News
FOX News | Government union membership climbs while private membership declines
Unions representing government workers are expanding while organized labor has been shedding private sector members over the past half-century. A majority of union members today now have ties to a government entity, at the federal, state or local levels.
Market Watch | We’re in the midst of the longest job-growth streak
Today’s employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) continues 2014’s streak of good news, as the U.S. is finally digging out of the crater the recession put in the job market.
WSJ | As Jobs Surge, Hurdles Linger
The U.S. economic expansion is entering its sixth year with the best stretch of job growth in almost a decade. Beneath the shiny exterior, however, lurk soft patches that worry economists and policy makers.
Econ Comments & Analysis
WSJ | Who Really Gets the Minimum Wage
The president and others argue that a higher minimum wage is needed to help poor and low-income families, who have suffered from stagnating wages and rising income inequality. But a higher minimum wage would do little for such families.
Real Clear Markets | Unemployment Numbers Warn of Growing Entitlement Burden
The U.S. economy this spring finally reached an employment number equal to the pre-recession peak. The time to recover the employment lost in a recession was a record and long-term unemployment is still at unprecedented levels. Yet the official unemployment rate is at a fairly low level of 6.1 percent.
Forbes | For More Jobs, We Need Faster Growth
In response to Thursday’s “Employment Situation” report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), a commentator named Justin Wolfers tweeted, “There is simply no bad news in this jobs report. Go on, dig into the detail, and see if you can find it. I dare you.”
Real Clear Markets | The Unemployment Rate Should Lose Its Job
Recent economic headlines have probably left you scratching your head. Last week, we learned that GDP decreased by an alarming 2.9% in the first quarter, continuing a trend of weak growth since the end of the recession in 2009. Normally, this means that unemployment should be getting worse, or at least not improving much. And yet, the BLS reported last Thursday that the unemployment rate fell again in June. It's now 1.4 percent lower than it was at this time last year, suggesting the economy is strengthening.
Daily Signal | Teens Need Summer Jobs. Too Bad There Aren’t Many.
School’s out, and I’m terrified my two teenage boys won’t get a job this summer and will sit around watching TV, playing computer games or just eating me out of house and home. Idle hands really are the devil’s workshop, and at this stage, I’d pay an employer to get the kids out of the house and teach them some practical lifetime skills.
Blogs
WSJ | 5 Takeaways from the June Employment Report
Businesses and governments went on a hiring spree in June. The 288,000 jump in nonfarm jobs signals a strong economic end to a first half that started the year shivering in frigid temperatures. Here are five items in the June payrolls report that have implications for 2014’s second half.
