US employers Add 175K Jobs, Rate Up To 7.6 Percent

(AP) The U.S. economy added 175,000 jobs in May, a gain that shows employers are hiring at a still-modest but steady pace despite government spending cuts and higher taxes.

The unemployment rate rose to 7.6 percent from 7.5 percent in April, the Labor Department said Friday.  The rate rose because more people began looking for work, a healthy sign.  About three-quarters found jobs.

The government revised the job figures for the previous two months.  April’s gain was lowered to 149,000 from 165,000.  March’s was increased slightly to 142,000 from 138,000.  The net loss was 12,000 jobs.

Stocks jumped when the market opened at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time, an hour after the report was released.  The Dow Jones industrial average surged 150 points in the first hour of trading.

Read more: 
http://www.timesleader.com/news/apnews/951674514947994523/US-employers-add-175K-jobs-rate-up-to-7.6-pct.

U.S. Employers Add 165,000 Jobs; Rate Falls To 7.5 Percent

WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added 165,000 jobs in April, and hiring was much stronger in the previous two months than the government first estimated.  The job increases helped reduce the unemployment rate from 7.6 percent to a four-year low of 7.5 percent.

The report today from the Labor Department was a reassuring sign that the U.S. job market is improving despite higher taxes and government spending cuts that took effect this year.

The government revised up its estimate of job gains in February and March by a combined 114,000.  It now says employers added 332,000 jobs in February and 138,000 in March.  The economy has created an average of 208,000 jobs a month from November through April — above the 138,000 added in the previous six months.

The number of unemployed fell 83,000 to 11.7 million.

Read more:  
http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=474934

The Real Fiscal Cliff: The 4.8 Million Long-Term Unemployed

Today’s alarming financial news is the rise in first-time unemployment claims to 385,000, up 28,000 and also above expectations.  The U.S. Labor Department report shows the labor market is weakening, not that it was anything resembling strong in the first place.  It makes me want to cry, because every piece of news like this makes me even more distraught about the future of the 4.8 million long-term unemployed.

I’ve covered unemployment issues or more than a decade and the future for those who are out of work beyond the normal six months funded by state benefits is very bleak.  These aren’t lazy bums, but desperate people who are financially and emotionally devastated by their situation.

Read more: 
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/jobs/INQ_JobbingBlog_The-real-fiscal-cliff-The-millions-of-long-term-unemployed.html#ixzz2PVbVF6gR

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U.S. Unemployment Rate Falls To 7.7 Percent

WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy added 146,000 jobs in November and the unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent, the lowest since December 2008. The government said Superstorm Sandy had only a minimal effect on the figures.

The Labor Department‘s report today offered a mixed picture of the economy.

Hiring remained steady during the storm and in the face of looming tax increases. But the government said employers added 49,000 fewer jobs in October and September than it initially estimated.

And the unemployment rate fell to a four-year low in November from 7.9 percent in October mostly because more people stopped looking for work and weren’t counted as unemployed.

Read more:  
http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=433757

More Expensive Gas Pushes US Consumer Prices Up

WASHINGTON (AP) – Higher gas costs drove up U.S. consumer prices in September for the second straight month.  Outside energy, there was little sign of inflation.

The Labor Department said Tuesday that the consumer price index rose a seasonally adjusted 0.6 percent last month, matching the August increase.  In the past 12 months, prices have increased 2 percent.  That’s in line with the Federal Reserve’s inflation target.

Excluding volatile food and energy costs, prices rose just 0.1 percent.  In the past year, so-called core prices have increased 2 percent.

Read more: 
http://business-news.thestreet.com/the-times-herald/story/more-expensive-gas-pushes-us-consumer-prices/1

New Jersey Unemployment Rate At 9.8 Percent, Highest Since 1977

Map of New Jersey (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note:  By comparison, Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate for July 2012 was 7.9%.

New Jersey’s unemployment rate rose in July for the fourth month in a row to 9.8 percent, a record high since 1977, according to data released by the state Department of Labor on Thursday.

July’s jobless rate in the Garden State was up from 9.6 percent in June and from 9.4 percent in July 2011, the preliminary numbers showed.

