Obama Economy: Wall Street to Lose 10,000 Securities Jobs

Mike Brownfield
October 11, 2011 at 4:19 pm

Just last week, America learned that September was yet another bad month for the Obama economy, with the unemployment rate remaining flat at 9.1 percent. A new report out today predicts more bad news down the road: Wall Street could see 10,000 securities jobs lost by the end of 2012. That’s on top of the 22,000 jobs the industry has lost since January 2008.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

New York City’s securities industry could lose nearly 10,000 jobs by the end of 2012, New York state’s comptroller predicted, a painful blow to the area’s economy and government budgets.

In a report set to be released Tuesday, Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli also said bonuses are likely to shrink this year, reflecting lower profits on Wall Street.

Since January 2008, the securities industry in New York has seen 22,000 jobs evaporate. If Mr. DiNapoli’s prediction of 10,000 more jobs losses between August 2011 and year-end 2012 comes true, that would represent a decline of 17%. About 4,100 jobs have been eliminated since April, and deeper cuts are widely seen as inevitable given a recent flurry of corporate expense-trimming announcements.

The news is the latest in a long line of dark clouds to gather over the U.S. economy. Unfortunately, the policies the Obama Administration is pursuing are making businesses less likely to succeed, not more likely to increase hiring. New health care regulations increase the cost of hiring workers, pending Environmental Protection Agency regulations will substantially raise the cost of energy, and proposed tax hikes will make it more difficult for business owners and entrepreneurs to invest and expand. In a new paper, Heritage’s James Sherk explains the path that the federal government should pursue instead:

The labor market remains weak because businesses have retrenched. The rate of business expansions and startups remains well below its level at the start of the recession. To reduce unemployment, America needs more entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs, who started Apple in his garage. Today Apple employs 49,000 workers. The government cannot centrally plan such entrepreneurial innovation. It can, however, encourage it.

Congress should resist the urge to “do something” about the economy and should instead ensure that what it does is constructive. Passing a third stimulus bill would increase the debt burden and fail as completely as the past two stimulus packages did. Congress should instead work to improve the business climate and remove barriers to business success.

Read more of Sherk’s paper Sluggish September for Job Creation at Heritage.org.