Unemployment Implications

I've spoken to quite a few Wall Street-types recently who are increasingly focused on unemployment trends when considering the timing of an economic rebound. Here are the most recent numbers:

Are we approaching a peak in the unemployment cycle? What do Members make of the most recent unemployment data?

Tags: economics, unemployment

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Permalink Reply by Victoria Fierson on November 3, 2008 at 3:58pm: There's been a recent increase in the number of applicants for bartending school due to the credit crisis. Bloomberg reports that 165,000 people will face unemployment in New York City over the next 24 months -- this includes 35,000 from the financial industry.

"Enrollment in the American Bartending School in Manhattan climbed 53 percent from last October to 84 pupils, the most for the month in five years," director Joe Bruno says.

In times of crisis the number of people who look to enter the food and beverage service industry typically increases. Many of the applicants are former Wall Street employees and those who were involved with finance. Tom Sisson, director of the New York Bartending School, saw an 18% jump in enrollment. "The increase I'm talking about is definitely that corporate, Wall Street, finance kind of thing."

Sisson says their bartending course typically draws physicians, attorneys and people from the corporate world who have suffered job losses, are burned out, or are having "mid-life crisis.'"

There may be a shortage of bankers for a while, but there most certainly won't be a shortage of bartenders.; ▶ Reply to This