Democrats seized on the data to blast Republican Governor Chris Christie‘s self-proclaimed “comeback” for New Jersey.

“There is no way to interpret this other than bad,” said New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney, a Democrat, in a statement. “What I want to see is this administration admit it is failing in terms of getting people back to work.”

 Read more: 
http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-nj-unemployment-rate-20120816,0,1446508.story

Economy Adds 163,000 Jobs; Rate Ticks Up

WASHINGTON – U.S. employers added 163,000 jobs in July, a hopeful sign after three months of sluggish hiring.

The Labor Department said today that the unemployment rate rose to 8.3 percent from 8.2 percent in June.

July’s hiring was the best since February.  Still, the economy has added an average of 151,000 jobs a month this year, roughly the same as last year’s pace.  That’s not enough to satisfy the 12.8 million Americans who are unemployed.

The government uses two surveys to measure employment.  A survey of businesses showed job gains.  The unemployment rate comes from a survey of households, which showed fewer people had jobs.  Economists say the business survey is more reliable.

Read more: 
http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=405824

Postal Service Bracing For Default

USPS service delivery truck in a residential area of San Francisco, California (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Postal Service is bracing for a first-ever default on billions in payments due to the Treasury, adding to widening uncertainty about the mail agency’s solvency as first-class letters plummet and Congress deadlocks on ways to stem the red ink.

With cash running perilously low, two legally required payments for future postal retirees’ health benefits – $5.5 billion due Wednesday, and another $5.6 billion due in September – will be left unpaid, the mail agency said Monday. Postal officials said they also are studying whether they may need to delay other obligations. In the coming months, a $1.5 billion payment is due to the Labor Department for workers compensation, which for now it expects to make, as well as millions in interest payments to the Treasury.

Read more: 
http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=404934

Unemployment Stuck At 8.2% As Hiring Lags In June

Non-farm payrolls expanded by just 80,000 jobs in June, falling short of forecasts

U.S. employers hired at a dismal pace in June, raising pressure on the Federal Reserve to do more to boost the economy and further imperiling President Barack Obama‘s chances of reelection in November.

The Labor Department said on Friday non-farm payrolls expanded by just 80,000 jobs in June, falling short of forecasts though a tad higher than a revised May reading of 77,000.

Job creation during the month wasn’t enough to bring down the country’s lofty 8.2 percent unemployment rate. The report appeared sure to fuel concerns that Europe’s debt crisis is shifting the U.S. economy into low gear.

Read more: 
http://www.mcall.com/business/chi-june-unemployment-20120706,0,6588228.story

Feeble U.S. Job Growth Stokes Fears of Global Slowdown

For a third year, the economic recovery in the United States is floundering, stoking fears of a global slowdown as the European crisis escalates.

Last month, the nation’s employers added the fewest jobs in a year and the unemployment rate actually rose, the Labor Department reported Friday. May was not a fluke either. It was the third consecutive month of disappointing results.

The weakening recovery is a serious vulnerability for President Obama as he faces re-election and it provides traction to his Republican rival, Mitt Romney, who says the administration has not done enough to strengthen the economy. Because Washington remains deeply divided over how best to stimulate growth, the report increases the  pressure on the Federal Reserve to take further action on its own.

The United States gained a net 69,000 jobs in May, for an average of 96,000 over each of the last three months. That is down from a 245,000 gain on average from December through February. The unemployment rate rose to 8.2 percent in May from 8.1 in April, though largely because more people began looking for work. And there was more bad news: job gains that had been reported in March and April were revised downward.

Read more:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/02/business/economy/us-added-69000-jobs-in-may-jobless-rate-at-8-2.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper

Former Bethlehem Steel Property To Idle

 

BETHLEHEM STEEL PLANT AT SPARROWS POINT – NARA – 546882 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The owner of the financially ailing Sparrows Point steel plant is idling operations there, warning 1,975 workers Thursday that they would be laid off starting next month.

The news, which casts doubt on the future of the Baltimore County facility that was once owned by Bethlehem Steel, came as RG Steel is shopping the steel mill and its other assets to potential buyers.

