News
Politico | 'It's just been a struggle forever'
Without their unemployment checks, many will abandon what had been a futile search and will no longer look for a job — an exodus that could dwarf the 347,000 Americans who stopped seeking work in December. Beneficiaries have been required to look for work to receive unemployment checks.
CNN Money | The real low-wage issue: Not enough hours
Low wages has become the raging issue of the day, sparking protests and discussions nationwide.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Real Clear Markets | The Bad Jobs Report Is Just Obama's 'New Normal'
There was considerable weeping and gnashing of teeth over the December "Employment Situation" report released by the BLS on Friday. Analysts were expecting 200,000 new payroll jobs, but they got only 74,000. Some called the "bad" unemployment report a "statistical anomaly."
Washington Times | Half an amnesty is still all bad
Jobs are scarce, and Congress is cooking up a scheme to make them scarcer. The Labor Department reported Friday that the economy created only 74,000 jobs in December, the lowest comparable number in three years, and half of those were part-time jobs. It’s bad out there, and getting worse. President Obama’s “recovery” is recovery with no jobs.
Fortune | Minimum wage campaigns' biggest losers? Tipped workers
A raise in the minimum base pay of tipped workers had been on the table when Governor Andrew Cuomo initially introduced his budget. But tipped workers were left out of the ultimate deal -- the victims of political wrangling, according to Michael Kink, executive director of The Strong Economic for All Coalition.
Mercatus | Updated: Comparison of BLS Alternative National Unemployment Rates
This week’s chart is an updated comparison of the different measurements of the unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). It includes new data on the official and alternative unemployment measurements for 2012 and 2013.
Blogs
WSJ | Real Jobs Gap Not Closing Any Time Soon
U.S. payrolls rebounded slowly in what was known as the jobless recovery following the 2001 recession. As late as 2003 the economy was adding an average of only 5,000 jobs a month. The total number of jobs in the U.S. hit a peak of about 138 million in January 2008, one month after the start of the most recent recession.
