Asaf Darash, an Israeli entrepreneur, was putting his 18-month-old son to bed when he received the news he had been dreading. He had applied to renew his temporary visa back in April. It was now the middle of September, a few weeks away from his visa expiration, and immigration officials had still not responded. As … Continue reading
Thirteen mass layoffs occurred in hospitals in September, affecting 817 people, according to a monthly report released Oct. 23 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. If numbers hold steady for the remainder of 2012, the industry is on track to have a similar annual count of mass layoffs as it did in 2011. Ninety-three … Continue reading
What has been happening in China – and is likely to be followed by the emergence of other Asian markets – is the increasing development of a substantial middle class consumer base. Today, China has some 250 million middle class consumers, with that figure expected to rise to 600 million by 2020. Once other Asian … Continue reading
The most disturbing aspect of the high unemployment rate during the past 4 years has been, namely, the large number of the unemployed who have been out of work for at least 6 months. Last month 5 million men and women had been unemployed for at least 6 months, and they comprise about 40% of … Continue reading
The rate of suicide in the United States rose sharply during the first few years since the start of the recession, a new analysis has found. In the report, which appeared Sunday on the Web site of The Lancet, a medical journal, researchers found that the rate between 2008 and 2010 increased four times faster … Continue reading
The latest unemployment statistics released this week on both sides of the Atlantic show that the number of jobless is continuing to rise in Europe far above the rate in the U.S., and the picture is especially bleak for young Europeans under the age of 25. In the 27 E.U. nations as a whole, the youth unemployment … Continue reading
There is an intriguing contrast between the US and UK economies. British GDP remains substantially smaller than it was at its peak but employment has bounced back, helped by lower real wages and a growth in part-time jobs. The US economy has more than caught up all of its lost output and is now bigger … Continue reading
There is the schism of America’s workforce since the NBER-defined official end of the recession in June 2009 into the “haves”, or those above 55, who have been able to get a job since the end of the recession, and the “have nots”, or all those in the labor force who have not been able to … Continue reading
Income inequality has been rising in the US for almost four decades. President Obama plans to increase taxes on those with high incomes while Governor Romney is against such “class warfare”. John Van Reenen argues that a better focus would be on restoring America’s place as a world leader in public education and thereby tackling … Continue reading
The nation’s biggest challenge is in shadow: breaking out of a decade of income stagnation that has afflicted the middle class and the poor and exacerbated inequality. Many of the bedrock assumptions of American culture — about work, progress, fairness and optimism — are being shaken as successive generations worry about the prospect of declining … Continue reading
The number of unemployed and the unemployment rate increase. But employment too. So, this is a sign that participation is going up, a generally good sign. Since July, the economy has created an average of 173,000 jobs a month, up from 67,000 a month from April through June. But still, the proportion of american in … Continue reading
The number of unemployed and the unemployment rate increase. But employment too. So, this is a sign that participation is going up, a generally good sign. Since July, the economy has created an average of 173,000 jobs a month, up from 67,000 a month from April through June. But still, the proportion of american in … Continue reading
Of course, there is no perfect way to measure opportunities. The best method devised thus far is to look at outcomes: college completion, gainful employment, and sufficient income. If the average outcome for one group far outpaces that for another, social scientists conclude that the first group had greater opportunities. Comparing outcomes is not foolproof, … Continue reading
Nonfarm productivity increased at a modest pace in the third quarter, giving little sign that businesses are poised to ramp up hiring significantly. Productivity, which measures hourly output per worker, increased at a 1.9 percent annual rate, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Many economists would read a drop in productivity as a sign that … Continue reading
Manufacturing grew in October at its slowest pace in more than three years and appeared likely to act as a drag on overall growth in the final months of 2012, an industry survey showed on Thursday. Financial information firm Markit said its U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index fell to 51.0 this month, below a preliminary … Continue reading