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Friday, November 19, 2010

Employment News Nov.15-19



News
FRIDAY
House fails to extend unemployment benefits
The House failed Thursday to pass a bill that would have given the unemployed three more months to file for extended jobless benefits.
WH report: Stimulus law boosted economy, jobs
President Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advisers issued a report Thursday concluding that the contentious law that targeted the recession has been a significant factor in the recovery.
Few Businesses Sprout, With Even Fewer Jobs
Fewer new businesses are getting off the ground in the U.S., available data suggest, a development that could cloud the prospects for job growth and innovation.
Wanted: More Than 2,000, in Google Hiring Spree
The world's largest Internet search engine, whose finance chief told investors in September that the Internet industry was waging a "war for talent," has job openings listed for 2,076 positions on its website, according to a Reuters tally Thursday.
Jobless Claims Tick up; But Near Two Year Low
The number of people applying for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week, offering some hope that the job market may be improving. But claims need to fall further to bring down the 9.6 percent unemployment rate.

THURSDAY
Jobless claims climb 2,000 to 439,000
The number of workers who filed new claims for unemployment benefits rose 2,000 last week to 439,000, reflecting little change in nationwide hiring, according to the latest government data.
Oregon gets 7,600 more jobs, biggest one-month gain in years
The numbers released today show strong hiring by universities, to handle increased enrollment, and by schools, retailers, hospitals and providers of nursing and residential care.
Unemployment benefits extension introduced in House
The unemployed would have three more months to file for extended jobless benefits under a bill introduced in the House Wednesday. The legislation would extend the deadline to file for federal unemployment benefits to Feb. 28, sparing 4 million people from falling off the rolls. The deadline is now Nov. 30.

TUESDAY
What it really takes to get unemployment down
The harsh reality is that it will take tremendous growth in the GDP even to make a small dent in the unemployment rate.
Spending Worries Put Jobless Benefits at Risk
Congress is unlikely to agree to extend jobless benefits for two million unemployed workers by the time the program begins to lapse in two weeks, as lawmakers struggle with a packed lame-duck session and voter antipathy toward government spending.

Economists Comments
FRIDAY
Biden: Unemployment Benefits Vote Was a 'Gigantic Mistake'
In a live interview on MSNBC’s Morning Joe today, Vice President Joe Biden called Congress’ failure to extend unemployment insurance a “gigantic mistake,” reviewed the administration’s plans for Afghanistan, and expressed confidence that the stalled New START treaty would win Senate approval.
Strangling innovation and job creation with red tape
The next two years will be a critical time to see whether all the promises of a more transparent America are realized. If not, maybe it is time to create an entrepreneurs party, where wealth and value creation are prized above rule manipulation and influence peddling.

THURSDAY
'Fair Pay,' Fewer Jobs
Democrats in Congress seem to have misconstrued the lame-duck session as one last chance to do tangible economic harm, so we should thank Senate Republicans for their public service yesterday in killing the White House priority of the "paycheck fairness" bill.

WEDNESDAY
Industrialization and Its Discontents
After a couple of decades of urging the Americans to overlook their anti-trade biases, the Chinese are going to have to adjust to the same discomforts.

Blogs
FRIDAY
Will it ever get better?
The downside of a poorly designed stimulus is that it creates more distortions in the market, does nothing to address structural unemployment and delays a market adjustment. Policymakers must pick their poison.
When Labor Is Capital, Why Push Labor Away?
In an era when, as Arnold Kling puts it, labor is capital, government policies are pushing capital away from our shores. Here’s an area ripe for reform. If either political party is serious about economic growth, it will take the lead on high-skill immigration reform.
Q3: Quarterly Housing Starts and Unemployment
This week the Census Bureau released the "Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design" report for Q3 2010. Although this data is Not Seasonally Adjusted (NSA), it shows the trends for several key housing categories.

WEDNESDAY
Despite Stimulus, 6 Million Benefit-Paying Jobs Vanish in One Year
Based on population growth, and even factoring in the number of retirees, the US should have gained about 1 million jobs.

TUESDAY
Obamacare Accelerates Hospital Job Losses
Repeatedly, reports have shown that Obamacare will increase job loss.  But what happens when those who are laid off are the workers meant to enable the health care law’s expanded access of care: namely, hospital employees?
Philly Fed Survey of Economists Sees Unemployment Rate Still Near 8% in 2013
Economists in a long-running survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia have cut their estimates of growth and see high rates of unemployment enduring for years to come.

MONDAY
Drilling Permitorium Continues
Although Congress lifted the ban on deepwater drilling in October and drillers are eager to return to work, the government still has not issued any permits. And the news is unlikely to improve much next year.
Number of the Week: More Entrepreneurs, Fewer Jobs
More Americans are going into business for themselves, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be creating jobs for others.
The Skyrocketing Compensation of Federal Employees
USA Today reports on the growing disconnect between the compensation of federal government employees and everyone else:
Labor Force Participation Trends, Over 55 Age Groups
On Thursday I asked: What will happen to the Labor Force Participation Rate? The graphs tell all.

Reports
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