News
National Journal | Unemployment Extension Looks Murky as Congress Heads Toward Break
With their 17-day spring break beckoning at the end of the week, House and Senate lawmakers will have to scramble to reach agreement on restoring long-term unemployment insurance. But don't bet on such a deal blooming.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Fortune | America's young workers: Destined for failure?
They face a very different economy than their parents' generation, so simply working hard and getting a good education is no longer enough.
Real Clear Markets | Jobs Report Drives a Stake Through Unemployment Benefits
The 0.39 percentage point increase in labor force participation since extended benefits expired in December is the largest seen for any calendar quarter since 2Q1984. And, the increase in total employment (Household Survey) during the first quarter of 2014 was the biggest quarterly advance in 14 years.
FOX News | Here are 5 signs that the US job market may finally be accelerating after a brutal winter
Hiring over the past 12 months has outpaced population growth. More workers in the prime 25- to 54-year-old age group are finding jobs. The winter freeze was less destructive to hiring than had been assumed. Layoffs have declined since February. And an increase in hours worked suggest that incomes will rise.
Fortune | Why this is the jobs recovery for the 1%
This month's jobs report, which came out on Friday, showed that we have nearly regained all the jobs that were lost in the recession. That's good, I guess. But it's also depressing that it took six years to get back to where we were -- the longest period on record. Prosperity is supposed to increase over time, not just do loops. That's not the only good reason to still be worried about the health of our jobs market.
Market Watch | Why long-time unemployed can’t get back on track
Studies show that once a person is out of the job market for longer than six months, they face a slimmer chance of finding stable work. Only 11% of the long-term unemployed find permanent, full-time work a year later, according to a research paper by Alan Krueger and other economists from Princeton University. It’s more likely that those job seekers will find unsteady work, with 14% of job hunters finding part-time work and 11% landing temporary work more than a year after losing their jobs.
Mercatus | Labor Force Participation Improves
for Those Under 25 Years of Age
The US economy added 192,000 jobs in the month of March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate ticked up 0.2 points to 63.2 percent, though it remains well below pre-recession levels.
Blogs
CATO | Minimum Wage Solidarity Misplaced
Senate Democrats are anxious to bring the Minimum Wage Fairness Act (S. 1737) up for a vote to express their solidarity with “progressives.” That solidarity, however, is misplaced. The bill is not a panacea for the prosperity of low-skilled workers; it is anti-free market and immoral—based on coercion not consent.
