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 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
Oct 03 A two-tiered jobs report for a two-tiered economy By Simone Pathe With the unemployment rate dipping below 6 percent for the first time since the summer of 2008, and payroll gains of 248,000, September's headline employment data points to a real economic recovery -- with jobs. But last month wasn't so… 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
Aug 01 Economy hits sixth month of steady job gains By Simone Pathe The economy added 209,000 jobs last month, slightly fewer than expected, but still making July the sixth straight month to add more than 200,000 jobs, which economists are largely interpreting as a sign of a steady recovery. Continue reading
Jul 03 A better-than-expected birthday present for U.S. in June jobs report By Simone Pathe Despite concerns about sluggish growth in the first quarter of 2014, the unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, and the economy added more than 200,000 jobs for the fifth straight month… Continue reading
Jun 06 200K more Americans and 200K more jobs, but 300K more ‘want a job’ By Paul Solman 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… Continue reading
May 02 Where are the April showers in the jobs report? By Paul Solman 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… 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