Happy New Year!
During the last six months of 2003, economic forecasters and the stock market heralded stronger growth. Finally, there is evidence that their predictions are coming true. Consumer confidence and consumer spending are increasing, industrial production is up, and defense spending is booming. Another key indicator, the stock market, is rising steadily. The Dow recently surpassed 10,000 – a "psychological" benchmark. Nevertheless, the real question remains: will economic gains continue into 2004 and beyond or will it fizzle out?
A rebound and sustained growth in business spending holds the key to continuous recovery, which in turn leads to job creation and rising incomes. In addition, the large cash-out mortgage refinancings of 2003 put a lot of money in consumers’ pockets. For conservative investors, the benefits of lower monthly mortgages include accruing savings and investments. I expect that the pent-up demand for goods and services, both in the consumer and corporate sectors, will create a spending boom. As demand grows, supply will need to grow, resulting in an increase in employment levels.
As evidenced in 2003, a "jobless recovery" is an economic hardship for a large number of people. But, what is the probability of this trend continuing in 2004? Unless consumer confidence dips radically and spending dries up, we should expect slow but steady economic growth. This would be the best holiday gift to us all.
The PMI Mass Bay Chapter is very aware of the employment challenges many of our members currently face. This month, the Chapter is launching an aggressive Corporate Relations program, which includes visiting local employers to promote PMI and the practice of project management. One of my personal goals with the companies we visit is to heighten awareness of the merits of hiring PMP’s as project managers. Another goal is to cultivate stronger relationships with local companies and encourage them to forward their job leads to the Chapter. We will communicate these opportunities to Chapter members via the existing Career Referral Network.
The Chapter also remains committed to collecting as much member input as possible. We want to understand your needs so we can develop programs and services that add value to your membership. Therefore, a member feedback campaign will kick off in January with a survey, followed by a series of focus groups and one-on-one conversations. We look forward to hearing from you.
Warmest Regards,
