There Are Now More Government Employees than Goods-Producing Workers in the US

For the first time there are decidedly more government employees than goods-producing (manufacturing) employees in the US according to the Department of Labor.



This chart is from The Mess That Greenspan Made here.

It is interesting to think about this in terms of health care, pension plans, job security, employee loyalty, and so forth.

The reason for this is not the growth of government jobs but rather the drastic shrinkage in US based manufacturing employment while government employment remains resilient. As a percent of the population, the number of government employees is now about 9% which is slightly lower than it was in the 1970's.

The Service sector dominates. There is a nice chart showing goods-producing, government, service, and non-employed percentages from EconomPicData here.

US corporations have been offshoring jobs for many years, in part due to the structural problems of benefits and environmental costs in a developed nation and Asian mercantilism. Some of this transfer of employee is due to natural market forces, but a great deal of it is a result of purposeful national policy and trade practices such as currency pegs, for example.

As Adam Smith observed in Wealth of Nations (1776):

"To found a great empire for the sole purpose of raising ... customers may at first sight appear a project fit only for a nation of shopkeepers. It is, however, a project altogether unfit for a nation of shopkeepers; but extremely fit for a nation whose government is influenced by shopkeepers."

In this case if one substitutes "kleptocrats" for "shopkeepers" and "dollar debt slaves" for "customers" then the quotation may fit the current situation in the US and its reserve currency empire quite well. It also helps to explain the steady role of the government bureaucracy in administering this paper empire, as well as the outsized financial sector.

But one underestimates the resilience of a free people at their peril, as did Napoleon dismissing the English, echoing Smith, "L'Angleterre est une nation de boutiquiers," prior, of course, to his Waterloo in June, 1815.

December 2009 Non-Farm Payrolls Report Preview and Forecast

As you may know, and as we suggested the other day, the ADP report, based on payroll data from American business, showed a loss of 84,000 jobs in December, versus expectations of a loss of only 75,000 jobs.

We also suggested that this Friday's US Non-Farm Payroll Report will be a positive surprise, at least 10,000 or so jobs to the good. Here are the details.

The Imaginary Jobs component, also known as the Bureau of Labor Statistics Birth-Death Model, will contribute approximately 72,000 jobs allegedly created by small businesses with less credible evidence than a Bigfoot or an Elvis sighting.

Not that they are always positive. Each January there is an enormous job loss shown here, in the neighborhood of about 350,000 jobs. The reason they do this is because the seasonal adjustment factor is so huge in January that this imaginary jobs number does not matter, since it is subtracted (and added) from the numbers prior to the seasonal adjustment.

We can expect this model to continue to show positive annual jobs growth until the End of Days, and perhaps longer than that if there is fireproof paper in the afterlife.



The 'headline jobs number' which is the Seasonally Adjusted Number will be a positive 58,000 jobs, and provide much joy and exultation in Washington and on Wall Street. Pundits like Paul Krugman will caution that the economy is still fragile and a second stimulus bill will be required to insure these positive gains.



What is the basis for these projected numbers? The same basis used by the BLS - nothing. At least nothing connected with the real world. These are the numbers that bureaucrats might mindlessly crank out in response to the desire of their bosses for certain targets, a phenomenon well understood by most corporate financial staffs.

We drew the trendline on that chart earlier this year, assuming that the government would wish to show a steady job increase with a positive number by December, or at least January. So far we have not been disappointed, although there have been quite a few revisions along the way.

There will also be revisions this time again, with some jobs added and borrowed from prior months to help make this latest number seem believable.



So, let's see how it really turns out. Am I being too cynical? I used to spend many hours estimating these numbers and potential targets, but this month I decided to go with the trends. Not trends in job growth, but trends in the general corruption of nearly all financial and economic data in the US, from the government, the banks, and the kleptocracy.

Perhaps the numbers will be realistic and credible this time, and I can be pleasantly surprised.

And perhaps the Obama Administration will begin to deliver the promised, genuine financial reforms.

Three Charts: Gold, Silver, Dollar

It will be interesting to see how the Fed and Treasury juggle the various markets that do not play well together, being stocks, dollar, and Treasuries, and of course those nasty reminders of dollar mortality, gold and silver. Although the ADP report tomorrow may be a bit light, we think the BLS will do its duty and show us a jobs positive report on Friday.

Gold Daily

The objective for gold is obviously to break back above its 40 day moving average, and take out 1140. The bear are defending this area with a vengance, shorting every rally.



Silver Daily

If silver can take out 18.40 it's off to the races and a new high.



US Dollar (DX) Daily

The dollar needs to take out 78.50 to label this rally as more than a dead cat bounce and keep going. If it takes out 77 and the moving average to the downside then we are looking at a key support test at 76.




US Dollar Commitments of Traders

Dollar is severely overbought by the funds and specs.



h/t jsmineset for the COT dollar chart

Whitney Cuts Goldman Sachs Earnings Estimate

This took a bit of the edge off the rally led by financials and tech today.

Goldman is a strong bellwether for the US financial markets, since they make most of their earnings by ravaging all participants in them. While the fish can still swim, so the squid can feed. So like it or not, as Goldman goes, so the US equity market probably goes, at least in the short term.

It will take all their resources to keep the winning streak intact.

Barrons
GS: Whitney Cuts Q4, ‘10 Estimate
By Tiernan Ray

Joining the string of Goldman Sachs (GS) estimate cuts, Meredith Whitney Advisory Group today lowered its EPS estimate for Q4 from $6 to $5.50, though that’s still above the $5.42 average estimate.

For this year, Whitney lowered her estimate to $19.20 from $19.65, though that’s above the average $18.78 estimate.Previously: GS: Pali Cuts Estimates on TradingJoining the string of Goldman Sachs (GS) estimate cuts, Meredith Whitney Advisory Group today lowered the EPS estimate for Goldman’s Q4 from $6 to $5.50, though that’s still above the $5.42 average estimate.

For this year, Whitney lowered her estimate to $19.20 from $19.65, though that’s above the average $18.78 estimate.