Feb 06 Why a higher unemployment rate may be good news for the economy By Simone Pathe The unemployment rate increased from 5.6 to 5.7 percent in the first month of 2015, but economists greeted that as good news. Even more encouraging, the economy added 257,000 jobs in January and average hourly earnings were up 12 cents. Continue reading
Jan 09 Watch 6:02 Does a stronger economy mean higher interest rates in 2015? By PBS News Hour Continue watching
Jan 09 Watch 5:34 News Wrap: Legal challenge to Keystone XL fails in Nebraska By PBS News Hour In our news wrap Friday, the House of Representatives voted again to approve construction of the Keystone XL pipeline after the Nebraska Supreme Court rejected a legal challenge to the pipeline’s route. Also, Islamic cleric Mustafa Kamel Mustafa was sentenced… Continue watching
Jan 09 We’re adding jobs like it’s 1999, but American workers just can’t get a raise By Simone Pathe The final unemployment report of 2014, released Friday morning, ended a solid year of payroll gains. But despite December's additional 252,000 jobs and the lowest unemployment rate since 2008, wages aren't rising. In fact, average hourly earnings fell in December,… Continue reading
Dec 05 What’s the most reliable indicator of monthly job gains? By Simone Pathe Friday's jobs report showed a surprisingly high 321,000 jobs were added in November. Inspiring even more good cheer, however, average hourly earnings for private nonfarm payrolls actually rose 9 cents last month. Continue reading
Nov 09 If the economic news is good, why did voters say it’s bad? By Simone Pathe Two-thirds of voters told exit pollsters last week that the economy was getting worse. And yet, Friday's jobs report marked the ninth straight month of job gains over 200,000 and the lowest unemployment rate since the summer of 2008. Continue reading
Nov 07 The startling fact you, we and Paul Krugman didn’t know about the jobs report By Simone Pathe October's payroll gains were slightly lower than expected at 214,000, but average six-month gains continued to suggest a strong recovery. You might be surprised to learn, however, that those payroll gains don't just reflect full-time jobs. They also include part-time… Continue reading
Sep 18 Twitter Chat: What’s the economic impact of the rise of single U.S. adults? By Nora Daly Every month the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases an “Employment Situation Summary” based on current employment and population statistics the agency collects. But does this report paint a full picture?… Continue reading
Sep 05 Noisy data aside, the big question from August’s jobs report is who’s dropping out of the workforce? By Simone Pathe The economy added a fewer than expected 142,000 jobs last month -- the lowest monthly gain of the year. But the unemployment rate ticked down to 6.1 percent, which is good news, right? Maybe not. That all depends on who's… Continue reading
Aug 01 Another 200K jobs for ‘The Little Engine That Could’ By Simone Pathe July marks the sixth straight month of job gains exceeding 200,000 -- a growth record not seen since 1997. But there's still not enough turnover in the labor market, the Brookings Institution's Justin Wolfers and MIT's Peter Diamond say, to… Continue reading