U.S. still strong at crafting jobs

The ability of America's entrepreneurial economy to create new jobs is nothing less than phenomenal.

More than 22 million jobs have been created since 1980, and more than 2.2 million during the 1988-90 period, according to a new study by the Center for the New West and Cognetics Inc., a group affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that specializes in the role of small business in the U.S. economy.

While economists and politicians debate recession, the economy has been performing strongly on the job-creation front as we move into the last decade of the 20th century. In fact, jobs expanded at a healthy clip nationally since 1988, but especially in the western United States.

The U.S. has more than eight million private enterprises. These companies employ more than 87 million people.

Most of these people - more than 75% - work in small enterprises with fewer than 100 employees. About 52% work in enterprises with one to 19 employees; about 25% work in establishments with 20 to 99 employees. Only 23% of Americans work in enterprises of 100 employees or more.

More than nine out of 10 of these enterprises are locally owned. Only 8% are headquartered out of state. Yet the non-locally owned enterprises, because they tend to be larger, account for nearly 20% of the nation's employment.

The study also shows that, contrary to popular opinion, the new jobs are not primarily lower wage, fast-food-type jobs. In fact, during the past two years, more than 20% (402,264) of our 2.2 million net new jobs are in general manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing.

The pace of new-job creations keeps total manufacturing employment at around 20 million, about the same level it has been for 45 years. Although the percentage of workers in manufacturing has plummeted over the same period because of unprecedented job creation in other sectors, the absolute number of manufacturing jobs has remained the same.

While more than 900,000 new jobs are in services, most (604,892) are in the higher-wage business and professional services, software, and advertising. Only 342,397 are in lower-wage general services category. These include hotel and motel services, dry cleaning, coin-operated laundries, barbers and other personal services.

Allegations that the U.S. economy is losing its manufacturing prowess and its capacity to generate "family wage" jobs ought to be reexamined with some skepticism.

In truth, it's the federal government, not the economy, that is on the ropes, because of the failure of Congress to control its insatiable appetite for spending.

The failure of the federal government to keep its fiscal house in order is damaging an otherwise vital and innovative domestic economy, now at risk, owing to the profligacy of unbridled federal spending.