Apr 01 Unemployment Falls to 8.8 Percent, Employers Add 216K Jobs The Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data showing that unemployment dropped again to 8.8 percent in March, with employers adding 216,000 new jobs. The manufacturing sector showed especially strong growth, increasing at its fastest pace in seven years. Continue reading
Mar 31 The Madness of Sports Betting: Economics Edition By Paul Solman Editor's Note | If you're one of the millions of Americans who filled out a college basketball national championship bracket this year, odds are you're out of luck. ESPN reports that only two brackets out of over 5.9… Continue reading
Mar 31 Coming Up on Making Sen$e: The Fate of America’s Veterans Looking For Work By Paul Solman Editor's Note: On Friday's NewsHour: an eye-opening look at the fate of many veterans attempting to transition back into a tough job market. Today, there are over two million veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And… Continue reading
Mar 30 Making Sen$e: Are American Workers Overpaid? By Paul Solman Paul Solman answers questions from NewsHour viewers and web users on business and economic news most days on his Making Sen$e page. Here's Wednesday's query: Name: Alex Question: Maybe it's my background as a college instructor (and… Continue reading
Mar 30 Are American Workers Overpaid? By Elizabeth Shell Name: Alex Question: Maybe it's my background as a college instructor (and union member), but Paul Solman's tone in his inquiry into GM workers' wages raised my hackles. It may be that the intent was didactic -- to instruct viewers… Continue reading
Mar 29 Watch Is the U.S. Stuck in a Second Housing Slump? The economy may be showing sings of new life but new data show a weak housing market. Ray Suarez talks to Yale University's Ron Shiller about the state of the U.S. housing picture. Continue watching
Mar 29 Making Sen$e Tool$ Tuesday: How States Measure Up By Paul Solman According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the nation grew almost ten percent over the last decade -- from 281.4 million in 2000 to 308.7 million in 2010. The country's racial mix has shifted, too. The number of people that… Continue reading
Mar 28 Economic Forecasts: Crow or Eat Crow By Paul Solman Paul Solman answers questions from NewsHour viewers and readers about business and economic news most days on his Making Sen$e page. Here's Monday's query: Name: Dr. Gene Audette Question: Every year it's prognostications, prognostications. But seldom do… Continue reading
Mar 28 Economic Forecasters: Crow or Eat Crow By Elizabeth Shell Name: Dr. Gene Audette Question: Every year it's prognostications, prognostications. But seldom do "columns" like yours do a retrospective to compare what was predicted to what actually occurred, and to get the same prognosticator to have to defend his/her predictions… Continue reading
Mar 25 The Shirtwaist Factory Fire: 100 Years Later By Paul Solman On the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, NewsHour economics correspondent Paul Solman answered a reader's comment about the need to remember what happened that day. Richard R. Palmer: March 25 is the 100th anniversary of the Triangle… Continue reading