US jobs on their way back

President Obama

After pretty much two years of misery for America's workforce, which saw the percentage of people out of work hitting double figures, there may finally be some light at the end of the tunnel for the US job market.

US nonfarm payrolls are set to move back into positive territory in 2010, and perhaps as early as January, with the 5 February release of the month's employment report. Hiring for the US Census is the main reason behind the uptick, but economists will be more concerned with private payroll figures when it comes to gauging the sustainability of job growth into second half of 2010.

The US cannot climb out of the economic darkness unless the current double-digit unemployment figure falls significantly. And if this recovery is to be sustained, those lucky enough to have a regular job need to have the peace of mind that their security is exactly that - secure.

Kickstart job creation

President Obama is desperate to kickstart job creation with the rollout of the Small Business Lending Fund. With $30 billion transferred from the TARP account, the president hopes to entice some 8000 banks with assets of $10 billion or less to open their loan offices and put more money in the hands of small-business owners.

The money is desperately needed to fund capital projects and to patch short-term holes in cash flow.

But before all this, it has been the Obama administration's Economic Stimulus Fund that has been largely responsible for getting the ball rolling on job creation. Even though the almost $800 billion fund has increased the nation's deficit, it was entirely necessary for the long-term well-being of the job market.

Just this week US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner argued that record deficit spending was essential to reviving a sluggish US labour market.

Testifying before the Senate's Finance Committee, Geithner defended the administration's $3.8 trillion dollar budget for the 2011 fiscal year, which was unveiled Monday and criticized by conservatives for not doing enough to tackle growing debt levels.

"Our deficits, as everybody says, are alarmingly high," Geithner said.

Perilous debt levels

He went on to emphasize that "our priority now though has to be to make sure this economy is growing and getting people back to work."

President Barack Obama's budget proposed about $100 billion in new stimulus measures designed to bring down the US unemployment rate from its current quarter-century high of 10 percent.

But Geithner goes on to acknowledge that the perilous debt levels would have to be brought under control in the coming years. He and other lawmakers on both sides emphasized the importance of lowering those debt levels over time, but disagreed on the pace and tactics.

"The budget illustrates the fiscal perils our country faces," Republican Senator Charles Grassley said, arguing Obama's proposals would depress economic growth by raising taxes on businesses and wealthier Americans, as reported by DPA International.

No-one can argue the fact that Obama did the right thing by focusing his budget on reviving the labour market, now let's hope the economy works hard enough to start putting right the deficit problems.

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