week for new articles on tax tips, and ideas for investing and making smart financial plans ahead of summer. Also, I’ll be putting together a summer guide to vacations, fun, and prudent money management.