BuyUSAFirst

December 17, 2004 U.S. Slips in Attracting the World’s Best Students
American universities, which for half a century have attracted the world’s best and brightest students with little effort, are suddenly facing intense competition as higher education undergoes rapid globalization.
The European Union, moving methodically to compete with American universities, is streamlining the continent’s higher education system and offering American-style degree programs taught in English. Britain, Australia and New Zealand are aggressively recruiting foreign students, as are Asian centers like Taiwan and Hong Kong. And China, which has declared that transforming 100 universities into world-class research institutions is a national priority, is persuading top Chinese scholars to return home from American universities.
New York Times

December 15, 2004 A Plea for Support of Innovation
America risks losing its leadership of the global economy if government and industry fail to make changes that encourage innovation, a panel of leading executives and university presidents say in a study to be released today.
A host of problems is eating away at the nation’s economic strength even as countries such as China and India work to lift their international status, according to the Council on Competitiveness, a bipartisan group of some 400 top executives and leaders of universities. Washington Post

 

December 14, 2004    U.S. trade deficit swells to record $55.5 billion
The USA’s trade deficit swelled to an all-time high $55.5 billion in October as imports surged to the highest levels on record. Sky-high crude-oil prices also contributed to the yawning trade gap. The latest snapshot of trade, reported by the Commerce Department on Tuesday, showed the country’s trade imbalance widening a sizable 8.9% in October from the previous month — despite the fact that U.S. exports also registered their best month on record. The growth in imports, however, dwarfed the pace of exports in October, producing another bloated trade gap. The deficit was much bigger than the $52.4 billion imbalance economists were forecasting.
AP in the USA Today http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/trade/2004-12-14-deficit-oct_x.htm

December 7, 2004 It’s Slipping Again
According to a new study from staffing firm Hudson Global Resources, confidence among IT workers in the U.S. took a step backward in November. About 27% of employees polled said they expected layoffs at their companies over the next few months. That percentage was just under 19% in October and reached its lowest level since June.[SearchCIO.com]

With a Forrester analyst recently telling SearchCIO.com that CIOs will be challenged next year to attract IT talent when the field seems to be less desirable as a career choice, this Hudson study looks all the more worrisome. Let’s face it; IT has taken some dings over the last few years as a career path. While many IT workers seem to be bailing out of the business, some CIOs insist that IT is still a very attractive field with lots of promise for the right people. -Ed Perry

December 6, 2004 Outsourcing Study a Welcome Surprise in Budget Bill
So far, the government has simply lacked the data to determine offshore outsourcing’s impact on the U.S. work force, said Republican Rep. Frank Wolf of Virginia. Wolf initiated the measure to grant $2 million to the independent, nonpartisan National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) for the study. Lou Dobbs CNN.com

December 4, 2004 A recent survey of programmers resulted in some disappointing statistics. When asked what they would do if their job was outsourced the participants responded:

A: Circulate my resume, call everyone I know and hope to find a similar job. 22%
B: Hit the books and beef up my credentials. 18%
C: Become an independent consultant. 16%
D: Change career altogether.
E: Retire early.6%
F: Unknown 15%
Source SearchVB.com

September 8, 2004 Because of recent inquiries we have developed a Standardized Proclamation that can be used by local and state governments to promote the Buy USA First Initiative. To download the proclamation please click here.

May 31, 2004 What is happening to the U.S. job market?
A series of articles that attempt to chronicle the economic impact of offshore outsourcing and other hiring trends on the U.S. economy and its workers. When you read this remember that McKenzie does consulting for overseas clients.  Stanford Graduate School of Business

May 18, 2004 Attendees get down to business at Outsourcing Summit [SearchCIO.com]
Gartner says outsourcing has hit the mainstream for companies of all sizes, but evidently the controversial aspects are still alive and well. Some companies are eager to learn more but aren’t all that enthused about discussing their plans.
MORE INFO:
See why one company discovered outsourcing was the wrong move

May 15, 2004 CARY, N.C. – A five-by-nine foot box that resembles a small recording studio may symbolize the future of the troubled American textile industry. The machine offers hope for an industry that has been devastated by free trade and lower overseas labor costs. Yahoo News

May 13, 2004 Shifting blame for manufacturing job loss
The effect of rising trade deficit shouldn’t be ignored.
Many economic observers have recently exonerated international trade flows for the hemorrhaging job losses in the manufacturing sector of the United States, generally claiming that either changing demand patterns or rapid productivity growth are the cause of manufacturing’s decline. But the evidence shows that trade imbalances in manufacturing have accounted for 59% of the decline in manufacturing employment since 1998.  By Josh Bivens, Economic Policy Institute

May 7, 2004  Non-farm payroll employment increased by 288,000 in April, and the unemployment rate was about unchanged at 5.6 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The April increase in payroll employment follows a gain of 337,000 in March, and job growth again was widespread. In April, employment rose substantially in several service-providing industries, construction continued to add jobs, and there was a noteworthy job gain in durable goods manufacturing.
Both the unemployment rate, 5.6 percent, and the number of unemployed  persons, 8.2 million, were essentially unchanged in April. The unemployment rate has been either 5.6 or 5.7 percent since last December.
Employment Situation Report from  the Department of Labor

May 5, 2004  Detroit automakers — facing more competition from Asia and Europe, rising health care and pension expenses and shrinking U.S. market share — have eliminated nearly 20,000 contract workers in recent years to cut costs and boost profits.