RG Steel informed the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulations that layoffs would begin June 4 and continue through June 18. The state said the company would be laying off 1,714 hourly and 261 salaried workers, losses that would be a significant blow to the economy.

For years, the plant has faced uncertainty before last-minute deals salvaged the mill. RG Steel is the latest owner to try to sustain steel production at the once-flourishing facility.

Read more:
http://www.mcall.com/business/mc-allentown-sparrows-point-idle-20120525,0,7750660.story

Pennsylvania Losing Extended Unemployment Aid

Map of Pennsylvania, showing major cities and roads (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania‘s unemployment rate is now too low for it to continue offering 13 weeks of extended unemployment benefits, the U.S. Department of Labor and Industry says.

Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was 7.5 percent in March, down from a 12-month high of 8.3 percent in September.

Right now, jobless Pennsylvanians receive 26 weeks of state-funded benefits and, once that runs out, 47 weeks of federally funded Emergency Unemployment Compensation. The extended benefits provided 13 weeks of additional aid beyond that 47-week window.

Read more:
http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/mc-pa-unemployment-compensation-20120504,0,1579587.story

Gasoline Pushes Inflation Up In January

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Gasoline prices jumped in January, leading overall consumer prices higher and offering a reminder of the risks energy costs pose to the economic recovery.

Despite the warning signal, overall consumer prices rose just 0.2 percent, the Labor Department said on Friday, which is unlikely to ring alarm bells at the Federal Reserve.

Strong jobs and factory data have eased worries U.S. economic growth could slow sharply, but tensions between Western nations and Iran still threaten to hand the economy a repeat of 2011 when a spike in energy prices hit the recovery hard.

Read more:
http://www.mcall.com/business/sns-rt-us-usa-economytre7bm0ab-20120103,0,2516876.story

ZERO Job Growth Reported For August

For the first time since 1945 our country reported a net job growth of ZERO, for August! 2011  Unemployment remained at 9.1 percent.  Companies are not laying off or hiring.  We are in a holding pattern.  Hourly wages fell in August.

Consumer and business confidence has been shaken by the federal debt limit feud, the downgrading of our long-term debt and the financial crisis in Europe.  The result is a stock market drop.

Unless job growth is improved immediately, another recession is likely.

To read the entire article about our economic mess, click here,

http://www.centredaily.com/2011/09/02/2899388/hiring-standstill-points-to-growing.html#storylink=rss?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

July’s Economic News Better Than June’s!

The economy fared better in July than it did in June.  117,000 jobs were added in July as opposed to only 18,000 in June.  Also, the unemployment rate inched down one tenth of one percent from 9.2 percent in June to 9.1 percent in July.

In order to substantially reduce unemployment 250,000 jobs a month would be need to be added to bring the unemployment rate down quickly.  As you can see, we are nowhere near that level.

In August we will have to wait and see if the reduction of the U.S.credit rating and Thursday’s stock market plunge will have an adverse effect on job creation and unemployment.

Jobless Rate Continues To Fall

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry has released the jobless rate for March 2011.  There is good news all around.

York County‘s unemployment rate fell to 7.2%, down from 7.6% in February.

Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate fell to 7.8%, down from 8.0% in February

The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 8.8% , down from 8.9% in February.

Pennsylvania’s jobless rate is an entire point below the national average and York County is .6% less than the state average.

Pennsylvania Jobless Rate Drops Again

The Pennsylvania jobless rate for November dropped to 8.6% while the nationally the unemployment rate rose to 9.8%.  November marked the fourth straight month unemployment in Pennsylvania has decreased.

Pennsylvania Jobless Rates Dips Again

Image via Wikipedia

The unemployment rate in Pennsylvania has dropped for the third consecutive month.  October’s rate fell to 8.8%, down from 9.0% in September.

Pennsylvania Jobless Rate Falls Again

This is great news!  The jobless rate in Pennsylvania has fallen for the second consecutive month and is now 9%.  7,000 new jobs were added in September.  The national jobless rate stands at 9.6% so Pennsylvania is below the national average.