Day Laborers as a Leading Economic Indicator

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/4842/day_laborers_and_leadingng_economic_indicators/

Thursday September 3 2:50 pm


Men crowd the van of a potential employer at a street corner in New York City in 2008. (Photo by STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)


Journalists and economic commentators have been deeply concerned with predicting when the recession will end. Cable TV has spent hours reading economic tea leaves, searching for signs of recovery.

Yesterday, NPR ran a story about NFL Football and the economy. The NFL has a rule that if tickets are still available 72 hours before kickoff, then local TV cannot broadcast the game.

(Last year, this happened nine times. This year, the number is expected to be more than twelve. The larger the number of TV blackouts, apparently, the less confidence people have in the economy—as indicated by lower ticket sales.)

It's obvious why we obsess over the economy: we are worried and hope the worst might be over. NPR has been running a recurring feature asking people to call in with their personal econometric indicator, often offering cute attempts at humor.

Well, here's my economic indicator: the day laborers at 69th Street in Jackson Heights, Queens.

Jackson Heights is one of the most diverse communities in the United States, with over twenty spoken languages, dozens of ethnicities and real mix of working and middle classes. To my mind, it's one of the best places to experience real cosmopolitanism in the country.

Its working-class residents, however, have been hit hard by the recession. 69th Street, a minor commercial street for the community, is a barometer for the economy.

FULL story at link.