Imagine having your hands in so many industries that it’s possible to point to specific first-hand references when speaking of the nation’s economic condition—right down to the sale of machinery parts.
So it goes with Warren Buffett, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. While interviewed on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Buffett says he first noticed an economic slowdown when Berkshire’s business of “little tiny punching tools or cutting tools” (called ISCAR Metalworking) fell off, signaling a decline in manufacturing.
Buffett’s says the global economy has “some slowing going on," but "if you're out hustling, you can find business."
The U.S., he says, is “certainly better than it is in Europe.”
“We’re still inching ahead, but it’s inching,” Buffett adds. "The U.S. gets a little bit better every day."
Buffett spoke to CNBC from Columbus, Ohio at the GE Capital Middle-Market Summit at Ohio State University. He says Berkshire has dozens of middle-market companies, and speaking specifically about job growth in this sector, Buffett says Berkshire-owned companies will likely add 8,000 jobs organically this year and another 10,000 to 15,000 via acquisitions.
The billionaire expects his prized auto insurer Geico to be one of those companies because they need more people to handle the additional policies he says the insurer is writing.
Growth in housing, albeit small, has also resulted in more jobs, says Buffett.
“Our Clayton Homes (the largest maker of manufactured housing in the U.S.) is going to produce something like 15 percent more homes this year, and that takes more people,” he says, adding that his furniture, carpet and brick businesses are also doing well.
“You hire people when you start seeing demand,” Buffett says. “And you’re seeing more demand.”
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