News
Wall Street Journal | Job Market Looks Ripe for Liftoff
The best three-month stretch of hiring since 1997 has positioned the U.S. labor market to start delivering stronger wage growth for a wider swath of Americans after more than five years of sluggish recovery from a deep recession.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Forbes | The 'Real Unemployment Rate' Vs. The Spin: Where's The News Here?
Let me begin with this disclaimer: we pollsters are not a gracious lot. Picture a faculty review committee discussing merit pay or tenure. We are competitive, sanctimonious, and altogether not a very nice bunch of people. With that said, I am compelled to comment on the recent statements by Jim Clifton, longtime CEO of Gallup, on the “real unemployment rate.” In short, Clifton penned an op-ed on the company website referring to the “big lie” of the official Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly unemployment rate. The 5.7% rate for January he says is woefully inadequate and does not take into account part-time workers, those earning $20 a week, those underemployed, and the hundreds of thousands of others who have simply given up looking for work. The real unemployment is much larger – at least double the official rate, and probably higher.
