Job Market Monitor
United States
US / Student Financial Aid / Neediest students to pay more than their families’ yearly earnings
“With their relentless pursuit of prestige and revenue, the nation’s public and private four-year colleges and universities are in danger of shutting down what has long been a pathway to the middle class for low-income and working-class students” writes Stephen Burd in Undermining Pell – How Colleges Compete for Wealthy Students and Leave the Low-Income Behind … Continue reading
US / Jobless claims jump at the fastest pace in six months
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits climbed last week at the fastest pace in six months, a worrisome sign for the economy which has been hit by government austerity. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits jumped by 32,000 to a seasonally adjusted 360,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. That was … Continue reading
US / Student Debt has generated nearly $120 billion to the Education Department over the last five fiscal years
The Obama administration is forecast to turn a record $51 billion profit this year from student loan borrowers, a sum greater than the earnings of the nation’s most profitable companies and roughly equal to the combined net income of the four largest U.S. banks by assets. Figures made public Tuesday by the Congressional Budget Office … Continue reading
US / Industrial production drops 0.5% in April
Industrial production slumped 0.5% in April, dragged lower by a big drop in utilities output but also by a drop in manufacturing, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday. Economists polled by MarketWatch expected a drop of 0.3%. In addition, March’s growth was downwardly revised to 0.3% from 0.4%, and February’s growth was downwardly revised to 0.9% … Continue reading
Low-Wage / Wal-Mart vs. the Feds: Who’s the King?
The federal government is better at creating low-paying jobs than Wal-Mart and McDonald’s combined, according to a new report. A study released earlier this month from the public policy group Demos states that through various forms of government funding in the private sector, nearly two million people are making $12 an hour or less. The … Continue reading
US / Will Labor Force Participation Bounce Back? asks FRBSF
The most recent U.S. recession and recovery have been accompanied by a sharp decline in the labor force participation rate. The largest declines have occurred in states with the largest job losses. This suggests that some of the recent drop in the national labor force participation rate could be cyclical. Past recoveries show evidence of … Continue reading
US / When will the Jobs Gap be filled ?
Below is an update of the graph showing job losses from the start of the employment recession, in percentage terms, with a projection assuming the current rate of payroll growth will continue. This suggests that employment will exceed the pre-recession peak around July 2014 (Private employment will reach a new high around March of 2014). … Continue reading
US Grads / Being overqualified, they express regrets finds McKinsey
McKinsey partnered with Chegg Inc. to conduct a survey that gauges the attitudes of more than 4,900 recent graduates on a range of issues. The mix included attendees of four-year and two-year private and public colleges, as well as vocational and for-profit institutions. The survey primarily focused on students who graduated between 2009 and 2012, … Continue reading
US / Job openings and unemployment are both worsening
When an economy is humming, there are lots of job openings and low unemployment. When the economy is malfunctioning, there are few openings and unemployment is high. The regular relationship between job openings and unemployment is called the Beveridge Curve. If the curve shifts outward it means that a given level of job openings is associated … Continue reading
US / The majority of lowest-paid workers are employed by large corporations
The majority of America’s lowest-paid workers are employed by large corporations, not small businesses, and that most of the largest low-wage employers have recovered from the recession and are in a strong financial position. Specifically: * The majority (66 percent) of low-wage workers are not employed by small businesses, but rather by large corporations with … Continue reading
US / The unemployment rate is understating the “true” amount of under-employment
The Fed/IMF/GS economists argue that the unemployment rate is now substantially understating the “true” amount of under-employment in the economy because the labour force participation rate has fallen as a direct consequence of the depth and longevity of the recession. They show that, while this effect does not apply during a normal recession, workers have … Continue reading
US / New Mothers are more than ever College Educated
Mothers with infant children1 in the U.S. today are more educated than they ever have been. In 2011, more than six-in-ten (66%) had at least some college education, while 34% had a high school diploma or less and just 14% lacked a high school diploma, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. … Continue reading
US Unemployment vs Germany: Not due to GDP Growth
Growth in Germany and the United States have been virtually identical since the beginning of the downturn. While Germany has a large balance of trade surplus, in contrast to the deficit in the United States, its consumption growth has been weaker. Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor via Low Unemployment in Germany: The Story Is … Continue reading
US Skills Gap / Builders can’t find enough qualified workers
U.S. builders and the subcontractors they depend on are struggling to hire fast enough to meet rising demand for new homes. Builders would be starting work on more homes — and contributing more to the economy — if they could fill more job openings. In the meantime, workers in the right locations with the right … Continue reading
Colorado and Washington / Cuts to unemployment benefits
Coloradans receiving unemployment benefits as part of a federal extension are beginning to see an 18.2 percent reduction in compensation as a result of the across-the-board U.S. government spending cuts. The cuts apply specifically to federal extensions known as Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC), which is a tiered system for paying the unemployed once their state … Continue reading
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