US Economy Lost 63,000 Jobs in February | Hacker News Reader

US Economy Lost 63,000 Jobs in February

nytimes.com

10 pointskirubakaran9 comments

so it's a good time to start a business, b/c the supply of labor is high, and therefore you can pay people less. and there's 63,000 new potential hires to choose from. yay!

PS if the employment rate goes up that's also a good time to start a business cause the economy is doing well so there's enough for everyone

> it's a good time to start a business

This sentiment is at odds with any empirical examination of past recessions. Just because some guy at flickr said it don't make it true. Specific cases vary, but the sentiment is simply false in the general case.

The bottom of the business cycle is a good time to start. On the actual downswing the non-discretionary spending businesses offer a safe-haven, but not great opportunity.

no, it's half full

50% surplus capacity

Well, just to be fair, this may actually be the bottoming of a business cycle (granted we won't know until afterward - and it probably isn't, the consensus is we have more to go through, agreed). Unemployment is typically a lagging indicator - but that doesn't mean it's over yet.

"and there's 63,000 new potential hires to choose from. yay!"

Well, you need to really look at what sectors of the economy have lost the jobs - mostly retail, manufacturing and construction - so if you're looking to start a technology company, you might be out of luck with this newly freed labor pool.

The thing is these things work their way through sectors of the economy. It's hit banking, housing and construction/related so far pretty hard - it hasn't quite gotten to technology though. Or has it? Anyone have any thoughts?

you're right of course.

63,000 fewer potential customers.

63,000 people with more time to go shopping

edit: or even better for a web company. poor, bored people can spend plenty of time online

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