With jobs czar under fire, new data confirm offshoring trend

Yahoo Business News ^ | April 20, 2010 | Zachary Roth

[Jim from C-Town]

In January, the White House appointed Jeff Immelt (pictured), the CEO of GE, as its "jobs czar," charged with finding solutions to America's unemployment crisis. Three months later, despite some positive signs, employment rates have barely budged, Americans are more pessimistic about the economy than they've been in a while--and Immelt is under fire amid news that GE reportedly paid no taxes this year.

And some new jobs data may not help things. The Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.) that during the last decade U.S. multinationals reduced their domestic workforce by 2.9 million, according to Commerce Department figures. During the same period, those same companies increased their overseas workforce by 2.4 million. (Here's a chart that nicely lays it out.) As recently as the 1990s, things were different: Multinationals were adding jobs both domestically and overseas.

Worse, Immelt's own company may be a case study for the shift. As we've reported, the number of workers employed by GE in the United States fell from around 162,000 in 2000 to 134,000 in 2009.

When President Obama named Immelt to chair the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, he said the GE leader "understands what it takes for America to compete in the global economy."

[Jim from C-Town]

The most interesting part of this article is not that it was actualy published. It is not that it actually cast Obama and Immelt in a negative light. It is the fact that almost every reader comment of the several thousand ar ANti-Obama. It looks like an FR post of comments.

Who are the 47% who think Obama is doing a good job? Where are they? Why don't they show up in the Yahoo comments sectionany more?

Could it be that lke the woman who complained to Obama that she was tired of defending him. Of course even though she was Black she was a racist!

[dfwgator]

U.S. multinationals

Isn't that an oxymoron?

[rod1]

Immelt is predictably taking the U.S. exactly where he took GE. Toward oblivion.

What a team!

[EQAndyBuzz]

It is amazing that the brightest minds on th fac ofth planet work in th Obama administration yet they can’t figure out how to extricate themselves from a partially opened paper bag.

[Matchett-PI]

bttt