- Drop in unemployment raises debate on optimal rate, By Jim Zarroli, October 17, 2014, National Public Radio: “The U.S. unemployment rate has been falling steadily over the years. Down from the recession peak of 10 percent in 2009, it reached 5.9 percent in September. That’s getting close to what economists call the natural unemployment rate — the normal level of joblessness you’d expect in a healthy economy. But a lot of economists are asking whether the old rules about full employment still apply…”
- Sept. unemployment rates fall in 31 states, By Paul Davidson, October 21, 2014, USA Today: “Unemployment rates fell in 31 states in September as the labor market rebounded after softening in August. Joblessness increased in eight states and was unchanged in 11 states and the District of Columbia, the Labor Department said Tuesday…”
- Long-term unemployment persists, By Michelle Jamrisko, October 22, 2014, Sun Sentinel: “Leticia Vives thought her rise from teller to senior teller to manager during 23 years at Bank of America had earned her staying power, or at least the experience to find work elsewhere. Still jobless 18 months after being let go in a downsizing move, Vives is wondering whether she had either. ‘I just feel helpless,’ said Vives, 44, of Ansonia, Conn. ‘The more you are unemployed, the more helpless you feel.’ More than five years into the U.S. expansion, 2.9 million Americans are long-term unemployed, meaning they’ve been out of work for 27 weeks or longer. They make up 31.9 percent of all jobless, more than twice the average in records dating to 1948. Vives is among the 2 million who have been off the payrolls for more than a year…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty