We are in the Great Recession...and our front wheels are not reaching the plateau. Poverty is growing, and what we're seeing in upstate NY, at one bike shop, is across the country, a financial strife in all fields. We all feel a sense of connection with the bike brand, and the folks from the shop.
Without minimizing, or distracting, here's some data points below for reference; while data can be debated...what is clear...is this bike market is an example of the overall economy. Out of the chaos, it may require time, but if we take Mr. Kirk and Mr. Bedford as examples, those within Serotta (or what's left of it), those who may have left, or been fired, may be able to look back at this as a launching pad to something bigger, better, or simply more gratifying:
"The official unemployment rate is 7.6%, but the real number is actually about twice that. A statistic known as the U-6 figure includes the unemployed, plus those “marginally attached” to the labor force (they want a job but have largely given up looking), plus those working part-time but who want a full-time job. The U-6 number for June 2013 was a resounding 14.3%, up half a percentage point from May. Fewer working-age Americans are working than at any time in the past 30 years. The employment-to-population ratio is 58.7% according to the Department of Labor, a drop from 63% five years ago, before the recession hit.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more Americans are working part-time involuntarily. These part-timers now number more than 8.2 million, which is an increase of 322,000 workers from May and almost double the number this time five years ago. Also, a July National Employment Law Project (NELP) study concluded that real median hourly wages declined by 2.8% averaged across all occupations from 2009 to 2012."
Note: "China’s economy will grow around 7.5% this year, with industrial production set to rise by around 9%."
http://electronicdesign.com/trends-a...&sfvc4enews=42