unemployment rate

Posted Wed, 09/23/2009 - 18:05 by chuck

June Jobs Report -- More Bad News Dressed Up to Look Good

Posted Fri, 07/02/2010 - 09:27 by chuck

The Bureau of Labor Statistics realeased its June, 2010, jobs report, which clearly shows a worsening employment situation, even though the official unemployment rate dropped to 9.5 percent.

Total non-farm employment dropped by 125,000 thanks to the layoffs of temporary census workers. The private sector added 83,000 jobs -- good news and likely the angle the media will play up.

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Tough Questions About the April 2010 Jobs Report

Posted Fri, 05/07/2010 - 10:28 by chuck

Troubling inconsistencies in seemingly good news

The Labor Department's monthly jobs report shows that the economy added 290,000 jobs in April. Only 66,000 of those were temporary Census jobs, another 26,000 were jobs through temp services. If the statistics are to be believed, (another story altogether) it was an impressive month with a gain of 202,000 "permanent" jobs.

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Great News: March Jobs Report Shows Growth!

Posted Fri, 04/02/2010 - 09:07 by chuck

According to the March jobs report released by the U.S. Department of Labor, the economy added more jobs (162,000) in March than in any other month for the past three years. This is only small progress since the economy needs to add 70 times that many jobs just to get back to where we were in 2007, but it is a huge step in the right direction. If this continues for a few more months, I will be prepared to say that the recession is over (even though a lot of folks will still be out of work for a while).

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Unemployment Rate Drops to 9.7 Percent as 20,000 Jobs Lost

Posted Sat, 02/06/2010 - 12:30 by chuck

The front cover of The New York Times today almost made me want to buy the paper. Then I realized that I didn't have two bucks in my pocket and hurried home to the computer to read it online. If I had had two bucks, I probably would have blown it on the paper -- the news was that exciting.

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Georgia Expected to Report Near-record Unemployment Rate

Posted Tue, 01/19/2010 - 18:51 by chuck

Location

Columbus, GA
United States

WTVM of Columbus, Georgia, reports that the numbers to be announced Thursday in Georgia will show the highest rate of unemployment ever recorded in that state. The only surprise here is that it took so long into this endless recession for Georgia to reach this point.

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New Jersey Unemployment Rate Falls

Posted Thu, 11/19/2009 - 08:24 by chuck

Garden State loses 1,800 net jobs but unemployment rate falls slightly

In yet another sign that the unemployment rate is a totally meaningless statistic in the real world, New Jersey's unemployment rate fell slightly in October to 9.7 percent from September's 9.8 percent.

The interesting thing about this is that both employment and unemployment fell. The state shed 4,400 private sector jobs and gained 2,600 government jobs. Maybe my arithmetic skills are falling off with old age, but according to my calculations that adds up to a net loss of 1,800 jobs.

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U.S. Unemployment Rate Cracks Double Digits

Posted Fri, 11/06/2009 - 11:57 by chuck

You have probably already heard the news that the U.S. unemployment rate finally rose above 10 percent to 10.2 percent. This was much higher than the 9.9 percent that economists had predicted.
unemployed angry
To me this number is meaningless except as a psychological reminder. To me the "numbers" that matter are the uncounted millions of people affected by this social disease. Of more concern to me than the grossly deflated official unemployment rate are the 190,000 jobs that were lost in October. That's 190,000 households hit, 190,000 more sh*tty holidays, 190,000 more competing for the few (if any) jobs that are available, 190,000 more people to become depressed -- 190,000 lives (plus their families) turned upside down.

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Current Unemployment Rate Just One Consideration for FOMC

Posted Mon, 11/02/2009 - 10:05 by chuck

The Federal Open Market Committee will meet on November 3-4, 2009, to discuss U.S. monetary policy. The main course on the table will be whether or not to recommend that the Federal Reserve raise the Federal Funds Rate or keep interest rates at their current low levels. It is expected that monetary policy will remain largely unchanged after this meeting.

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Las Vegas Unemployment Rate Hits 13.9 Percent

Posted Mon, 10/19/2009 - 20:04 by chuck

Location

Las Vegas, NV
United States

This just in:

The Las Vegas unemployment rate has hit an astounding 13.9 percent. This represents a near doubling of the rate of just one year ago. Factoring in underemployment in Vegas -- a city full of chronic underemployment in the best of times -- this paints a bleak picture.

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Michigan unemployment rises to 15.3 percent

Posted Wed, 10/14/2009 - 17:00 by chuck

Location

MI
United States

The good news is that Michigan's unemployment rate is rising at a slower pace. The bad news is that it is still rising.

The (grossly underestimated) official rate of joblessness in Michigan rose from 15.2 percent in August to 15.3 percent in September 2009, according to the state Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth. In a written statement, the department's bureau of labor market information and strategic services blamed the losses on the service sector. Some gains were temporarily made in manufacturing thanks to the "Cash for Clunkers" program.

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