Let’s talk “UNDER-employment” for a change

It seems that the primary statistic the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics throws our way is for unemployment. As of November 2009 that unemployment rate is at 10.2% – a 25 year high.
But there’s another statistic that’s even more troubling. It’s for underemployment. Underemployment describes those people who have jobs, but their jobs are lesser [...]

Unemployment rate hits 10.2%

Here we go again.
When I logged on to find out the weather for today’s parade on Broadway — the Yankees celebrating their World Series win — the news headlines were not only surprising, they were shocking.
Just yesterday, I remember reading several news reports on the great recovering Wall Street is making.
Today, however, the headlines center [...]

The magnitude of our current unemployment

I don’t think I had a real sense of the magnitude of our current unemployment problem until I pulled out my trusty old calculator.
Out of curiosity, I searched the internet to find out how much average adult workers in the U.S. were earning. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the average adult full-time worker [...]

Friday’s headlines and statistics

Five of nearly 1,000 headlines on Google yesterday referencing our current unemployment:
The New York Times: Unemployment in California at 12%, Highest in Nearly 70 Years
Forbes.com: NC jobless rate remains near 11 percent in August
Associated Press: 42 states lose jobs in August, up from 29 in July
CNBC: State Unemployment Keeps Rising; Three Hit Record Highs
The Progressive [...]

Is it really over?

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said today that the worst recession since the 1930s is probably over, although he cautioned, “Pain — especially for the nearly 15 million unemployed Americans — will persist.”
The article went on to say, “Some economists say it will take at least four years for the jobless rate to drop down [...]

What’s the magnitude of our unemployment problem?

I don’t think I had a real sense of the magnitude of our current unemployment problem until I pulled out my trusty old calculator.
Out of curiosity, I searched the internet to find out how much average adult workers in the U.S. were earning. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the average adult full-time worker [...]

Economy is “on the verge” of growing

CNNMoney.com reported yesterday that 4 million loans are delinquent… and that “the highwater mark should come this fall.”
According to the report, the number of Americans who have fallen at least 30 days behind on their home loan payments jumped 44% in the second quarter from a year ago.
That puts delinquencies at a record 9.24% of [...]

The story the unemployment numbers don’t tell!

The number 14,500,000 (actually more, depending on who you ask and how you count) unemployed is a big number with a lot of zeros. But it doesn’t tell the real story.
Behind that 14,500,000 statistic are unemployed victims of the economy. They represent stories of real people and real families who we caught by a thundering [...]

State budget crunches will slow U.S. economy

By Joan Gralla
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Severe budget crunches afflicting U.S. states will put the brakes on the national economy by as much as seven-tenths of a percent of Gross Domestic Product in the next 12 months, according to a Goldman Sachs report.
That is a reversal from the usual pattern, when states and municipalities can [...]

Latest Unemployment Numbers

According to the Labor Department, June 2009’s payroll reductions were deeper than the 363,000 that economists expected and average weekly earnings dropped to the lowest level in nearly a year.
However, the rise in the unemployment rate from 9.4 percent in May wasn’t as sharp as the expected 9.6 percent. Still, many economists predict the jobless [...]