Employment and unemployment figures are relatively easy to fiddle. But wage growth is not. And wage growth is now in decline, with catastrophic consequences as people have little or no money to spend.
The BBC valiantly claims that this is unexpected, difficult to understand, and so on, in light of the number of people who are officially in employment. The more accurate way of saying the same thing is that is impossible.
Back in the last days of John Major, the unemployment figures were a national joke. No one even pretended to believe them. Where were these jobs? What were they? Who was doing them? For how long at a time, for how many hours per week, and for how much money? It was obviously rubbish, and everyone could see it.
All these years later, and here we are again. The employment figures are a national joke. No one even pretends to believe them. Where are these jobs? What are they? Who is doing them? For how long at a time, for how many hours per week, and for how much money? It is obviously rubbish, and everyone can see it.
Some people use electricity consumption as an indicator of economic well being, more difficult to fiddle than GDP or employment, and the figures for the UK are scary. I found this graph in a comment on another blog:
ReplyDeletehttps://blissex.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/dataelectrukfallbyregion2005to2015.png
Absolute electricity consumption for commercial and industrial purposes in the poorest regions of the UK has dropped by nearly 20% (largest drop in the North East) and has been flat in the richest (London and south-east) despite having risen for 100 years (except when the miners strike happened).
Per capita electricity (for all purposes) in the UK, Spain, Greece, Italy has fallen 15% since 2002-2003, an unprecedented events, and has been flat or falling less in richer countries, and has been growing fast in newly industrializing countries like south Korea, China, Malaysia and eastern Europe:
https://blissex.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/dataelectreuothersconsperhead1960to2015.png
https://www.google.co.uk/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=eg_use_elec_kh_pc&idim=country:DEU:ITA:GBR:FRA:ESP:GRC:CHN:JPN:KOR:MYS:THA:BRA:MEX:URY:TUR:IRL:SGP:IND:ISR:USA
Electricity consumption is likely to be a good indicator of standards of living, and the graph above tell a pretty tough story.