US employers say Obama’s jobs plan won’t spur hiring

The plan failed to generate any optimism on Wall Street as the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index and the Dow Jones industrial average each fell about 2.7 per cent. As President Obama faced an uphill battle in Congress to win support even for portions of the plan,many employers dismissed the notion that any particular tax break or incentive would be persuasive. Instead,they said they tended to hire more workers or expand when the economy improved.

Companies are focused on jittery consumer confidence,an unstable stock market,perceived obstacles to business expansion like government regulation and,above all,swings in demand for their products.

“You still need to have the business need to hire,” said Jeffery Braverman,owner of Nutsonline,an e-commerce company in Cranford,NJ,that sells nuts and dried fruit. While a $4,000 credit could offset the cost of the company’s lowest-cost health insurance plan,he said,it would not spur him to hire someone. “Business demand is what drives hiring,” he said.

Indeed,the industries that are hiring workers now — like technology and energy — are those where business is strong,in contrast to the overall economy.