- This is why it’s so hard to define unemployment, By Ylan Q. Mui, June 5, 2014, Washington Post: “What does it mean to be unemployed? Depends on what country you’re in.On Friday, the U.S. Labor Department is slated to release its monthly snapshot of the health of the labor market. Calculating the number of people who are unemployed seems like a pretty straightforward task. But the years since the Great Recession have highlighted the complexities of one of the country’s the most critical economic indicators. There is universal agreement that unemployed people meet two basic requirements: They don’t have a job, and they want a job. Those characteristics separate the unemployed from, say, your 90-year-old grandmother who is retired . . .”
- U.S. Payrolls Rose 217,000 in May, Unemployment at 6.3%, Nearly a 6-Year Low, By Victoria Stilwell, June 6, 2014, Bloomberg: “Payrolls pushed past their U.S. pre-recession peak for the first time in May, a milestone that’s been five years in the making. The 217,000 advance in hiring followed a 282,000 gain in April, figures from the Labor Department showed today in Washington. It marked the fourth consecutive month employment increased by more than 200,000, the first time that’s happened since early 2000. The jobless rate unexpectedly held at an almost six-year low of 6.3 percent. ‘We’re seeing the continuation of solid payrolls gains, which is an accomplishment for the economy,’ said Laura Rosner, U.S. economist at BNP Paribas in New York . . .”
Tag: Job losses
Unemployment Poll
- For those out of work, scant optimism in finding the next job, poll finds, By Brenda Cronin, May 21, 2014, Wall Street Journal: “The U.S. labor market’s springtime pickup has yet to brighten the outlook of job-seekers, who say their employment prospects are still stuck in the winter doldrums. Almost half of unemployed men and women have abandoned the hunt for new work, according to a survey released Wednesday. The poll also revealed that job-seekers hadn’t entirely despaired of returning to work at some point: 91% respondents said they were hopeful of finding a desirable position in the next six months. The online poll, which was conducted in April, reflects the views of 1,500 U.S. adults age 18 or older who are able to work but have been unemployed for various lengths of time. About 20% of respondents said they were receiving unemployment benefits. . .”
- Nearly half of unemployed not looking for work, poll finds, By Tiffany Hsu, May 21, 2014, Los Angeles Times: “Some 47% of unemployed Americans say they’ve given up on looking for work, according to a poll commissioned by staffing firm Express Employment Professionals. More than half say looking for work has been more difficult than expected; only 2 in 10 currently receive unemployment benefits. Among the rest, nearly a third aren’t eligible and 30% never applied, according to the data, which was collected by Harris Poll from April 9 to 21 from among 1,500 unemployed adults. Unless I have a masters or a PhD that allows me to make $50,000 a year with a good job, I’ll be looking at $8 an hour. A plurality of poll respondents – 45% — said they blame the economy most of all for their situation. . .”
Long-term Unemployment
The odds you’ll join the ranks of the long-term unemployed, By Matt O’Brien, May 16, 2014, Washington Post: “Long-term unemployment is a terrifying trap that, even in the best of times, is difficult to escape. And it’s a trap that you can get stuck in for no reason other than bad luck. Today, there are still almost 3.5 million people who have been out of work for six months or longer and are looking for work. There isn’t a more urgent crisis, and there are three things you should keep in mind about it. 1. As former CEA Chair Alan Krueger found, the long-term unemployed aren’t much different from the short-term unemployed. They’re a little older and more of them are African-Americans, but they’re just about as educated and work in the same industries as everyone else who’s trying to find a job. 2. The long-term unemployed have a hard time getting companies to even look at their job applications, let alone hire them. . .”