A Closer Look

Older Workers / Unemployment Duration / US : Chances of finding another job are low

“After reaching record highs month after month, the typical length of time a jobless worker in the United States has been unemployed finally fell in April’ 2011, to “only” 38.3 weeks. But the outlook is looking bleaker for the nation’s older workers.” wrote Catherine Rampell in Older Workers Without Jobs Face Longest Time Out of … Continue reading →

14 million young people are NEET: not in employment, education or training

Some 14 million young people are not in employment, education or training across the EU as a whole. However rates vary widely from from around 5.5% of 15-24 year olds in the Netherlands to 22.7% in Italy. The economic cost of not integrating NEETs is estimated at over €150 billion, or 1.2% of GDP, in … Continue reading →

Job Gap – Youth Unemploment: An Interview with ILO Economist Sara Elder (video)

An Interview with ILO Economist Sara Elder

Skills Gap in the US Economy (video)

Higher Education – OECD: The role of universities and strategic partnerships in the local and global context (video)

College – Earnings – US: What different college degrees make?

“Part of the reason people go to college is to get better jobs. It’s by no means the only reason, of course; a liberal arts education can enrich a person’s life in ways besides better employment. But better employment is surely one of the crucial goals, and jobs that require college degrees generally pay better … Continue reading →

Youth Unemployment – UK – Are vocational qualifications a better option than university ?

“In this economic climate, with such high rates of graduate unemployment, should school leavers give far greater consideration to vocational qualifications?” asks Jane Scott Paul in Are vocational qualifications a better option than university? on guardian.co.uk. “Sadly though, youth unemployment is hardly limited to unqualified school leavers: it now extends to many of Britain’s brightest … Continue reading →

Unemployment Insurance Claims – The US job market really going the wrong way

Last reports were not good, no more than the Current Population Survey for August. This morning report isn’t better. Is the job market really going the wrong way. -*- SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending September 8, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 382,000, an increase of 15,000 from the previous … Continue reading →

US – Young Adult Unemployment – Something permanent in character has changed, for worse

A long term look The Unemployment rate for 20 to 24 years is has been higher than the overall rate since the BLS has produced those two series, except for a couple of months at the beginning of the 50’s when the job market was at full employment. Each recession has worsened the relative situation … Continue reading →

US unemployment is worse than …

“The United States publishes two employment numbers: one based on a survey of employers (“the payroll survey”) and one based on a survey of households”  Stefan Karlsson in US unemployment is worse than the headlines say on CSMonitor.com , adding: “The household survey gets more ink, but its proven itself unreliable.” “As I’ve discussed repeatedly, unlike most other … Continue reading →

US – 5 Reasons Why the Job Market is Going In Recession

US Job Market is nearly In recession Continue reading →

Unemployment insurance subsidizes layoffs writes Mulligan. As life insurance subsidizes death?

“Unemployment insurance and other types of social insurance subsidize job separations and thereby result in too many layoffs and too few people employed” writes Casey B. Mulligan in Social Insurance and Layoffs on NYTimes.com. “A variety of programs help workers after they leave a job and do not start a new one, depending on the circumstances … Continue reading →

Fiscal policy, at both the federal and state and local levels: headwinds for unemployment reduction says Bernanke

The accommodative monetary policies I have reviewed today, both traditional and nontraditional, have provided important support to the economic recovery while helping to maintain price stability… Notwithstanding these positive signs, the economic situation is obviously far from satisfactory… Further, the rate of improvement in the labor market has been painfully slow. I have noted on … Continue reading →

US unemployment rate is bad, eurozone is worse and Greece leads in youth unemployment (53.8%)

Euro area unemployment rate at 11.3% EU27 at 10.4%. The euro area (EA17) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 11.3% in July 2012, stable compared with June. It was 10.1% in July 2011. The EU27 unemployment rate was 10.4% in July 2012, also stable compared with June. It was 9.6% in July 2011. Eurostat estimates that 25.254 million men and women in the EU27, of … Continue reading →

Unemployment Insurance Claims – It’s hard to beleive that the job market really improving ?

Last report was not a good one with 372,000 (unrevisied). This morning report isn’t better. Is the job market really improving ? Hard to beleive. SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA ; In the week ending August 25, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 374,000, unchanged from the previous week’s revised figure of 374,000. The … Continue reading →