Housing Slowdown May Claim 800,000 Jobs

[deadparrot]

LOS ANGELES - A sustained decline will hit the U.S. housing market next year, costing the nation as many as 800,000 jobs, according to a new economic report released Wednesday.

The slowdown is likely to last several years, with as many as 500,000 construction jobs and 300,000 financial sector positions lost, the quarterly Anderson Forecast predicted.

"We expect housing to start slowing the economy this quarter or the next," said Edward Leamer, director of the study done at the University of California, Los Angeles.

"Some jobs in manufacturing might well disappear as a result of weakness in housing, but this may be offset by jobs brought home or not lost to foreign competition," he wrote.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051207/ap_on_bi_ge/economic_forecast

[Quixote1818]

1. Let just hope it hits befor the midterms if it's going to hit

nt

[MadisonProgressive]

2. This will be a huge hit on Bush's economy!

[Jimbo S]

3. I think the demand is tapped out

With interest reates as low as they were for so long, anyone who wanted to buy a house has done so by now. The well has gone dry.

[joefree1]

4. There goes the last bit of repuke sunshine

I guess it's the "war on Christmas" from now until the elections in '06.

[phantom power]

5. I'd consider that a best-case scenario.

A collapse of the mortgage industry could trigger a major depression, in the mold of the 1930s. Unemployment back then was around 30%.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

6. 60,000 auto jobs going away, and now another 800,000....

...in the construction/financial sectors?

Yes, sir....the economy's doing just great, Chimpy!

[progressivebydesign]

7. And linked below that article...

An article talking about how the lull is over and the housing market is booming again. take it all with a grain of salt. The media is looking for something sensational, since the bird flu story is starting to bore people.

[SpiralHawk]

8. "The best is yet to come." - George AWOL Bush

Catapulting the propaganda. As usual.

[catmandu57]

9. In the last five years how many net jobs

has this awol blow monkey* created?

[MiniMe]

18. Its not only how many, its what kind

The higher paying tech jobs are being outsourced to India and being replaced by manufacturing jobs.

[johnnyburma]

10. OK, I'm new here, but

could somebody please explain the rooting against the economy to me? I don't give a f*ck who the president is, I want to see as robust an economy as possible.

[The_Casual_Observer]

13. A robust economy isn't built on the back of overpriced houses

financed with artificially low interest loans. However, a bogus bush economy pretended to be.

[johnnyburma]

14. How does that answer my question

about the bozos above that seem thrilled at the thought of a downturn in the economy?

[The_Casual_Observer]

15. If it gets substantially worse for the average guy, perhaps

the average guy will wake up to the fact that he has been punked in the long term by short term crappy band-aid low interest loan/ tax cuts for the rich/ ignore the manufacturing base fixes that have been the rule of the bush "presidency", and do something about it.

Why are India and China experiencing real economic growth? It sure as hell isn't because they are selling each other overpriced McMansions using somebody else's money.

[tabasco]

16. Thrilled!?! Who the hell do you think this will hurt?

We have been trying to tell people that the borrow and spend robber barons will destroy the economy!

It is not glee you are seeing - it is exasperation!

For some reason, millions of brainwashed people believe the lies about "tax and spend" liberals (also known as "paying the bills"), but then throw their support behind corporatists that borrow and spend !

It is exasperation you are witnessing due to the amazing stupidity of these gullible people.

[The_Casual_Observer]

11. offset by jobs brought home or not lost to foreign competition

How is a job "not lost" turned into a new/replacement job?

[Wordie]

12. Oh oh...here it comes. So much of our supposed recent growth was

all based primarily on the housing market. This is not a good sign, although it is probably inevitable.

[kineneb]

17. the fall has already started

in my soon-to-end job* at a chamber of commerce I have noticed the requests for relocation materials has almost dried up. Last year in Nov. we sent out around 5 packets (Nov. is slow in NorCal-rain). This year we sent out exactly one, to someone interested in "investing," not actually moving. I have had no requests so far this month.

*I am quitting to care for Hubby, who is on dialysis.

[Hyernel]

19. All those construction workers....

...just go to the Gulf Coast. Work for years.

I've had two offers to worrk in the New Orleans area....and I don't even work construction!! (normally)

/I said no.