Those still working are busier than ever
The Labor Department says productivity grew at the fasted rate in six years. That means people who still have their jobs are working harder and producing more than they used to. Jeremy Hobson reports.
A business woman packs her schedule. (iStockPhoto.com)
More on Jobs
TEXT OF STORY
Kai Ryssdal: The unemployment number that's going to come out tomorrow morning is going to give us a pretty good snapshot of where the labor market was in the month of October. It's probably safe to expect a higher unemployment rate. And fewer jobs in the economy. But there was a number that came out today that speaks volumes about the labor market yet to come. Last quarter, worker productivity grew at its fastest rate in six years. The formula's pretty simple. Widgets produced per hour worked. So today's report means the people who still have jobs are working harder than they used to. That makes up for people who lost their jobs. It also spares their employers from having to hire anybody new. From New York, Marketplace's Jeremy Hobson explains.
JEREMY HOBSON: Remember that famous "I Love Lucy" scene where Lucy and Ethel have to wrap the bon bons speeding by on the conveyer belt?
LUCY'S BOSS: If one piece of candy gets past you and into the packing room unwrapped, you're fired.
A minute later, poor performance notwithstanding, the boss says, it's time to ramp up productivity.
LUCY'S BOSS: Fine, you're doing splendidly. Speed it up a little!
Well, that, in a chocolate-covered nutshell, is what companies are doing to the rest of us.
MARK ZANDI: They're asking their existing workers to really step it up.
Mark Zandi is chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. He says productivity is up not because we're worried we'll be fired if we don't work hard enough. It's that our bosses don't want to hire new people until they're sure the economy really is recovering.
ZANDI: Businesses are just nervous that the demand that they've seen isn't for real, isn't going to be maintained into next year. They're going to wait and see to make sure that it is for real, and then at the point, they'll go out and start hiring again.
But won't companies get used to all this productivity and decide they don't need to hire?
Labor relations professor Gary Chaison at Clark University say no.
GARY CHAISON: As productivity increases, there'll be economic growth, companies will expand. And hopefully they'll be able to translate that into jobs.
We'll get an idea of how the nation is doing in job creation when the Labor Department reports on October unemployment tomorrow. Chaison says if you still have your job and are working yourself to the bone, things may ease a little as the economy recovers but probably not much. He says companies have gotten a taste of more for less, and they seem to like it.
In New York, I'm Jeremy Hobson for Marketplace.
Comments
Comment | Refresh
11/08/2009
I work in a call center. Our phone lines are always full and our customers often wait sometimes 30 minutes to an hour. I don't think we've had any new employees for a year now. Instead, because customers have complained they get busy signals trying to call us, we are increasing our phone capacity so more people can get through. And yes, they are more closely tracking what we are doing so that we can be more efficient. They keep telling us if we all meet efficiency expectations we should be able to answer all the callers. I need more people answering the phone!
From Chesapeake Beach, MD, 11/05/2009
Jeremy uses Gary Chason (sp?) as a source to indicate that employers will not just get used to workers putting out more, but the sound bite he uses in the context does not directly address the question. And, later he references Mr. Chason as saying the opposite, that employers are getting used to it and liking it. You can't have it both ways, Jeremy and its sad to use one source two ways - especially when he doesn't actually make your point the first way. This is not good reporting.
From Greensboro, NC, 11/05/2009
I am sure your economist Mr. Zandi is correct in certain circumstances but such a generalization is certainly at least partially misleading. Take for example what I see in my job. I am a physical therapist working with employees who are injured on the job. My patients are working longer, harder hours than they were before the economic downturn and they are getting injured doing it. Many of them tell me they are afraid to slow down, take time off, or complain because they are worried to be among the jobless. They would rather get paid and be in pain than slow down and risk not putting food on the table. I bet Mr. Zandi doesn't worry about that.
Post a Comment: Please be civil, brief and relevant.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. All comments are moderated. Marketplace reserves the right to edit any comments on this site and to read them on the air if they are extra-interesting. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting.
You must be 13 or over to submit information to American Public Media. The information entered into this form will not be used to send unsolicited email and will not be sold to a third party. For more information see Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.