Making Sen$e Jun 06 200K more Americans and 200K more jobs, but 300K more ‘want a job’ With 217,000 jobs added to the economy, payrolls now exceed their pre-recession level. But even if the economy is pumping out enough jobs for a workforce that also grew by roughly 200,000, there are now nearly 300,000 more Americans than…
Making Sen$e Jun 04 Can Americans compete with quality-driven Germans? Werner Eikenbusch, BMW’s head of workforce development for the Americas, left high school in the 10th grade for an apprenticeship program that combined on-the-job training with vocational school. He eventually returned to school to become an engineer, and at BMW’s…
Making Sen$e May 22 The surprising bull: Thomas Piketty on Wall Street You've heard French economist Thomas Piketty talk about inequality and a global wealth tax to tap into the high rate of return on capital. The stock market is the source of much of that high-end wealth, and Piketty doesn't see…
Making Sen$e May 02 Where are the April showers in the jobs report? April's jobs report looks sunny: the lowest unemployment rate since fall 2008 and more jobs added to the economy than expected. But don't hang up the umbrellas just yet: nearly a million more people in April than in March told…
Making Sen$e Apr 04 Part-timers are the dark side of the bright jobs numbers The economy added a healthy 192,000 jobs in March, but what's worrisome, Paul Solman explains, is the rise in the number of people working part time because they couldn't find a full-time job.
Making Sen$e Mar 28 Sanctions against Russia: What will and won’t work Sanctions work best when they're targeted -- not at oil, but at the most vulnerable parts of the economy: the financial system and the very rich.
Economy Jan 17 How do we fix the unequal economy? The solution to economic inequality depends on what you think the cause is.
Economy Jan 10 A ‘perverse’ and chilly jobs report: Unemployment down, but we’re leaving the workforce in droves Photo courtesy of Justin Sullivan/Getty Images. My preferred word to describe today's unemployment numbers comes from Robin Harding in this morning's Financial Times: "perverse" (though you need a subscription to read the article). That is, a paltry 74,000…
Economy Jan 10 A ‘Perverse’ and Chilly Jobs Report: Unemployment Down, but We’re Leaving the Workforce in Droves By Paul Solman My preferred word to describe today’s unemployment numbers comes from Robin Harding in this morning’s Financial Times: “perverse” (though you need a subscription to read the article). That is, a paltry 74,000 new jobs…
Making Sen$e Dec 27 So you think you can do better than the Fed? Fed chair Ben Bernanke steps down at the end of January. The Fed may not be perfect, Paul Solman explains in response to a reader, but is there another way to run a modern market-driven economy? Photo courtesy of Alex…