Apr 03 Unemployment Climbs to 8.5% in March By Admin, PBS News Hour The nation's unemployment rate climbed to 8.5 percent in March, marking its highest level since 1983, as employers slashed a net total of 663,000 jobs, according to government figures released Friday. Continue reading
Mar 18 Obama Holds Town Hall in Costa Mesa, Calif. By Admin, PBS News Hour President Barack Obama held a town hall meeting in Costa Mesa, Calif., Wednesday, where he spoke about the AIG controversy, his plan for the budget and economic recovery plans. Continue reading
Mar 16 New Grads Increasingly Turning to Jobs in Service, Volunteer Sectors By Admin, PBS News Hour With the nation's unemployment rising to a 25-year high this month and the financial sector in turmoil, job prospects look bleak for many college seniors set to graduate this spring. Continue reading
Mar 06 Unemployment Rate Soars to 8.1% in February By Admin, PBS News Hour U.S. employers cut 651,000 jobs in February, the Labor Department reported Friday, pushing the nation's unemployment rate to 8.1 percent, the highest it has been since 1983. Continue reading
Mar 06 Is Anyone Still Hiring? Question: Is anyone still hiring? Paul Solman: The number is now in: 651,000 jobs shed in February. Also, from the Bloomberg story this morning: “The payroll drop in January was revised up to 655,000 from 598,000 and December now… Continue reading
Mar 06 Unemployment Woes Hit Cities, Suburbs Harder than Most of U.S. By Admin, PBS News Hour As the country absorbs the newest round of national unemployment data Friday, the real-world effect in local communities is proving a mixed picture. Continue reading
Mar 02 Why Don’t We Offer Earlier Retirement Incentives to Open Up Jobs for the Unemployed? Question/Comment: Someone must have already considered this idea for the economic stimulus, but I haven’t heard anything about it: Why don’t we offer earlier retirement incentives for people still working at retirement age because they want to get their maximum… Continue reading
Feb 27 What Are “Targeted Jobs”? By Business Desk Question/Comment: Paul, can you explain what “targeted jobs” are? Are these something different from the type of jobs that people are losing now? It seems to me that $30,000 spent on retaining a librarian would have the same economic benefit… Continue reading
Feb 25 Are We Overreacting to Unemployment Numbers? Question/Comment: In the early ’80’s unemployment was over 10 percent. I’m old enough to remember what the economy was like at that time. It wasn’t pretty given interest rates, but on the other hand we weren’t considering massive government funding… Continue reading
Feb 24 Is There a Connection Between Reducing Taxes and Creating Jobs? By Business Desk Question/Comment: Simple question. President Obama and all members of Congress say the “stimulus bill must contain only monies targeted directly for job creation”. Given that the stimulus bill now has 60 percent allocated for tax reductions, please explain the direct… Continue reading