May 09 Ask yourself, says a notorious ‘Occupy’ academic, should your job exist? By David Graeber Increasingly, anthropologist and Occupy activist David Graeber argues, American workers are paid to look busy. The expansion of our days with meaningless work and the growth of entire industries that shouldn't exist, Graeber writes, fuel resentment toward "real" professions like… Continue reading
May 02 Unemployment rate drops to lowest since fall 2008 By Simone Pathe The unemployment rate dropped to its lowest since September 2008, and the economy added 288,000 jobs last month, but about 800,000 people dropped out of the labor force. Our more inclusive Solman Scale also fell to 14.38 percent. Continue reading
May 02 Obama, Merkel look for united front on Ukraine By Domenico Montanaro, Terence Burlij, Simone Pathe, Rachel Wellford As more fighting has broken out in Eastern Ukraine, President Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be looking for a show of unity on the situation when they meet Friday at the White House. But if you want to… Continue reading
Apr 17 Watch SeaTac airport workers fight exclusion from $15 minimum wage By PBS News Hour In SeaTac, Wash., home of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, citizens voted last year to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. However, a court decision — now being appealed — has excluded the 5,000 or so workers on airport… Continue watching
Apr 16 Obama, Biden to announce $600 million in job grants By Darlene Superville, Associated Press Striving to show action on jobs, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are hitting the road to trumpet $600 million in new competitive grants to spur creation of targeted training and apprenticeship programs that could help people land… Continue reading
Apr 04 Part-timers are the dark side of the bright jobs numbers By Paul Solman 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. Continue reading
Mar 13 Watch Crunching the costs and benefits of overtime pay reform By PBS News Hour President Obama has directed the Labor Department to update overtime pay rules for an estimated 5 million workers, but some business owners and Republicans are worried about economic effects for employers. Hari Sreenivasan gets debate on the overtime bump from… Continue watching
Mar 12 The secret to improving health and productivity at work By Simone Pathe Staying physically active in the office is good for your health and your employer's insurance premiums. But new research suggests working out while you work is also good for your office productivity. Continue reading
Mar 07 Watch News Wrap: U.S. economy added 175,000 jobs despite February’s harsh winter weather By PBS News Hour Continue watching
Mar 07 Why economists take out their own trash before the monthly jobs report By Karen Kosanovich, Julie Hatch Maxfield On "jobs Friday," Making Sense speaks with two Bureau of Labor Statistics economists about what it's like to prepare one of the most closely-watched, and guarded, economic indicators in America. Continue reading