Pages

Monday, July 9, 2012

Employment

News                                                                                                                             
CNN Money | African-American jobless rate surges
As the overall U.S. unemployment rate stayed at 8.2% in June, the rate among black Americans rose nearly a full percentage point.
WSJ | Weak Labor Report Fans Fears
The U.S. economy posted its third consecutive month of weak job growth, complicating President Barack Obama's reelection prospects and turning up the pressure on the Federal Reserve to do more to help the economy.
CNN Money | Fiscal cliff cloud hangs over jobs
House Republicans blame the disappointing June jobs report on President Obama's "failed policies." Senate Democrats blame Republicans for engaging in "empty, partisan exercises that will not create one job."
Washington Times | Obama: June jobs report is ‘a step in the right direction’
President Obama portrayed a disappointing jobs report — just 80,000 added to the payrolls in June — as “a step in the right direction,” during a campaign stop in Ohio Friday.
WSJ | Canada Created More Jobs Than Expected in June
The Canadian economy created more net new jobs than expected in June for the fourth straight month, and the unemployment rate dropped unexpectedly as fewer people looked for work.
CNN Money | Overpaid unemployment benefits top $14 billion
Don't spend that unemployment check too fast. The government might ask you to pay it back.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
CNN Money | Why are we surprised by bad jobs numbers?
For those of you who remember what vinyl records are, they tend to play the same spot of a song over and over and over again when they are broken. With that in mind, have I ever mentioned to you before that this is a barbecue recovery?
Fortune | Why American workers are worse off today
At 8.2%, June's unemployment rate is slightly lower than January's 8.3%, but workers aren't better off.
Investors | 10 reasons why jobs market even worse than weak June employment report
Nonfarm payrolls rose by just 80,000 in June, slightly worse than expected and the third straight month of sub-100,000 job growth. The jobless rate held at 8.2%. The employment report was disappointing. Here are 10 reasons why the jobs market is even worse than the headline figures.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
WSJ | Worst Quarter for Jobs Growth Since 2010
America’s job market hasn’t been this feeble since the economy started adding jobs regularly two years ago.
Calculated Risk | Employment Report Graphs: Participation Rate, Duration of Unemployment and Diffusion Indexes
Below are three more graphs based on the June employment report.
Political Calculations | The Brightest Spot in the June 2012 Jobs Report
If the major headlines posted on Google News on Friday, 6 July 2012 are any indication, the June 2012 Employment Situation Report for the United States was "tepid" at best, and "dismal" at worst.
WSJ | Jobs Slowdown Looks Less Severe Without Seasonal Adjustments
The slowdown in U.S. jobs growth is real, but may not be as quite severe as recent dismal headline figures suggest.
Daily Capitalist | No Jobs: The Result of Wizard of Oz Economics
Recent economic data, and especially today’s unemployment numbers reveal the powerlessness of the Fed in the face of underlying economic problems that they fail to understand.
Calculated Risk | Percent Job Losses: Great Recession and Great Depression
The causes of the Great Recession were similar to the Great Depression - as opposed to most post war recessions that were caused by Fed tightening to slow inflation - and I'm frequently asked if we could compare the percent job losses during the two periods. Unfortunately there is very little data for the Great Depression.
WSJ | Broader Jobless Rate Ticks Up to 14.9%
The U.S. unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.2% in June but a broader measure rose to 14.9% as the ranks of the underemployed grew.
AEI | The chart that shows the private sector is not ‘doing fine’
You can say what you want about cuts in government hiring, but the private sector is not “doing fine” as President Obama has suggested. Private-sector job growth continues to be sluggish at best, having downshifted significantly from earlier this year.
WSJ | Federal Job Cuts Outpacing State, Local Reductions
The slump in state and local government jobs, which has dragged on job growth throughout the recovery, has started to wane. The new drag: A more austere federal government.