News
CNN Money | Oklahoma bans local minimum wage hikes
Gov. Mary Fallin signed the measure Monday. The new law also bars localities from requiring that employees receive a certain number of sick or vacation days, either paid or unpaid.
Bloomberg | Tight Job Market in U.S. Cities Prompts Higher Pay
To hire 10 to 15 project coordinators this year, Sabre Commercial Inc. has boosted pay 10 percent and added a 401(k) retirement plan.
Econ Comments & Analysis
WSJ | Obama to Announce Targeted Job-Training Initiatives
The White House on Wednesday will announce $500 million in grants aimed at increasing coordination between community colleges and industry groups and another $100 million to expand access to apprenticeships to boost job training, administration officials said.
CRS | Returning to Full Employment: What Do the Indicators Tell Us?
Until recently, the economy and labor market were experiencing an unusually slow recovery from the longest and deepest recession since the Great Depression compared to other expansions since World War II. The rapid decline in the unemployment rate from 7.9% in January to 6.7% in December 2013 (where it remained in the first quarter of 2014) would seem to indicate that the labor market is returning to normal. The current unemployment rate is only 0.5 to 1.5 percentage points higher than the consensus range of full employment.
Blogs
Market Watch | Companies say it’s tougher to keep skilled employees, New York Fed survey finds
Here’s another sign that the labor market is tightening: A growing number of firms are finding it difficult to retain skilled workers.
WSJ | Recession’s Lingering Scars Could Include Lower Labor-Force Participation
The recession left deep scars on the U.S. economy, and two features of the lackluster recover – sluggish productivity growth and lower labor-force participation – may persist for years to come.
