Do you feel the economy getting better?

[admin]

The jobs reports are getting better.
I sense sustained improvements in the economy.

http://money.cnn.com/2012/02/03/news/economy/jobs_report_unemployment/index.htm

What do you guys think?

[Coronita]

Why don’t you do a poll.

[protorio]

I had to run a bunch of errands around town on Monday, through many neighborhoods I haven’t ridden through lately. There was a lot of construction! From El Cajon Blvd. to Kettner… Just something I noticed.

[moneymaker]

Yes. So now I will have to complain about the mundane. Like why can’t I get a replacement sponge mop head for my Mr.Clean mop that is only 1-2 years old?

[bearishgurl]

From what I can see, homeowners in my neck of the woods are starting to spend money again on their properties: trees, gazebos, landscaping, sprinkler systems, concrete, fencing, windows, roof repair/replacement, tent fume (not for resale), etc.

Not sure if this is representative of older areas around the county, overall, but am happy to see it happening :=]

[The-Shoveler]

In my little corner of TechLand it is “Game On” all of a sudden , I think flu is right about a new bubble forming.

And yea you need a poll.

[an]

[quote=Nor-LA-SD-GUY2]In my little corner of TechLand it is “Game On” all of a sudden , I think flu is right about a new bubble forming.

And yea you need a poll.[/quote]
+1. Game on indeed.

[svelte]

I started noticing a difference late last summer, but it is really starting to feel like things have returned to normal now. Whatever that is.

[briansd1]

[quote=Nor-LA-SD-GUY2]

And yea you need a poll.[/quote]

With polls you can’t read the last comments first.

I think it’s fun to read people comments.

[an]

[quote=briansd1][quote=Nor-LA-SD-GUY2]

And yea you need a poll.[/quote]

With polls you can’t read the last comments first.

I think it’s fun to read people comments.[/quote]
That’s what annoy me about polls too.

[poorgradstudent]

In March 2011 I was unemployed.
In April 2011 I landed a mediocre job.
In October 2011 I started my current, much better job. So my personal financial picture is far, far stronger than it was at this time last year.

I have a friend who was just laid off, but another in the same industry who has been out of work for a while and is in the late stages of the interview process for a decent position.

My wife’s company is struggling to find a qualified applicant for a temp position they are advertising. I feel like a year ago they would have had several over-qualified applicants by now. My wife’s company also announced their biggest bonuses to date this year.

So yes, while it’s been a little bumpy, from where I sit, the economy does “feel” like it has improved a lot in the past year.

[paramount]

As much as I want to be; I’m not convinced yet the economy is actually improving (significantly) – at least in my time frame..

What I see is continuing falling home prices, still brutal numbers of foreclosures and short sales – which are killing home prices at least in Temecula.

Is it better than 2008/2009? Maybe; prices of homes aren’t falling as fast, but they’re still falling.

The layoff situation has improved.

But year over year (2011->2012), I’m not really seeing it.

[markmax33]

1. These numbers do not include the people who gave up looking for jobs and fell off of unemployment. The number is actually up if you count those people.

2. Any increase in the economy is directly tied to the cheap money lending by the federal reserve and has next to nothing to do with the what the federal government has done to stimulate the economy.

3. Taxing a group of more productive businesses and redistributing it to failing industries like housing will never work. Spending more money to buy more military planes we don’t need is not productive either.

[carlsbadworker]

[quote=markmax33]Any increase in the economy is directly tied to the cheap money lending by the federal reserve and has next to nothing to do with the what the federal government has done to stimulate the economy.[/quote]

I agree this overall. I think the stimulus that the economy got is mostly from increased lending that the household has got in the last few months. People who use to work for 35 hours, now work for 40 hours. And people who used to have a bad job now got a better job. So the banks are now more willing to lend to them given their alternative option is almost-no-yield treasury.

However, this may be sustainable because animal spirit has its own way of growth. The corporate margin is finally declining though and EU/China still pose risks. So it might be a mini-bubble as well. I can’t predict the future.

[carlsbadworker]

[quote=paramount]As much as I want to be; I’m not convinced yet the economy is actually improving (significantly) – at least in my time frame..

What I see is continuing falling home prices, still brutal numbers of foreclosures and short sales – which are killing home prices at least in Temecula.

Is it better than 2008/2009? Maybe; prices of homes aren’t falling as fast, but they’re still falling.

The layoff situation has improved.

But year over year (2011->2012), I’m not really seeing it.[/quote]

paramount, you must be living in a different town than I am. The home price is still higher than 2008-2009 although it starts to have some competitive pricing. But there are lots of traffic for any home that is competitively priced. Inventory for investment-grade home is almost non-existent. Multiple offers above the list price is common for other homes.

New homes are also selling but I don’t know how it compared to before because I am never interested in that category. But construction is happening. At Home Depot and Lowes, however, I have yet to see any significant traffic increase.

The steakhouses in Temecula now has very long lines over the weekend. The line used to be non-existent in the last few years (the long lines were common in bubble years as well). I don’t know what caused it, but it seems that people just become very bullish about the economy in the last few months. My neighbor (who I suspect is not paying their mortgage) just bought a new car. And dealership would not negotiate or price-match on price anymore (2 years ago, when I bought my last car, they are very cooperative in pricing). 3 years ago, they were making insane price cuts to get off their inventory.

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