Employment News Jan. 10 - 14

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News
FRIDAY
Job Hunting? Hiring Is Up In These 5 Cities
Portland, Ore., Houston and Minneapolis Lead in Employment Opportunities
Major Indexes End Lower After Jobless Claims Climb
Stock indexes were lower for the first time in three days, as jobless claims climbed more than economists estimated and concern about a slowdown in Chinese demand dragged down commodity producers.

THURSDAY
Jobless claims climb by 35,000
The number of Americans filing for their first week of unemployment benefits jumped sharply last week, two weeks after hitting a 2-1/2 year low below 400,000.
New jobless claims rise to two-month high
Claims rose as retailers shed temporary holiday employees.
Tense time for workers, as career paths fade away
Although most economists expect the U.S. job market to register at least small gains this year, many Americans who have a job still fear losing it. Many who don't have a job fear they never will find one. And many in both camps worry that the recession, which officially ended a year and a half ago, speeded up inevitable changes in the workplace.

WEDNESDAY
5 states shrinking unemployment
Some states have been better than others at chipping away at their high unemployment rates. Here are five that have helped put their residents back to work.
The Trade Deficit and the Jobs Drought
The economy added 103,000 jobs in December but that was disappointing after recent surges in retail sales and business spending. Simply too many dollars Americans spend go to imports but don't return to buy U.S. exports, leaving too many Americans jobless, wages stagnant, and Federal and state governments with budget woes.
Job Openings Fall in Tough Market
There were fewer job openings in the U.S. in November as employers continued to hire only modestly, creating a fiercely competitive labor market for those searching for work.
Want to find a job? Nonprofit '.jobs' service seeks to revolutionize the search.
Hundreds of companies are teaming up with Monster founder Bill Warren to create the nonprofit '.jobs' job listing system. It aims to eliminate the middlemen for people who want to find a job.
Get ready for (slightly) fatter paychecks
The most obvious sign of the economic recovery may be in your paycheck.

TUESDAY
Business group: Regulation thwarts job growth
The head of one of the nation's top business organizations said Tuesday that the U.S. economy is "improving," but "regulatory roadblocks" stand in the way of job creation.
Ford Adds Jobs, Stokes Hope
7,500 hires could signal upward swing for U.S. auto industry.
Job Openings in U.S. Decrease for Third Time in Four Months
Job openings in the U.S. fell in November from the highest level in two years, signaling a sustained labor market recovery will take time to develop.
Job Bias Claims Set New Record on Disability Surge
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says charges of disability discrimination rose by about 17 percent to 25,165 claims. Overall, the agency received nearly 100,000 claims during the 2010 fiscal year, a 7 percent increase and the highest number in its 45-year history.

Economist Comments
TUESDAY
Downturn's Ugly Trademark: Steep, Lasting Drop in Wages
Part of the wage adjustment after a downturn rests on how much workers are willing to give up.

MONDAY
Weak Hiring Casts a Cloud
Unemployment Rate Drops Sharply to 9.4%, but Pace of Hiring Too Slow for Sustained Improvement.
False Positive, Unemployment Falls to 19-Month Low
At first glance, the drop in the unemployment rate from 9.8 percent to a 19-month low of 9.4 percent in December is encouraging. But additional economic indicators suggest the numbers, announced on Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, are neither sustainable nor particularly good news for the economy.

Blogs
THURSDAY
The Plight of the Marginal College Grad
More than one-third of current working graduates are in jobs that do not require a degree, and the proportion appears to be rising rapidly. I have reported on this research before, but this links to a longer paper on the subject.

WEDNESDAY
Secondary Sources: Dollar Dominance, 19.2% Unemployment, Forecasting
A roundup of economic news from around the Web.
Technological Unemployment: A Partial Equilibrium Example
One story of the 1930's, which I discussed recently, is that agricultural workers were displaced by tractors and other forms of mechanization. I find this an interesting story, and I went on to I post Who Will Write This Paper? to suggest that it could be formalized.
What’s the Unemployment Rate for Your Profession?
The U.S. unemployment rate averaged 9.6% in 2010, but there was a wide variation among occupations. Telemarketers, for example, had a 34.8% jobless rate, while locomotive engineers were in high demand with a 0.4% rate.
Sticky Wages and Long-Term Unemployment
There was an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal Tuesday by Sudeep Reddy on long-term unemployment that I thought did a good job of painting a picture of what happens during the bust phase of a business cycle. The article, “Downturn’s Ugly Trademark: Steep, Lasting Drop in Wages” deals with the problem of long-term structural unemployment I discussed in last week’s article, “What The Job Reports Mean.” My point is that there is insufficient “real” capital available for new growth, and thus unemployment is likely to remain high.
Thank You Mr. Graduate, I Will Have Fries with That!
The United States is facing a gigantic debt problem, as we all know. Governments at all levels have simply been spending too much, which most Republicans and Democrats now seem willing to concede. But don’t expect to hear the following from many members of either party: We need to stop spending taxpayer money on sending so many people to college! Indeed, President Obama has already said he’ll support spending cuts but not to education, and few Republicans have ever shown the willingness to flatly declare student aid a costly waste. And maybe they’re right. After all, doesn’t more college education necessarily translate into more productivity and prosperity?

MONDAY
The Effect of Unemployment Insurance on Unemployment
This is from Rob Valletta and Katherine Kuang, "Is Structural Unemployment on the Rise?", FRBSF Economic Letter, November 8, 2010. The article also addresses the effect of unemployment insurance on the unemployment rate, which I've discussed here
What The Job Reports Mean
Here is the wrap. The employment situation is still very bad. It brings up the specter of long-term structural employment in our economy. Job growth is still weak, buoyed by temp and health care workers. There are some positives in this report but job growth is still insufficient to overcome layoffs and a growing labor force. Some of the gains are technical in nature, and I expect unemployment to go up again in the next few months.

Reports
MONDAY
Heritage Employment Report: December Jobs Increases Slow but Steady
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the number of jobs increased by 103,000 in December and the unemployment rate fell sharply by 0.4 percent to 9.4 percent. While the payroll’s reported job growth was disappointing, the decline in the unemployment rate is a pleasant surprise. The sharp drop in the unemployment rate was due to a combination of workers exiting the labor force and strong job growth in the household survey.