Is The Economy Ever Going To Get Better?

Experts keep telling us things are going to start to get better but America is waiting to see the results. In April I wrote that it appeared that times were beginning to get a bit easier, but the market has taken a turn for the worse since then. Real Estate values continue to decrease, which is great for new buyers but miserable for those who purchased homes at the peak of the housing boom. Moreover while many companies are starting to see higher gains the rates at which they are hiring are failing to keep up. What gives?

We’ve all heard and seen the dismal conditions created by the fall of the real estate market. Most of us see the direct results within our own neighborhoods. Most housing developments contain at least a few if not many foreclosed upon homes. In some areas, once booming developments have all but turned into ghost towns. Housing prices are now at the same level as 2002 prices, which means those who have bought homes in the last ten years paid more for the house than it’s worth now. This means that many people feel trapped in their home. Often divorced couples stay in the same house for a long period of time, which can create extremely stressful and confusing conditions for both the couple and their children. Even for those marriages who are surviving, financial conce
s add a lot of stress which negatively affects the nation’s health. Of course for those looking to buy a home for the first time there could not be a more ideal time to buy, that is of course if you have a job.

While the job market seemed to be finally looking up in April, it has began once again to slow. Because companies have changed their practices in order to survive the recession they’ve learned how to do more with less. Companies have leaned on their best employees and asked them to go above and beyond in order to help keep the business afloat. Employees begrudgingly agreed knowing that times were hard and that they needed to prove their value in order to keep their current job. Now that employers know that they can get away with this heavy delegation however, they have no real reason to replace the positions they had to cut. This is not to say that there aren’t new positions opening up, but because there is a heavy supply of capable workers looking for work, employers can be especially particular in their recruiting efforts. This means that the recruiting process has drastically increased in it’s time length. Moreover the age of retirement is creeping higher and higher which means less jobs are opening up. The most affected by these conditions are recent college graduates who are facing massive amounts of student debt due to the rising costs of education and little to no opportunities. All of these factors have left many Americans without a job and in extreme depression. Are the jobs and housing markets ever going to look up?

Some experts are blaming the recent chain of natural disasters for the slowing of market progress. Between the earth quake in Japan, tornadoes in the Southeast and a sudden jump in gasoline prices the economy was bound to be negatively affected. Still some experts question whether the nation is truly going to rebound or if we need to learn to cope with the current economic conditions. News which most of us find extremely troubling.