The companies are drastically reducing temporary white-collar staffs by shifting duties to full-time employees, declining to renew contracts with agencies that supply contract employees, eliminating the work or sending it to foreign countries where labor rates are cheaper.

Steady productivity gains also are allowing General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG’s Chrysler Group to operate with fewer contract workers — a major blow to a sector of the Michigan economy and work force that enjoyed healthy growth in the 1990s.

GM cut its North American contract work force from 16,000 in 2000 to 7,526 in 2003. Chrysler has trimmed 1,200 contract workers over the past several years. At Ford Motor Co., 1,700 contract workers were terminated in 2003. The Detroit News

May 3, 2004    
U.S. Is Losing Its Dominance in the Sciences
By WILLIAM J. BROAD   (NYT)   News for SCIENCE  

April 24, 2004 “The good news is that the economy has finally begun to generate more jobs,” said Stephen Herzenberg, an economist and executive director of the Keystone Research Center. “Now the question becomes how good are those jobs? On that score, the loss of manufacturing jobs does not bode well.” KFVE Honolulu, HI

April 22, 2004  How Michigan can create manufacturing jobs
The keys: tax system reform and continued support of free trade. By Charles Ballard of the The Detroit News

April 22, 2004 MARKUP OF H.R. 3866, H.R. 2771, AND H.RES. 516 Congressman John D. Dingell proposes “We need to tackle the problem of “outsourcing”; we need to expand programs in the Department of Commerce such as the Manufacturing Extension Partnership and the Advanced Technology Program; and we need to address the significant negative impact that increasing healthcare costs have on manufacturing. I hope the Committee will take an active interest in these matters. Otherwise, the words contained in this resolution would be a meaningless expression of support”
John D. Dingell

April 16, 2004 Offshore outsourcing isn’t killing the U.S. economy, it’s helping. That’s the conclusion in a nutshell of a new study. But given the fact that this is one of the most contentious issues of our time, the report has its critics. Report: Offshore outsourcing helps U.S. job market [SearchCIO.com]
 

April 15, 2004 Round Rock, Texas-based Dell employs more people abroad than it does in the U.S., it disclosed in a regulatory filing this week. Yahoo News

April 5, 2004  Ron Hira, chair of the career and workforce policy committee for IEEE-USA, the Washington policy and lobbying unit of New York-based Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., fields questions about outsourcing and its effect on tech companies and workers in the United States. The Washington Post

April 4, 2004 Scientist predicts U.S. will have more serious economic problems. See Information>Editorial

April 3, 2004 Buy USA First.org begins project system to gain insight into the manufacturing and service job problem. For details see Organizational>Projects

April 1, 2004 – No Joke – Economist calls unemployment rate ‘misleading’. Topeka Business Journal

March 20, 2004 – Manufacturing companies make the future for the United States National Association of Manufacturers

March 20, 2004 – Something is strange about the economic recovery. Even the Asian suppliers are worried about US jobs.
The Stratis Times

March 18, 2004 – IEEE-USA Speaks Out – Offshoring contributes to high unemployment levels among U.S. technologists, and poses a serious, long-term challenge to the nation’s technological and innovative leadership. Also see IEEE-USA

March 18, 2004  – Michigan officials are tossing millions in tax abatements at General Motors Corp. in hopes of persuading the automaker to upgrade its Warren transmission plant and save at least 518 jobs. 03/18/04 Tax deal may save 518 jobs at GM

March 15, 2004 – Legislators are appalled to see jobs head across the ocean while their unemployed constituents look for work. SearchCIO.com

March  11, 2004 -The labor market data for February showed less strength than expected, with non-farm payroll employment up a scant 21,000. Furthermore, the December and January numbers were revised downward by about the same amount. Manufacturing job loss slowed, but still registered an unprecedented 43rd straight monthly decline. Freddie Mac & Bureau of Labor Statistics

March 10, 2004
Is Recovery Without Jobs Now the Norm? “I’m growing increasingly suspicious that something more fundamental may be happening to the job market and the economy,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Economy.com, a research and consulting firm in West Chester, Pa. LA Times

March 1, 2004 – For many of America’s 3 million software programmers, it’s paradise lost. Business Week

February 26, 2004 The unemployment rate for U.S. electrical and electronics engineers averaged a record 6.2 percent in 2003! IEEE-USA Press Release

February 26, 2004 China’s Price for Market Entry: Give Us Your Technology, Too. The Wall Street Journal

February 26, 2004 JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – India may still be the world outsourcing king, the great global magnet that’s attracting American and European service-industry work such as computer programming, insurance-claims processing, and call-center staffing. By Abraham McLaughlin | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

February 22, 2004 Lou Dobbs of CNN aired “Exporting America” Here is a list of companies we’ve confirmed are “Exporting America.” These are U.S. companies either sending American jobs overseas, or choosing to employ cheap overseas labor, instead of American workers. These companies still employ a lot of U.S. workers. This does not mean to boycott their products but to exercise judgment in which products you purchase. Some letters to their executives about Made in USA would be appropriate. Click here for a list of companies.

January 20, 2004 In January 2004, the U.S. economy had about 2.4 million (or 1.8 percent) fewer jobs than it had in March 2001 AFL-CIO Working for America Institute

January 12, 2004 Manufacturing Job Slide Continues – Manufacturing employment declined by an additional 26,000 workers in December 2003, the U.S. Labor Department reported on Jan. 9. IndustrialWeek.com

January 7, 2004 Leading technology companies urged Congress and the Bush administration Wednesday not to impose new trade restrictions aimed at keeping U.S. jobs from moving overseas, where labor costs are lower. Yahoo News

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