News
WSJ | Jobs Open, but Filling Them Slows Down
Since December, the economy has added about 130,000 jobs a month, barely more than what is needed to keep up with population growth, according to the U.S. Labor Department. Meanwhile, the number of job openings advertised online has grown by more than 400,000, to 4.2 million, according to the Conference Board, a research organization. That increase continued a trend that began in the spring of 2009.
Econ Comments
Real Clear Markets | The Unemployment Decrease Is An Aberration
A closer look at the recent decline, however, shows it to be an aberration.
Minyanville | Reflections on the BLS Jobs Report
This was a solid jobs report -- not as measured by the typical recovery, but definitely one of the better reports seen in years. But will it stay this good?
Blogs
The Economist: Free Exchange | The new new normal
Many economists will say that 127,500 is just a neutral number, only enouhg to keep up with population growth. This, then, is the new normal: an economy that grows only fast enough to keep enemployment from rising, not strong enough to create the jobs needed to bring unemployment down.
Calculated Risk | Duration of Unemployment, Unemployment by Education, Diffusion Indexes
What we want is a large number of high paying jobs added each month, spread across many industries. What we got was some improvement in jobs added, although not high paying jobs - but fairly widespread.
WSJ: Real Time Economics | Tale of Two Jobs Surveys
By one measure the labor market is much stronger than the gain of 192,000 nonfarm jobs in February suggests.
Econlog | The Great Substitution
One point about the Great Substitution of leisure for work is that leisure excapes taxation. That raises all sorts of issues.
WSJ: Real Time Economics | Number of the Week: Workers Not Benefiting From Productivity Gains
The labor market may be improving, but U.S. workers have yet to share much in the productivity and profits they’ve helped generate during the recovery.
Calculated Risk | Participation Rate Update
I've been expecting some small bounce back in the participation rate, but my guess last year was probably too high. I know some analysts who think that it will just stay flat for a few years before declining again. This will be a key number to watch over the next few years.
WSJ: Real Time Economics | Jobless Rate Drop: It’s for Real — Mostly
The unemployment rate dropped for the third consecutive month in February, and for the most part it’s the result of more people being hired, though workers dropping out of the labor force remains a concern.
