Word: slowdowns
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Western Europe's unemployment problem is the result not only of the economic slowdown caused by nearly a decade of brutal oil-price increases; it reflects a basic structural change: the waning of Europe's ability to compete in traditional manufacturing industries. The postwar years of cheap energy, cheap labor off the farm, low social-welfare overheads and huge unsatisfied consumer demand are gone. "There is no easy answer," says John Martin, a manpower expert at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris...
Perhaps the most promising sign that Reaganomics may be working is the slowdown in wage demands. Since wages make up a major portion of the cost of any product, a decline in the pace of salary increases should slow down the rate of price rises. Average hourly earnings were jumping at a pace of almost 11 % during the last quarter of 1980, but in the past three months the rate of increase was about 7%. If this trend continues, it could be the key to a reduction in inflation and interest levels...
...loud congressional protests and the worries along Wall Street, the President's program so far appears to retain generally broad public support. A Gallup poll released last week showed that Reagan's approval rating of about 60% has not slipped during this summer's economic slowdown. Interviews by TIME correspondents around the U.S. last week also showed the public's willingness to sacrifice in order to get the economy on the path to steady, noninflationary growth...
...improvement in prices, though, is likely to result from a looming economic slowdown. Growth was running at 5% annually from 1974 to 1978, but last year it dropped to 1.6%. This year economic" activity is officially projected to range between 2% and 2.5%, but some economists think the estimate might turn out to be on the high side. One reason is the precipitous drop in investment, both domestic and from abroad, as businessmen mark time until they see whether the left wins in the fall. Admits Paleocrassas: "People are hedging, waiting for the outcome of the election...
...months of sales at the current pace. This is second only to the record backlog of 12.4 months in April 1980. Sluggish starts have idled construction crews, slowed demand for everything from roofing nails, cement and lumber to sashes, sills and sand, and generally contributed to the slowdown in the U.S. economy...