Professional & Business Services Employees per Capita

Click to enlarge.

Surely we can get this to 6% if we give it one more shot! Just throw the whole kitchen sink at it Ben! For the love of all that is holy, do not taper! We need it all!

It peaked at 5.951% in November of 2000. Good times.

It peaked at 5.950% in May of 2007. What a party.

In July of 2013, it reached 5.872%. So close! At the rate it's climbing, it's practically a "sure thing" to breach 6% by June of 2014, although a new record could be set as early as February. There's only one Christmas season left between us and the ultimate goal! With nearly 19 million jobs at stake, what could possibly go wrong (again)?

There's nothing magical about the 6% barrier of course, other than the fact that we've failed to go through it twice so far. Maybe the third time's the charm? Or maybe it isn't? Who knows?

And as for 6%, I wake up every day thinking that for every 16 humans or so that I know (including babies and the elderly), at least one needs to be a professional & business services employee (accountant, lawyer, janitor, landscaper, groundskeeper, financial manager, office clerk, security guard, and so on). That's the only way our country can truly prosper. Never mind that we only needed about 1/3rd as many 60 years ago. Those were crazy times and not at all as prosperous as what we have now.

If we don't have very nice places for lawyers to do their lawyering and for financial managers to do their managerizing, then what will become of this great country of ours!

This is not investment advice.

See Also:
BLS: Industries at a Glance: Professional and Business Services

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Professional & Business Services Employees per Capita