News
Bloomberg | Payrolls in U.S. Rise Less Than Forecast; Jobless 7.3%
Payrolls in the U.S. climbed less than projected in August and gains in the prior two months were revised down, indicating companies are being deliberate in their hiring as they wait for a pickup in demand. The unemployment rate unexpectedly fell as more people left the labor force.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Fiscal Times | 5 Reasons to Pore Over Friday’s Mega Jobs Report
The two headline numbers – unemployment rate and job gains – are treated as perpetual game changers for the economy and politics. Stock market traders nervously anticipate the report on the first Friday of every month, while journalists pore over the numbers, searching for a story. Last year, President Obama’s re-election chances even hinged at times, it seemed, on the monthly figures. - See more at: http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2013/09/05/5-Reasons-to-Pore-Over-Fridays-Mega-Jobs-Report#sthash.ketP0Zkz.dpuf
Fortune | Energy's unexpected jobs boom
The rapid rise in shale gas and tight oil in the United States constitutes nothing less than a revolution in oil and natural gas. No longer can there be any doubt about the dramatic change in America's energy position. U.S. oil production is up 50% since 2008, when we were supposedly slated to run out of oil. Natural gas production has increased by 33% since 2005, and shale gas alone now constitutes about 45% of total natural gas production.
Mercatus | Worrisome Labor Participation Rate Underscores Job Market Concerns
Although the U.S. unemployment rate fell slightly to 7.3 percent in the month of August, the decline was the result of fewer people actively looking for work, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Mercatus Center senior research fellow Keith Hall, a former commissioner of the BLS, says that today's report raises a number of concerns about the health of the job market.
Heritage Foundation | Not Looking for Work: Why Labor Force Participation Has Fallen During the Recession
The American economy is experiencing the slowest recovery in 70 years. In addition to persistently high unemployment, labor force participation has fallen sharply since the recession began in December 2007.
Blogs
WSJ | Unemployment Rate Drops for Wrong Reasons
The U.S. unemployment rate dropped 0.1 percentage point to 7.3% in August and a broader measure of unemployment fell to 13.7% from 14%, but the declines came from the wrong reasons.
WSJ | Five Takeaways From August Jobs Report
Bad news all around. There’s no way to sugarcoat it: This was a lousy jobs report. Taken on its own, 169,000 jobs isn’t terrible—ever-so-slightly worse than expectations, and a bit slower than the average pace over the past year. But don’t let the headline fool you.
