In the News

US – Jobs and Unemployment are the most important problems facing the country poll finds

Twenty percent of Americans name unemployment or jobs as the most important problem facing the country in May, up from 14% who mentioned these issues in April. Dysfunctional government (19%) and the economy in general (17%) also rank among the top problems. Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at Jobs, Government, and Economy … Continue reading →

Unemployment in Gaza – A five-year high of 41%

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics has reported that unemployment in the Strip has surged in the first quarter of 2014 to 41 percent, the highest rate since 2009. The number of unemployed persons stands at 180,000 people. A year ago, in the first quarter of 2013, the rate of unemployment was 30 percent – … Continue reading →

US – Housing Starts vs Unemployment (Chart)

Housing stats lead unemployment figures anywhere from 6-18 months.  The logic being that housing triggers not just construction hiring, but effects nearly every other industry as a “house” virtually houses products from every other industry.  Ergo when housing recovers so too (generally) does employment in every other sector. Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the … Continue reading →

A brief history of Australia’s unemployment benefits

Greece – The economy shrinks by 1.1 pct in Q1

The Greek economy shrank by 1.1 percent in the first quarter of the year on a 12-month basis, Greece’s statistics agency said on Thursday.  The data, unadjusted for seasonal factors showed that output by the bailed out economy “decreased by 1.1 percent in comparison with the first quarter of 2013,” the ELSTAT agency said. Based … Continue reading →

Jobless Claims in US – At lowest level since 2007

The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits fell sharply for the second straight week, touching the lowest level since May 2007, but at least part of the drop probably stemmed from lingering seasonal affects tied to a late Easter holiday.  Initial jobless claims declined by 24,000 to a seasonally adjusted 297,000 in the … Continue reading →

Skills Gap in Canada – How the myth was shattered

It took nine months of detective work by economists, journalists, social media sleuths and investigators at the Parliamentary Budget Office to solve the mystery of Canada’s missing job vacancies.  Last week auditor general Mike Ferguson made it official: the federal government was using unreliable statistics to support its claim that Canada had plenty of jobs … Continue reading →

US – Fast-food workers walking off their jobs in 150 cities

Fast-food workers are expected to walk off their jobs in 150 cities from Oakland to Orlando. The protests will be a first for fast-food workers in Miami, Orlando, Philadelphia and Sacramento.  The events are intended to publicize the employees’ demand for a $15-an-hour wage. The median pay nationwide for fast-food restaurant workers is $8.69 an … Continue reading →

UK – NHS jobs to be outsourced to INDIA unions claim

Hundreds of NHS jobs could be shipped off to India under cost-saving plans being considered by health chiefs, unions have claimed.  The country’s biggest health union, Unison, said the cuts could cost 900 British workers their jobs. NHS England managers are set to consider the plans at a crunch board meeting tomorrow. Most of the … Continue reading →

Progressive Taxes in US – An historical chart

The weight of the federal income tax has varied widely since it was introduced a century ago. It has generally played a progressive role in mitigating income inequality. But it is not powerful enough to overcome the widening gap of recent decades. Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at The Politics of Income … Continue reading →

Reshoring in US – Factory jobs returning matched the number lost last year

Although no one keeps precise statistics, the retreat from offshoring is clear from various sources, including federal data on assistance to workers hurt by overseas moves.  U.S. factory payrolls have grown for four straight years, with gains totaling about 650,000 jobs. That’s a small fraction of the 6 million lost in the previous decade, but … Continue reading →

UK – Unemployment at lowest in more than five years and real wage growth

Britain’s unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in more than five years in the first quarter of 2014, helped by a record number of people getting jobs. Pay growth rose more than inflation for the first time since 2010 but was below forecasts. The latest signs of recovery in the labour market come shortly … Continue reading →

US Steel Sector – Half a million U.S. jobs which are at risk say the United Steelworkers

United Steelworkers (USW) International President Leo W. Gerard issued the following statement today on the release of a study of the enormous challenges facing the U.S. steel sector from a flood of imports and rising excess global capacity in steel production. The report “Surging Steel Imports Put Up to Half a Million U.S. Jobs at … Continue reading →

Canada – The job recovery is overstated says a Bank of Canada’s study

The Bank of Canada says the country’s job-creation record since the recession is likely a little less impressive than the fall in the unemployment rate would suggest. The central bank says in a new research paper that the unemployment rate, although the most quoted measure of labour market health, has overestimated the jobs recovery in … Continue reading →

Germany should take steps “to heal the split in the labour market” says OECD

Germany’s current economic success offers a good platform for achieving sustainable and inclusive growth, but further reforms will be necessary over the medium and long term, according to the latest OECD Economic Survey of Germany. Among the priorities are making the tax system more socially just and environment-friendly, strengthening the financial sector, so that it … Continue reading →