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Pick your favorite mainstream news outlet (I checked Atlantic, Guardian, CNN, Axios, NYT, WSJ, and maybe one or two others) and you can find an article to the e

Pick your favorite mainstream news outlet (I checked Atlantic, Guardian, CNN, Axios, NYT, WSJ, and maybe one or two others) and you can find an article to the effect of “Why Do Americans Think the Economy is Terrible When It’s Actually Amazing?” Credit where credit is due to the administration, they seem to know better than to push that narrative just at the moment. Regarding tech jobs, inbound recruiter contacts at flat at nearly nothing, we’ll over 80% of the people I know who were laid off are still looking, and competition remains brutal for the openings that exist. Tough job markets happen, we get by. But it’s starting to really grind my gears that there is a full-court press to act like it’s been like this in the last decade or two. It was easier in 2005.

MisterBastahrd 3y ago
"The economy," at least as far as the big publications is concerned since the early 80s, has always been about stock performance and unemployment numbers regardless of who is in charge. Stock performance is great. Unemployment numbers are great. To them, inflationary periods are just a time when big businesses which are flush with cash get to buy up smaller, cash-strapped businesses at discount rates. And the average consumer is so stupid that they're using credit just to maintain their lifestyles.
- benreesman 3y ago
  I’m not exactly a Jane St. quant, but people piling into SPY at a time when 40+ PEs for mature businesses are the order of the day and bond yields are spiking via open-market operations doesn’t smell right.
coding123 3y ago
Inflation is 25% over 2019 so the only people celebrating the economy got a 25% raise. The rest? Debt piling up, some teetering on the edge of homelessness. But that doesn't matter because the president in office can't have bad news. I think we can sum up Biden's presidency with "no comment"
- version_five 3y ago
  Yeah I think a lot of any "hiring boom" right now is really inflation-related churn as companies refuse to match inflation and people leave for jobs that offer slightly better (pre-inflation) pay.
  - tracker1 3y ago
    A lot of the hiring is also at a decade old pay rate... People may be working, but are they, generally speaking, making as much or more. I don't think so, especially in light of inflation.
deleted 3y ago
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tracker1 3y ago
For me, the real kicker is what feels like the cost of food and other common items doubling in the past year, and record profits, but the actual people working haven't seen a raise in a decade. With the bump in interest, and my home "value" doubling in the past 5 years, it's hard to imagine anyone not born into it being able to buy a home at this point forward. On the tech sector, I'm feeling less than stable where I'm at and seeing a lot of dev jobs where the pay is roughly what I was seeing a decade ago or more. It may be great if you're on the top 1-3% of earners and making most of your money from investments, it's another if you're working for a living.
JohnBooty 3y ago
Regarding tech jobs, inbound recruiter contacts at flat at nearly nothing, we’ll over 80% of the people I know who were laid off are still looking, and competition remains brutal for the openings that exist. I'm seeing this too. However this doesn't seem like it's incompatible with the linked article's claim, although it's heavily dependent on an individual's definition of a recession being "over." I think economists would tell us that a recession is over when recovery begins. By that definition, yeah, the recession is over. In more casual usage I think we would refer to a recession being over when recovery (to some perceived "normal") is complete. By that definition, hell no, it's not over. Things will be tight for a while. If you want some more anecdotal hope, though, all the recruiters I've talked to have agreed that things seem to be improving.

MisterBastahrd 3y ago

"The economy," at least as far as the big publications is concerned since the early 80s, has always been about stock performance and unemployment numbers regardless of who is in charge. Stock performance is great. Unemployment numbers are great. To them, inflationary periods are just a time when big businesses which are flush with cash get to buy up smaller, cash-strapped businesses at discount rates. And the average consumer is so stupid that they're using credit just to maintain their lifestyles.

benreesman 3y ago
I’m not exactly a Jane St. quant, but people piling into SPY at a time when 40+ PEs for mature businesses are the order of the day and bond yields are spiking via open-market operations doesn’t smell right.

coding123 3y ago

Inflation is 25% over 2019 so the only people celebrating the economy got a 25% raise. The rest? Debt piling up, some teetering on the edge of homelessness. But that doesn't matter because the president in office can't have bad news. I think we can sum up Biden's presidency with "no comment"

version_five 3y ago
Yeah I think a lot of any "hiring boom" right now is really inflation-related churn as companies refuse to match inflation and people leave for jobs that offer slightly better (pre-inflation) pay.
- tracker1 3y ago
  A lot of the hiring is also at a decade old pay rate... People may be working, but are they, generally speaking, making as much or more. I don't think so, especially in light of inflation.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

tracker1 3y ago

For me, the real kicker is what feels like the cost of food and other common items doubling in the past year, and record profits, but the actual people working haven't seen a raise in a decade. With the bump in interest, and my home "value" doubling in the past 5 years, it's hard to imagine anyone not born into it being able to buy a home at this point forward. On the tech sector, I'm feeling less than stable where I'm at and seeing a lot of dev jobs where the pay is roughly what I was seeing a decade ago or more. It may be great if you're on the top 1-3% of earners and making most of your money from investments, it's another if you're working for a living.

JohnBooty 3y ago

Regarding tech jobs, inbound recruiter contacts at flat at nearly nothing, we’ll over 80% of the people I know who were laid off are still looking, and competition remains brutal for the openings that exist. I'm seeing this too. However this doesn't seem like it's incompatible with the linked article's claim, although it's heavily dependent on an individual's definition of a recession being "over." I think economists would tell us that a recession is over when recovery begins. By that definition, yeah, the recession is over. In more casual usage I think we would refer to a recession being over when recovery (to some perceived "normal") is complete. By that definition, hell no, it's not over. Things will be tight for a while. If you want some more anecdotal hope, though, all the recruiters I've talked to have agreed that things seem to be improving.