Economists See Rebound, Workers Waiting
Dec. 30 -- In the 10 months since Kathe Cronin was laid off from Sprint Corp.,she's come up empty trying to replace the $52,000 salary, three weeks paid vacation and the self-confidence she lost along with the job.
So the cubicle veteran changed course, signing on this fall at ajust-hatched subdivision near her home in Harrisonville, Mo., and staking her economic bets on a newly issued real estate license. Still, her first check — no salary, just sales commission — is probably months away.
"As far as the economic recovery for me, I haven't seen it," saysCronin, whose worksite now is a handful of half-built homes edged by cow pasture. "But if I just can just hold on and make it through this crunch …."
Cronin's uncertainty says a lot about the economy and the people whomake it work as 2003 nears an end.
After almost three years of painful job cuts, factory closings andthin corporate profits, this was the year the battered economy finally began to come back.
But many of the workers and businesses hit hardest by the downturncan only visualize a rebound. Even some who have seen a pickup in their fortunes remain doubtful about whether the turnaround can sustain itself.
Recovery Not Felt on ‘Main Street’ USA
For scores still out of work, even those looking ahead to a careerchange, the talk of an economic recovery is as credible as a mirage.
"You've heard the term fuzzy logic? I think that's what we'regetting from these economists," says Michael Williams of Portsmouth, N.H., a software developer who has been stringing together contract work since losing his full-time job in March of last year. "And you're getting it from employed economists, not the ones (jobless workers) who have been out there for a while."
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