News
Market Watch | Jobless claims near post-recession low
The number of people applying for U.S. unemployment benefits sank last week to the second-lowest level since the recession ended in mid-2009, suggesting continued improvement in a labor market that’s perked up in the early spring.
Blogs
WSJ | Labor Market Improving Across U.S. Cities — Except in Alabama
The labor market improved over the last year in most of the nation’s largest cities, following the national trend. But 11 metropolitan areas experienced increases in their jobless rates — and almost all of them, it turns out, were in Alabama.
WSJ | For Job Security, Abstract and Manual Skills are Best
Building off of work done by other labor economists, two researchers at the Federal Reserve of Cleveland, Murat Tasci and Jessica Ice, looked at how jobs with different skill sets performed during the Great Recession and weak recovery. The bottom line: jobs with routinized skills were hit hardest during the downturn and have been the slowest to recover.
WSJ | 7 Million People Earn America’s Other Minimum Wage: $23,660
The U.S. has a minimum wage of $7.25 an hour for most types of work. Another, lesser known minimum-wage threshold is $23,660 a year. That’s the minimum an employer can pay workers and avoid requirements to pay them overtime.
