ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES

The latest Employment Situation news release has been posted on the BLS website at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf and also archived at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/empsit_02032012.pdf . Highlights are below. Payroll employment rises 243,000 in January; unemployment rate decreases to 8.3% 02/03/2012 Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 243,000 in January, and the unemployment rate decreased to 8.3 percent. Job growth was widespread, with large gains in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and manufacturing.

The unemployment rate increased to 9.6% in August 2010, but that may be a good indicator for job prospects in the near future if you understand how the statistic is calculated. .In the September 3, 2010 U.S. News & World Report article " 5 Key Lessons in August's Jobs Report ," Liz Wolgemuth provides some insight into why an increase in the unemployment rate might be a good signal for economic recovery. August's jobs report is shining a little light on the ploddingly dreary labor market. Private employers added more jobs than economists expected last month, and the Labor Department revised the data to show bigger private sector gains for June and July. In July, private employers added 107,000 jobs, rather than the 71,000 initially reported. The unemployment rate last month ticked up to 9.6 percent from 9.5 percent in July, reflecting an increase in the size of the labor force. This report offers some important lessons to help understand the current job market a...

In the July 2, 2010 article " Job market not growing fast enough for big rebound ," Associated Press economics writers Jeannine Aversa and Christopher S. Rugaber report: WASHINGTON – A second straight month of lackluster hiring by American businesses is sapping strength from the economic rebound. The jobless rate fell to 9.5 percent in June, still far too high to signal a healthy economy. It came in slightly lower than the month before only because more than a half-million people gave up looking for work and were no longer counted as unemployed. The private sector added just 83,000 jobs for the month. Looked at from that angle or almost any other, from a teetering housing market to falling factory orders, the recovery is limping along as it enters the year's second half. And that is when the benefits of most of the government's stimulus spending will begin to wear off. The fate of the economy will hinge on whether it can stand on its own. President Barack Obama acknow...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- The latest Employment Situation news release ( http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf ) was issued today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Highlights are below. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 290,000 in April, the unemployment rate edged up to 9.9 percent, and the labor force increased sharply. Job gains occurred in manufacturing, professional and business services, health care, and leisure and hospitality. Federal government employment also rose, reflecting continued hiring of temporary workers for Census 2010. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- News releases archives: http://www.bls.gov/schedule/archives/all_nr.htm -------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the February 19, 2010 article " True Unemployment Figure Reveals Recession Far From Over ," Simon Maierhofer reports one of the lesser-used measures of labor market activity suggests conditions are worse that the more popular metrics suggest. Surprising as it is, for nearly a year, investors have shrugged off mounting jobless claims and rising unemployment as an ingredient that is not really required for an economic recovery. They have begun to believe in a non-existent phenomenon; a 'jobless recovery.' The Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq after losing about 3% each, are now in a state of flux marking the first time in months that concerns over unemployment were raising suspicions. Does that mean that the trend of the 'new bull market' in stocks has changed? Or are we in for further declines? The real numbers Today's headline reports reveal that the unemployment numbers, surprisingly, seem to be improving. In reality, unemployment spiked to an all-tim...

In the January 8, 2010 article " Economy loses 85K jobs, unemployment rate steady ," Associated Press economics writer Christopher Rugaber summarizes the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistic's employment situation report for December 2009. The BLS publishes its Employment Situation Summary on the first Friday of each month. It also provides other extensive U.S. labor market data . WASHINGTON – Lack of confidence in the economic recovery led employers to shed a more-than-expected 85,000 jobs in December even as the unemployment rate held at 10 percent. The rate would have been higher if more people had been looking for work instead of leaving the labor force because they can't find jobs. The sharp drop in the work force — 661,000 fewer people — showed that more of the jobless are giving up on their search for work. Once people stop looking for jobs, they are no longer counted among the unemployed. When discouraged workers and part-time workers who would prefer full-time j...