“Could the Fear of U.S. Jobs Overseas Have an Affect American on Consumerism?”

Los Angeles, CA - Despite President Bush’s recent announcement that the economy looked promising, government officials reported Friday that for the seventh consecutive month more than 93,000 payroll jobs were slashed, raising even deeper concerns that the fragile economic recovery could falter now with the recent flood of U.S. jobs going overseas.

The month of August saw increased cuts in payrolls with nearly 2 million people unemployed for 27 weeks or more, representing nearly 22 percent of all jobless workers. Those figures were similar to July numbers. Analysts expected companies to add 12,000 new jobs by the end of the year, but with the recent data indicating severe job losses, Friday’s reports no longer reflected a cyclical economy trying to add jobs after a recession

“We have only seen the tip of the ice-berg,” said Roosevelt Roby Founder and CEO of The World Business Exchange Network, www.wbe.net an on-line trade association based in Los Angeles. “Although those numbers are staggering, this is very true,” he said.

Deeper concerns are also focused on the shift in jobs going overseas, in particular the large numbers of manufacturing and import/export jobs. According to the U.S. Labor Departments monthly survey of American households in July of the 600,000 people who joined the workforce only about 250,000 became employed. In addition for the first time in nearly a decade the number of people looking for work but was unable to find it surged past the 9 million mark.

“One important reason our economy is sinking is because of increased global competition,” said Roby. “Due to the fact that a large number of our businesses are now overseas this has caused many employers to either downsize or cut out the hiring process all together. The only way I see America recovering is through international trade,” he said. Roby concludes “Our government has billions of dollars set aside for trade so that entrepreneurs can do business here in America without losing there jobs to overseas competition, and the President knows this, he’s just not telling.”

Some reports estimate 5 million jobs — many high paying — will be lost to other countries by 2015. As the economy grows, demand is being filled from overseas, and with the 2004 election just around the corner, this could spell problems for Bush with polls showing the economy as the top concern for likely voters, replacing terrorism and Iraq. If hiring doesn’t improve, the recovery could be in serious jeopardy because consumers that are worrying about their job prospects will stop spending. That’s been the driving force in the U.S. economy. However analysts predict that if figures are unchanged by the time federal reserves meet next month Americans should brace themselves for more federal pay cuts down the road and more U.S. jobs going overseas. ###

*NOTE-Roosevelt Roby is a motivational speaker, author, lecturer, and economic and trade expert who has addressed topics ranging from the Persian Gulf War, to the September 11th attacks, and most recently the re-call election of California Governor Gray Davis.