News
Politico | White House unemployment benefits push kicks into high gear
President Barack Obama returns from his Hawaii holiday toting a familiar message — blame the Republicans — as the White House and its allies launch a fresh weeklong effort to spotlight Congress’s failure to renew long-term unemployment benefits.
CNN Money | Millennials turn up heat against low wages
Stuck in low-wage or part-time jobs with mountains of student loans to pay off, the generation that came of age in the new millennium finds itself in a hopeless situation. Despite being better educated than previous generations, many young people are shut out of the middle class with no road map of how to get there.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Politico | Closing the Skills Gap
Today, nearly 11 million Americans are unemployed. Yet, at the same time, 4 million jobs sit unfilled. This is the “skills gap”—the gulf between the skills job seekers currently have and the skills employers need to fill their open positions.
Gallup Poll | U.S. Job Creation Steady in December
Gallup's Job Creation Index again dipped below +20 in December, after several months of meeting or passing that threshold. Still, December's +19 index score matches October's and is an improvement over where the index stood in the first quarter of 2013.
Blogs
Calculated Risk | Extended unemployment benefits
Only one-third of voters believe Congress should allow federal jobless aid to end this week. By a strong 21-point margin, voters say Congress should act to maintain (55%) rather than cut off (34%) these benefits.
