- The October jobs report is boring, in a (mostly) good way, By Neil Irwin, November 7, 2014, New York Times: “There was nothing surprising about Friday morning’s report on the state of the American job market. And that’s (mostly) good news. The labor market — and the economy more generally — has gained momentum as 2014 has progressed, judging from the readings of the job market. The latest numbers do not point to any acceleration of the trend, but neither do they point to deceleration. Rather, they reinforce what we thought we knew, and can give a bit of solace to anyone who interpreted a burst of financial market volatility last month as a sign that the economy was heading for the rocks…”
- Economists react to the October jobs report: ‘On the whole, a strong report’, By Sarah Portlock, November 7, 2014, Wall Street Journal: “U.S. employers added 214,000 jobs in October, while the unemployment rate fell to 5.8% and wages moved up slightly. The headline number was lower than gains in recent months, but the economy has now added an average of 224,000 jobs over the last three months. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected payrolls would increase by 233,000 and the jobless rate would remain at 5.9%. On Friday, economists said the jobs report showed signs of strength in the economy, though there are still areas for improvement in the labor market…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty