unemployment

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Unemployment Jumps to 10.2%
 Unemployment Jumps to 10.2% 
Nov 6, 2009 7:50 AM CST

Unemployment Jumps to 10.2%

Companies cut 190,000 jobs last month

(Newser) - Unemployment cracked the 10% barrier last month, as 190,000 workers lost their jobs, according to Labor Department figures released today. The bigger-than-expected losses bring the rate to 10.2%, a 26-year high. And the underemployment rate, which includes would-be full-timers working part time and those who've given up looking...

Dems Will Regret Not Being Bolder on Economy
Dems Will Regret Not Being Bolder on Economy
PAUL KRUGMAN
Nov 6, 2009 6:48 AM CST

Dems Will Regret Not Being Bolder on Economy

Voter backlash is about failure to lower unemployment

(Newser) - Paul Krugman doesn't buy the GOP conclusion that voters Tuesday rejected the Obama agenda. The election just showed that American voters are worried about their jobs, he writes, and this time next year, with unemployment still high, Democrats will likely regret not having been bolder on the economy when...

Hey Blue Dogs, We Need a Second Stimulus
Hey Blue Dogs, We Need a Second Stimulus
ROBERT REICH
Nov 4, 2009 5:51 PM CST

Hey Blue Dogs, We Need a Second Stimulus

Rising unemployment makes it essential

(Newser) - The ever-worsening employment situation demands a second stimulus, writes former Labor Secretary Robert Reich . Yes, the first stimulus is only half-spent, but the remaining programs won’t affect mounting job losses. Blue Dog Democrats, worried about the deficit and 2010 elections, will be hard-pressed to support a second round, but...

US GDP Jump Hollow if Unemployment Keeps Rising
US GDP Jump Hollow if Unemployment Keeps Rising
ANALYSIS
Oct 29, 2009 8:07 PM CDT

US GDP Jump Hollow if Unemployment Keeps Rising

... and it's still rising faster than before recession

(Newser) - News that the US gross domestic product jumped 3.5% in the third quarter cheered investors and others, but the cheers will ring hollow if unemployment keeps rising, John Authers writes. Consumer spending rose even as disposable income fell—“ not a pattern that can be sustained for long, and...

SC Hopes Its Dumb Pols Don't Hurt Economy, Too

Jokes are bad, but Sanford, Wilson messes could scare off more business

(Newser) - The fact that two of its more prominent politicians—Gov. Mark Sanford and Rep. Joe Wilson—are the butt of recent political jokes is no laughing matter in South Carolina, where memories of the fight over flying the Confederate flag are still scaring off business and tourism. The firestorm around...

Pay Cuts: America's New Norm
 Pay Cuts: America's New Norm 
Oct 14, 2009 7:49 AM CDT

Pay Cuts: America's New Norm

Nine straight months of declining pay sets new record

(Newser) - In previous recessions, layoffs were the principal way for employers to cut costs—pay cuts were seen as demoralizing and a sure-fire way to lose workers to other jobs. But now pay cuts, sometimes in the form of demotions or shortened workweeks, are more common than at any time since...

Economy Sparks Record Military Recruitment

Bleak employment, bonuses boost numbers to highest level since draft ended

(Newser) - The recession has helped boost the US military to its best recruitment year since the post-Vietnam switch to an all-volunteer force. Recruiters hit or exceeded all their targets for the first time since 1973, surprising even Pentagon officials. In addition to rising unemployment, recruiting was helped by bonuses, a recruiting...

Dow Up 61 on Strong Earnings
 Dow Up 61 on 
 Strong Earnings 
MARKETS
Oct 8, 2009 3:14 PM CDT

Dow Up 61 on Strong Earnings

Weekly unemployment claims fall to lowest level since January

(Newser) - Stocks closed below their session highs but still finished in positive territory after Alcoa set a strong tone for the third-quarter earnings season. The firm posted a $77 million profit after the bell yesterday. Also helping was good news on the jobs front, with last week’s initial claims for...

Tax Breaks for New Jobs Gain Bipartisan Support

But some dismiss move as 'corporate welfare'

(Newser) - Support is building in Washington for the idea of giving companies tax breaks when they hire new workers. President Obama’s economic team has been exploring the possibility for weeks, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle like the idea of helping unemployed constituents. “There’s a lot...

