Phony good news? Yes, jobs are being added. But an 11 year high? The facts presented in the article simply don't support the conclusion of the headline.
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Headline: "Building group: Metro Detroit construction jobs at 11-year high"
Opening: "In a glimmer of good news on the economy, a major building group, the Associated General Contractors, said today that construction jobs have reached an 11-year high in metro Detroit.
The metro area added 1,800 construction jobs in the 12 months ending June 30, AGC said....“From a construction point of view, it looks like this area’s long slump has finally come to an end.”
Final paragraph: "Prior to the real estate crash, Michigan construction firms employed around 190,000 workers. That dipped to under 120,000 by June 2010, but has climbed back to around 130,000 today, according to last month’s report from the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget."
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WHOA! Read those totals: the "11-year high" is 60,000 jobs BELOW the peak before the real estate crash. This is typical of media outlets like this: cheer-leading with phony conclusions that mislead. Why would the editors make up phony conclusions? Good question.
Sure, we all know more jobs are a good thing. But the reality is starkly different, which makes me wonder if the Detroit Free Press editors consider themselves to belong to the "reality based" community. Maybe they think members of the tea parties are terrorists, too.
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Link to article: http://www.freep.com/article/20110802/BUSINESS06/110802033/Building-group-Metro-Detroit-construction-jobs-11-year-high-?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|s
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