Recovery from the employment losses suffered in the Great Recession (worker's depression?) of 2007-2009 has been excruciatingly slow. As I write this post in November 2013, total employment in the U.S. is still more than 1% fewer jobs than when we started this mess 5 years and 10 months ago. That's 976,000 jobs still missing … Continue reading Employment Is Likely to Improve – Morale Improves When the Beatings Stop
unemployment
A Journey of 100 Months Starts With the First Month
Finally we are getting some good news. At least most people will consider it good news. Republican Presidential candidates hoping to run against Obama on "weak economy platform" might not happy with the news. Today the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the January 2012 employment data. The unemployment rate has declined again. It … Continue reading A Journey of 100 Months Starts With the First Month
The Problem in One Graph
Yesterday I said I was reluctant to get over-optimistic about the recent slight upturn in employment data. This year may truly be different from the last few, but there's a nagging feeling that we've seen this movie before. I'm not alone in the feeling. As 2012 dawns, Tim Duy summarizes the problem in one graph (emphasis … Continue reading The Problem in One Graph
Setting the Bar Very Low: The Unemployment Report for December 2011
Well I'm back. Yes, it's been a longer than expected break from blogging driven by work considerations, but contrary to the rumors, I have not been "doomed". So it's on to a new semester and a new resolution to post frequently. I hope 3-5 times per week. To start things off, yesterday was the first … Continue reading Setting the Bar Very Low: The Unemployment Report for December 2011
Rick Snyder Advocates Government Planning to Fix the Labor Market
In recent posts here, here, and here, I've been discussing structural vs. cyclical unemployment. In particular I've observed how those who are opposed to government stimulus efforts, either broad-based tax cuts or spending, are desperate to assert that our unemployment is a structural problem and not cyclical. Yesterday's post about a story in the Wall … Continue reading Rick Snyder Advocates Government Planning to Fix the Labor Market
Below Market Wages Belies Claims of Structural Unemployment
Continuing what has turned into a short series on unemployment and structural unemployment in particular (see Monday and yesterday's posts), let us look at some of the claims that structural unemployment. First up, Brad Delong points us to Kevin Drum who tells the following story: Kevin Drum: Skilled Jobs Go Begging? Not Quite: The Wall … Continue reading Below Market Wages Belies Claims of Structural Unemployment
Fixes for Unemployment Depend on Whether It’s Cyclical (It Is) or Structural (It Isn’t)
Yesterday I recapped the November employment report. The employment picture remains grim. The workers depression continues. As my favorite graph from Calculated Risk shows here, regardless of what happens to the unemployment rate, our recovery from the jobs lost in the recession is incredibly slow. At the pace we have been on for the last … Continue reading Fixes for Unemployment Depend on Whether It’s Cyclical (It Is) or Structural (It Isn’t)
November Employment and Revised 3rd Qtr 2011 GDP
I'm a few days late but I wanted to note the latest employment (jobs) report and the first revision to 3rd quarter GDP. There's really not much news here - it's the same old story. The economy continues to move along somewhat like a zombie. Not really dead, but definitely not anything you could call … Continue reading November Employment and Revised 3rd Qtr 2011 GDP
UPDATE on President Obama’s Jobs Proposal – Better, But Still Weak
First an update on a post I made a few days ago. When I commented last Monday on President Obama's jobs proposal, I was less than excited. Having read more detail of the proposal, I should correct some statements I made. I incorrectly left the impression that the payroll tax (Social Security/Medicare tax) cut that … Continue reading UPDATE on President Obama’s Jobs Proposal – Better, But Still Weak
Jobs And Unemployment Report For August 2011 – More Bad News, More Signs Economy Is Stalled, No Net New Jobs
This being the first Friday of the month, the latest U.S. employment report was released this morning. Not good news. In a nutshell: no new net jobs created and the unemployment rate holds steady at 9.1%. It disappointed even the weak expectations of forecasters. The news continues to show an economy that has stalled without … Continue reading Jobs And Unemployment Report For August 2011 – More Bad News, More Signs Economy Is Stalled, No Net New Jobs
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