SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending December 29, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 372,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 362,000. The 4-week moving average was 360,000, an increase of 250 from the previous week’s revised average of 359,750. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.5 percent … Continue reading
The U.S. Payroll to Population employment rate (P2P), as measured by Gallup, was 44.4% for the month of December, a slight improvement over 43.7% in November. The current P2P rate still does not match the levels of employment seen in July through October, which exceeded 45% and were the highest since Gallup began tracking P2P … Continue reading
The “work-experience unemployment rate”—defined as the number of persons unemployed at some time during the year as a proportion of the number of persons who worked or looked for work during the year—was 14.9 percent in 2011, down from 15.9 percent in 2010. The work-experience unemployment rates for Whites (13.7 percent) and Hispanics (18.3 percent) … Continue reading
The number of academic-job openings in history increased by 18 percent in 2011-12, but the competition for such positions is steep as the number of new Ph.D. recipients continues to outstrip the number of available jobs, according to a new report by the American Historical Association. The report was published on Wednesday in the association’s … Continue reading
Amid another blah year, a few workers that bore the brunt of the Great Recession stand to gain in 2013. Here are three: College graduates Congrats class of 2013! You have a better chance landing your dream job than the poor grads before you working as baristas. The years following the Great Recession hit workers … Continue reading
Households headed by older adults have made dramatic gains relative to those headed by younger adults in their economic well-being over the past quarter of a century, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of a wide array of government data. In 2009, households headed by adults ages 65 and older possessed 42% more … Continue reading
Today’s 20-somethings are the first generation, as a whole, to face downward economic mobility compared to their parents’ generation, according to a new report from national policy center Demos and youth advocacy organization Young Invincibles. The report, entitled “The State of Young America,” details how the Great Recession has intensified the impact of thirty years … Continue reading
The highest minimum wage in the nation is set to rise again in 2013, as San Francisco’s low-end compensation rate will increase from $10.24 to $10.55 per hour. In 2003, voters approved a local ordinance tying the minimum wage to the regional rate of inflation in San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose. Set at $8.50 … Continue reading
Since too much inequality can foment revolt and instability, the CIA regularly updates statistics on income distribution for countries around the world, including the U.S. Between 1997 and 2007, inequality in the U.S. grew by almost 10 percent, making it more unequal than Russia, infamous for its powerful oligarchs. The U.S. is not faring well … Continue reading
Employers took 1,759 mass layoff actions in November involving 173,558 workers as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month. Mass layoff events increased by 399 from October, and the number of associated initial claims increased by 42,385. Mass layoff data for November reflect the impact of Hurricane Sandy on workers in … Continue reading
“Economic conditions for children today are similar to those of a year ago—and much worse than they were in 2007. Millions of families with children have not yet regained ground lost during the recession.” write Julia B. Isaacs and Olivia Healy in The Recession’s Ongoing Impact on Children, 2012: Indicators of Children’s Economic Well-Being (Adapted choosen excerpts by … Continue reading
Economics correspondent Paul Solman revisits Lincoln Electric, a welding manufacturing company based outside Cleveland, Ohio. Through its use of merit-based profit-sharing and a no-layoff policy, the firm is an unlikely Rust Belt success story that hasn’t laid off anyone for financial reasons since World War II. PAUL SOLMAN: A bright light in Rust Belt America: … Continue reading
Michigan Republicans are pushing low wages, claiming that “right-to-work” laws will “attract businesses.” Conservatives argue that strong unions cost jobs and anti-union “right-to-work” laws will bring jobs, because companies will move to places where workers are less able to fight for good pay and benefits… Right-to-work laws have not succeeded in boosting employment growth in … Continue reading
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending December 22, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 350,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 362,000. The 4-week moving average was 356,750, a decrease of 11,250 from the previous week’s revised average of 368,000. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment … Continue reading