News
Politico | Jobs growth steady, not great
A tepid jobs report on Friday showed the economic recovery has yet to turn the corner despite expectations among some economists and market watchers that robust jobs growth in March would put an end to several months of weak data.
Bloomberg | Long-Term Unemployed Make for Just as Strong Hires
People who have been out of work for an extended period, once hired, tend to be just as productive on the job as those with more typical work histories, according to an analysis of almost 20,000 employees.
Politico | Senate’s jobless aid vote delayed
Final approval of the Senate’s unemployment insurance proposal has been delayed until next week, as Democrats rejected Republicans’ request for a vote on their amendment.
National Journal | Don't Give Up on the Long-Term Unemployed
On Friday morning, another closely watched jobs report will tell us the number of new positions the economy has (or has not) created. That top-line figure usually receives most of the attention and news headlines. But buried within the data is a far more worrisome figure: the number of people out of work for more than six months. In February 2014, that statistic topped 3.8 million Americans, down from a high of 6.7 million in April 2010.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Forbes | Obama's Wage 'Compassion' Means Poor Face A Higher Effective Tax Rate Than 1 Percenters
President Obama and the Democrats continue to push for an increase in the minimum wage. Against much evidence that such a law is very ineffective at reducing poverty, the administration is still touting the benefits they claim would help millions of workers. Yet, it turns out that, for the sort of worker about whom we should be most concerned, such a policy actually benefits the federal government more than the worker.
Real Clear Markets | The Long-Lasting Damage Of a National Wage
Progressives are practically united in supporting an increase in the national minimum wage. The only disagreement is by how much: President Obama proposes raising the national minimum wage by almost 40% over the next few years to $10.10 per hour and indexing it to inflation thereafter.
Fortune | 3 reasons to worry about March's jobs report
Private sector jobs finally surpassed their previous peak in 2008, according to March's jobs report. The data bore some cheery news this morning, but it's hard to get too excited once we take a closer look.
Market Watch | For long-time unemployed, full-time work is elusive
On the 10th month of her job search, Lori DeSousa, who had been applying for marketing jobs, walked into her local Walgreens to ask about a part-time job as a cashier.
Blogs
WSJ | 5 Takeaways from the March Employment Report
Nonfarm payrolls grew by 192,000 in March, close to expectations. But the average for the first quarter of 2014 was just 178,000, below the 194,000 averaged in all of 2013. The latest employment report shows an economy that is adding jobs but not at a robust pace.
Heritage Foundation | March Jobs Report: No Change in Unemployment Rate
The sectors with strongest growth were food services and drinking places (+30,000) and temporary help services (+29,000). With additions in these lower-wage sectors, the average wage ticked down a penny, giving back part of last month’s strong 9-cent gain. The best news in the report was that the labor force participation rate ticked up 0.2 percent, the employment rate rose slightly, and the average workweek recovered from a winter decline.
