When U.S. corporations talk about job creation, the supportive and the unemployed better listen closely to the details — or the lack thereof. Companies may be hiring but the openings may not be in the U.S.
The Washington Post reported that some of America's most respected companies, such as AT&T, Proctor & Gamble, and Apple. are shielding data that show how many people they employ at home versus abroad, raising questions about tax breaks for job creation.
"So secretive are these companies that they hand the figure over to government statisticians on the condition that officials will release only an aggregate number," the Post reported. "The latest data show that multinationals cut 2.9 million jobs in the United States and added 2.4 million overseas between 2000 and 2009."
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After the Post exposed the untruth in that statement, Fox acknowledged the company did track the data. "The number of U.S. employees is 35,000 out of 127,000 total, or 28 percent," the Post reports.
Foreign consumption of American products is growing and overseas markets are where many corporations see the brightest growth potential.
For example, CNN Money reports that in 1998, the average Chinese consumer drank only eight Coke products a year. Now, they drink more than 30. As a result, Coca-Cola's Chinese labor force has grown to nearly half the size of its American labor force.
The number of Americans who are unemployed is one of the top issues in the nation. But the secrecy of this jobs data is important for another reason.
As the Post points out, Apple and Pfizer are two examples of corporations that aren't providing a breakdown of where their work force is but they are requesting tax cuts for job creation.
Corporate tax rates are being highlighted as one of the barriers to correcting the employment situation in the U.S.
"In 2010, General Electric, the largest corporation in the United States, reported profits of $14.2 billion," the Sun-Sentinel reports. "But its U.S. tax bill was zero. Most of its profits are offshore and are not taxable until they are repatriated."
"A high corporate tax rate moves jobs overseas," the paper says, further noting that "American companies are sitting on more than $2 trillion of cash overseas, which is used for hiring and investments in foreign operations."
This creates a dilemma for the Obama administration, which is under pressure to do something to get people back to work. However, if corporate taxes are cut and domestic job growth doesn't occur, it is likely to appear that the government is simply doing more catering to those who don't need it.
"Experts say that without details on which companies are contributing to job growth and which are not, policymakers risk flying blind as they try to jump-start the hiring of American workers," the Post reports.
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