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University of Wisconsin–Madison
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty

December 2012 US Unemployment

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  • U.S. continues to add jobs at slow pace, report shows, By Catherine Rampell, January 4, 2013, New York Times: “Despite concerns about looming tax increases and government spending cuts, American employers added 155,000 jobs in December. Employees also enjoyed slightly faster wage growth and worked longer hours, which could bode well for future hiring. The job growth, almost exactly equal to the average monthly growth in the last two years, was enough to keep the unemployment rate steady at 7.8 percent, the Labor Department reported on Friday. But it was not enough to put a dent in the backlog of 12.2 million jobless workers, underscoring the challenge facing Washington politicians as they continue to wrestle over how to address the budget deficit…”
  • Economy maintains job growth as unemployment holds at 7.8%, By Don Lee, January 4, 2013, Los Angeles Times: “The U.S. job market continued to show slow and steady improvement in December as employers added 155,000 jobs last month, in line with analysts’ expectations and at the average monthly pace for the last two years. The jobless rate held steady at 7.8% as November’s unemployment figure was revised up from the initial estimate of 7.7%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday…”
  • Female unemployment exceeds men’s for first time since recession, By Alana Semuels, January 4, 2013, Los Angeles Times: “For the first time since the recession began, the unemployment rate for adult women surpassed that for adult men, indicating that while the U.S. might have been a ‘mancession,’ it also appears to be experiencing a ‘mancovery.’ The unemployment rate for women 20 years and older rose to 7.3% in December, from 7% the month before. Unemployment for men of the same age remained at 7.2% in December. The persistently high unemployment rate for women is likely a result of the large cuts in state and local governments that have come over the last year as lawmakers slashed jobs to close budget gaps. The economy lost 13,000 government jobs from November to December, and has lost 68,000 since December 2011…”