Put New Stimulus to Work for Unemployed

Painful 'new normal' isn't good enough

(Newser) - Economists are buzzing about a "new normal" of higher unemployment and wage stagnation post-recession, but Americans shouldn't resign themselves to a mediocre economy, writes Harold Meyerson. Downturns triggered by banking crises usually cause higher rates of unemployment for longer periods than normal downturns, but the cycle can be broken...

Obama Mulls Tax Cuts, Spending to Goose Economy

Grim jobs outlook spurs talks on new stimulus measures

(Newser) - The Obama administration is examining new ways to boost the economy amid troubling unemployment statistics. The White House and Democratic leaders in Congress are considering strategies that include new transportation spending and an extension of tax credits for first-time homebuyers and small businesses struggling with operating losses. A proposal to...

Many Jobs Are Gone Forever
 Many Jobs Are Gone Forever 
ANALYSIS
Oct 5, 2009 2:28 PM CDT

Many Jobs Are Gone Forever

Employment picture likely to remain grim for years, and predicting winning industries is a challenge

(Newser) - The job market is likely to be grim for years to come—economists expect that even if job creation returned to the brisk pace of the ‘90s, unemployment wouldn’t return to 5% until 2017. And for many of the unemployed, the numbers belie the real problem: The positions...

Despite Layoffs, High-Paying Jobs Go Unfilled

Employers can't find nurses, engineers, energy researchers

(Newser) - In a brutal job market, here's a task that might sound easy: Fill jobs in nursing, engineering and energy research that pay $55,000 to $60,000, plus benefits. Yet even with 15 million people hunting for work, even with the unemployment rate nearing 10%, some employers can't find enough...

Unemployment Now Lasts Longer Than Benefits

(Newser) - A rough milestone on the jobless front: The average length of time it takes to find a job—26.2 weeks—now exceeds the standard length of unemployment benefits—26 weeks. That's first time it's happened since the Labor Department began keeping stats 60 years ago, reports Bloomberg. The bit...

GOP Revels in US Setbacks
 GOP Revels in US Setbacks 
piling on
Oct 2, 2009 2:15 PM CDT

GOP Revels in US Setbacks

1-2 punch of job stats, Olympic decision gets a third stage

(Newser) - From worse-than-expected unemployment numbers to Chicago’s foiled Olympic bid, today was a lousy day for America, but Republicans reacted as if Christmas had come early. Soon after the jobs numbers hit, Glenn Thrush of Politico got a slew of GOP press releases. “Rep. Mike Pence literally hit the...

Dow Falls 34 Ahead of Jobs Data
 Dow Falls 34 
 Ahead of Jobs Data 
MARKETS
Sep 29, 2009 3:16 PM CDT

Dow Falls 34 Ahead of Jobs Data

Dow still on track for best quarter in 10 years

(Newser) - Stocks fell today as traders lost some of yesterday’s confidence ahead of looming job reports. ADP will release its September survey tomorrow, with weekly data due Thursday and the government’s nonfarm payrolls report coming Friday. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index, which analysts had been expecting to...

Social Security Faces Grim Forecast for 2010, 2011

Payouts will exceed tax receipts for first time since 1980s

(Newser) - Big job losses and a spike in early retirement claims from laid-off seniors will force Social Security to pay out more in benefits than it collects in taxes the next 2 years, the first time that's happened since the 1980s. The deficits—$10 billion in 2010 and $9 billion in...

Jobless Outnumber Jobs, 6-1
 Jobless Outnumber Jobs, 6-1 
Sep 27, 2009 10:38 AM CDT

Jobless Outnumber Jobs, 6-1

Ratio hits worst level since recording began in 2000

(Newser) - Even as the US pulls out of the recession, the ranks of the out-of-work have swelled to 14.5 million people, leaving six jobless people vying for every available job—the worst ratio since the Labor Department began keeping track in 2000. "There's too much uncertainty out there,"...

Outlook Bleak for Holiday Hiring

Pessimistic retailers plan to slash seasonal jobs

(Newser) - Retail jobs are expected to be in short supply even as the holiday shopping season approaches, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some 40% of retail chains surveyed say they plan to hire fewer workers this year than they did last year when the recession forced many to cut staffing levels....

Job Market Splitting Up Couples
 Job Market Splitting Up Couples 
Sep 22, 2009 5:18 AM CDT

Job Market Splitting Up Couples

Nearly 1 in 5 Americans relocates for new position

(Newser) - With the job market failing to recover along with the larger economy, two-career couples are facing tough choices and increasingly being forced into long-distance relationships. A recent survey has found that 18.2% of Americans who took new jobs in the second quarter also relocated, up from 11.4% a...

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