Related Content: jobs

U.S. Unemployment Rate Falls to 8.6%

On The Radar

For months, political analysts have been saying that President Obama's reelection hopes hinge on the economy, with an unemployment rate of 9% or higher certain to pose serious problems for the White House. On Friday, the Labor Department announced an unexpectedly sharp decline in the November unemployment rate, to 8.6% from 9% in October, raising hopes of an accelerated recovery.

"Better Buildings" Bring Obama, Bill Clinton Together Again

On The Radar

They share a high regard for the secretary of state. They love policy conundrums, government, and being best-selling authors. They know firsthand that it's the economy, stupid. And on Friday, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton will join forces in Washington to tout "Better Buildings" as a public-private initiative that can save energy, money and create (even without new legislation) somewhere between 35,000 and 50,000 jobs.

U.S. Companies Add Workers Abroad, Cut at Home

On The Radar

U.S.-based multinational corporations added 1.5 million workers to their payrolls in Asia and the Pacific during the 2000s, and 477,500 workers in Latin America, while cutting payrolls at home by 864,000. David Wessel has details on The News Hub.

The President's Agenda

On The Radar

For Alan Krueger, recently confirmed by the Senate to be chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, this is a second tour in the Obama administration. In 2009-10, he served as the Treasury's top economist. Last year he returned to Princeton University, where he is a professor of economics. But President Obama called him back this fall to join his economic team, calling particularly on Mr. Krueger's expertise on labor-market issues at a time of persistently high unemployment.

Obama and Veterans: Can a Hawkish Dove Gain Their Support?

On The Radar

Sen. John McCain, a former Navy pilot and prisoner of war, captured the lion's share of the millions of ballots cast by active-duty military and veterans in 2008. His leg-up with that demographic was no secret well before Election Day. Now comes a question for 2012: Will a Republican presidential nominee do as well or better challenging commander-in-chief Obama among military voters?

Obama: 'Veterans did their jobs ... time for Congress to do theirs'

On The Radar

President Obama on Monday announced new initiatives to help veterans find work, blasting Republicans in the process. In pressing the Senate during a Rose Garden event to pass a package of tax incentives for businesses that hire unemployed veterans, Obama castigated Republicans for voting against his jobs bill and said “there's no good reason to oppose this bill. Not one.”

Obama Pushes Jobs Plan as Senate Prepares to Vote

On The Radar

President Obama continued the drumbeat for his jobs plan on Tuesday, even as White House officials acknowledged that the bill’s prospects in the Senate were tenuous and Mr. Obama himself vowed not to wait for Congress to advance ideas to get American back to work.

Obama to Run Against ‘Do-Nothing’ Congress If Jobs Legislation Fails

On The Radar

Phil Schiliro, then the White House congressional liaison, put his boss on notice last year. One hurdle stood between him and the start of his re-election campaign: lifting the debt ceiling.

Emergency, Outrage, Impotence: Three Economic Truths Dawn on Obama

On The Radar

President Obama told America on Thursday that the economy is sliding backward, that economic frustration is growing nationwide, and that he can’t get Congress to do anything about it by himself. No revelations there, except for the fact that it took Obama so long to articulate what his constituents have known intuitively for a long time now.

Making Case for Jobs Bill, Obama Cites Europe’s Woes

On The Radar

In perhaps his most sober remarks about the economy this year, President Obama on Thursday described the weakening economy as “an emergency” and made the case for his jobs bill as “an insurance policy against a possible double-dip recession.”