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The Great Recession has lasted a lot longer for some than for others. A new survey from Rutgers University’s John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development found that “one in five workers - or nearly 30 million people - say they were laid off from a job in the past five years," dating back to the end of the recession in June 2009. "Nearly 4 in 10 of these laid-off workers say they searched for a job for more than seven months before finding another one; one in five workers laid off during the past five years never found another...

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly decreased in the week ended September 27th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday. The report said initial jobless claims fell to 287,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week's revised level of 295,000. The pullback came as a surprise to economists, who had expected jobless claims to climb to 297,000 from the 293,000 originally reported for the previous week. The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also edged down to 294,750, a decrease of 4,250 from the previous week's revised average of 299,000. With...

This morning I'm watching Bloomberg news, and they just started the hour with a quick discussion of unemployment, in anticipation of the week's statistics. I am left distinctly unenthused by the nature of that "discussion". Nobody is talking about unemployment, as a lack of jobs. We have as a country, one big problem. We have sent millions of AMERICAN JOBS to other countries. Many to the Peoples Republic of China. Our solution is so simple. America needs to bring back American jobs. Nobody is willing to say that. We continue as a nation to run a 30 billion trade deficit...

The U.S. economy added 248,000 jobs in September as labor markets rediscovered the momentum gained earlier this year. The headline unemployment rate dropped unexpectedly to 5.9% from 6.1% The better-than-expected figures are certain to rekindle the debate over the timing and trajectory of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, as the positive report will have many economists looking for rates to move higher sooner rather than later. In August the economy generated just 142,000 new jobs, well below expectations on weakness in major sectors including manufacturing, retail and transportation. That number was revised upward to 180,000 on Friday, according...

The U.S. unemployment rate is below 6% for the first time in more than six years. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday morning, Oct. 3, that the economy added 248,000 jobs in September, pushing the unemployment rate down to 5.9% from 6.1% in August. The unemployment rate hadn’t been below the 6% mark since July 2008, according to BLS historical data. Employment increased most strongly in professional and business services, retail trade and health care, the government said. The government said the number of people unemployed in September declined by 329,000 to 9.3 million. During the last year,...

While many will be giddy because the BLS reported that job creation came in at 248,000, well above analysts expectations-- and because unemployment ticked down to 5.9 percent-- make no mistake: this is still a bad job market.ThatÂ’s because another 315,000 people left the labor force last month. When adding in the numbers of people who entered the civilian population (217,000) job creation is hardly keeping up with population growth.The job gains, in fact, are not much better than in previous years. When one accounts for part-time work, discouraged workers and those who have dropped out of the labor force...

Initial Reaction The payroll survey shows a net gain of 248,000 jobs vs. an expectation of 215,000 jobs. Last month was revised up by 69,000 to 180,000. The six-month string of plus 200,000 jobs remains broken. Last month the household survey had a gain in employment of only 16,000. That number was not revised up. This month the household survey shows a respectable gain of 232,000, pretty much in line with the establishment survey. Nonetheless the household survey over the past six months has been much weaker than the establishment survey. One or the other is apt for some serious...

Northeast States: For an area that used to be a political powerhouse, it is becoming increasingly marginalized due to excessive taxes and the ensuing population shift I have written on this subject before, and now the affects of high taxes and population migration are playing out in a substantial, political way: the decline of about 40% of Congressional seats in the Northeast. According to the Census Bureau, high taxpayers are moving south. It notes that in the 11 states that comprise the Northeast, population grew at a rate of only 15% over the thirty year span from 1983-2013, while the...

A study published by the New York Federal Reserve found that the number of job openings rose by an estimated 20% in the six months following the lapse of the federal government's extended unemployment benefits. The lapse occurred because the Republican controlled House refused to vote to extend the benefits. Fatih Karahan, one of the authors of the study, cited the "mutually reinforcing effects of decreasing the burden on businesses to fund the benefits and decreasing the incentives of recipients to shun employment. If your tax burden of supporting benefits declines you can afford to hire more workers. Similarly, if...

HOUSTON, TEXAS--According to new statistics from the Labor Department, 16,000 new people sought U.S. unemployment benefits. This brought the seasonally adjusted figure to 326,000. In addition, the national employment holds at 6.7 percent. Meanwhile in Texas, the job market is booming and companies are expanding at a rapid rate. Texas Governor Rick Perry said the state is home to a thriving job market due to business-friendly policies and a predictable regulatory climate. Perry told Breitbart Texas, "We've been below the national average of unemployment for over 80 months. We have 1,000 plus people moving into the state per day. So...

A plan by President Obama and fellow Democrats to increase the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour would cost roughly 500,000 jobsbut increase wages for roughly 16.5 million Americans, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday. The report was immediately met with sharp Republican criticism for the wake hike plan. “While helping some, mandating higher wages has real costs, including fewer people working,” said a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. “With unemployment Americans' top concern, our focus should be creating -- not destroying -- jobs for those who need them most.” ...Republicans argued the report puts authoritative weight...

I have to credit our own Mike Shedlock for writing about how Obama’s been able to drive down the topline unemployment number even though unemployment remains as a big problem today as it has ever been. I’m often reluctant to piggy back on a contributor’s work, but when something is really newsworthy, I think it’s justified. Yesterday Mish pointed out that:In the last year, the civilian population rose by 3,638,000. Yet the labor force only rose by 945,000. Those not in the labor force rose by 2,693,000. In the last month, actual employment fell by 169,000, but the unemployment rate...

Since mid-2010, precisely at the time millions of US citizens used up all of their 99 week of unemployment insurance, disability claims have risen by 2.2 million. Those on disability are not counted in the workforce and are not considered unemployed. Please consider Disabled Americans Shrink Size of U.S. Labor Force

If the same percentage of adults were in the workforce today as when Barack Obama took office, the unemployment rate would be 11.1 percent. If the percentage was where it was when George W. Bush took office, the unemployment rate would be 13.1 percent. That helps explain a seeming contradiction in the unemployment numbers — the rate keeps dropping even though job creation has been soft. In April, the U.S. economy added a mere 115,000 jobs, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday. In a normal month, that would not even be enough to keep up with new...