Job Market Monitor
United States
US – Evidence demonstrating a skills shortage is not found in wage data
To an economist, the most accessible and persuasive evidence demonstrating a skills shortage should be found in wage data. If employers urgently need workers with skills in short supply, we expect them to offer higher pay to prospective new employees who possess the skills. When workers with crucial skills are offered better wages by expanding … Continue reading
Jobless Claims in US – Rise by 23,000 to 302,000
The number of U.S. workers claiming unemployment aid rose last week after sinking to a 14-year low earlier in the month. Initial claims for unemployment benefits increased by 23,000 to a seasonally adjusted 302,000 in the week ended July 26, the Labor Department said Thursday. The figures were slightly better than expected. Economists surveyed by … Continue reading
Inflation and Unemployment in US – The flattening of the Phillips curve
I’m thinking about the rest of us, starting at the top—with the Fed—who are struggling to figure out the nature of the tradeoff as the Fed begins to contemplate unwinding. Given Chair Yellen’s (very appropriate) focus on job-market slack and thus her up-weighting of the full employment side of the mandate, there’s clearly some anxiety … Continue reading
The US Middle Class – 20 percent poorer than it was in 1984
As the Russell Sage Foundation points out, the slow housing recovery means that, in 2013, median households were still 36 percent poorer than they were a decade earlier. In fact, the housing bust was big enough to erase all the gains the middle class had made the past 30 years—and then some. As you can see below, … Continue reading
UI in US – Employers’ demand for workers remains weak and workers have not chosen to stay on benefits
Most state unemployment insurance fund accounts became insolvent in the wake of the Great Recession because states did not adequately fund them in the early to mid-2000s recovery. States that responded to the insolvency by cutting the duration of unemployment benefits did not save significant amounts of money or boost employment. There are no clear … Continue reading
US – Low teacher pay is a problem finds the Center for American Progress
Low teacher pay is not news. Over the years, all sorts of observers have argued that skimpy teacher salaries keep highly qualified individuals out of the profession. One recent study found that a major difference between the education system in the United States and those in other nations with high-performing students is that the United … Continue reading
US – Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) – FAQ
The following Frequently Asked Questions are drafted in the context of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) programs that are administered by the Department of Labor (DOL). GENERAL QUESTIONS Q. What programs are authorized by WIOA? WOIA authorizes key employment and training programs and the American Job Center (referred to as One-Stop Center in … Continue reading
US – Long-term unemployment might be falling for the good reason
in the past six months, unemployment has fallen much faster than expected, from 6.7 to 6.1 percent. And as you can see above, 88 percent of that has been due to declining long-term unemployment. Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at The long-term unemployed might finally be getting jobs – The Washington Post. … Continue reading
Jobless Claims in US – 284,000, the lowest in more than eight years
In the week ending July 19, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 284,000, a decrease of 19,000 from the previous week’s revised level. This is the lowest level for initial claims since February 18, 2006 when they were 283,000. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 302,000 to 303,000. … Continue reading
College Grads in US – Wages are terrible
More young people are grabbing debt to go to college, but they can’t punch the ticket to full-fledged adulthood, because college-grad wages are growing at historically pitiful levels. In fact, the incomes of recent college grads are growing so glacially that they make the rest of the country look like we’re discovering $100 bills in … Continue reading
Tipping in US – The injustice
The Fair Labor Standards Act — the act that determines the minimum wage, along with a whole host of other regulations regarding labor practices — isn’t even as old as American tipping customs; its original iteration dates to 1938. It’s been amended numerous times since then, most frequently to raise the minimum wage, and for … Continue reading
US – Wage growth has been stuck at about 2 per cent a year
Wage growth in the US has been stuck at about 2 per cent a year, just about keeping up with inflation but well below the levels of up to 3.5 per cent that productivity would suggest. The quarterly Employment Cost index, another widely used measure of wages, has also seen consistently sluggish readings over the … Continue reading
US – Reducing unemployment
The U.S. labor market is still a long way from healed. The unemployment rate of 6.1 percent, down from 10 percent in 2009, is misleading: Long-term unemployment accounts for a much bigger share of the total than usual. Millions who would like full-time jobs are having to work part time. And millions more have given up … Continue reading
US – Hiring discrimination for smokers and obese does get very much support
Fewer than one in eight Americans, 12%, say companies should be allowed to refuse to hire people because they are significantly overweight. Similarly, 14% of Americans say companies should be allowed to refuse to hire smokers. Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at Hiring Discrimination for Smokers, Obese Rejected in U.S..
US – The short-term unemployment rate has returned to its pre-recession average, so what ?
Because the short-term unemployment rate has returned to its pre-recession average, one important implication—if the hypothesis that the long-term unemployed are largely on the margins of the labor market is correct—is that further declines in short-term unemployment would be expected to be associated with rising inflation and stronger real wage growth. So has this trend … Continue reading
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