By Laura Conaway

The unemployment rate fell in 19 states last month, including in struggling Ohio and Indiana, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.

Which leaves the bad news, that unemployment rose in 23 states. Another eight recorded no change. Leading the way with the biggest drop in workers was New York, Texas, California, Wisconsin and Michigan. States that added the most jobs included Indiana, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah.

Compared to this time last year, unemployment is higher in every state and the District of Columbia. Michigan recorded the highest unemployment in September, with 15.3 percent.

If you're looking for healthy states, try North Dakota (4.2 percent unemployment), South Dakota (4.8 percent) or Nebraska (4.9 percent).

Falling hours help lead to falling earnings. Click to enlarge. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

By Laura Conaway

It makes sense: People are working fewer hours -- between layoffs, furloughs and the shrinking of overtime -- and they're making less money. Today the Bureau of Labor Statistics charts the situation of smaller paychecks, with real average earnings declining by 0.4 percent from August to September. Urban and clerical workers managed earnings growth of 0.2 percent.

Weekly earnings peaked in December 2008 -- and they've fallen by 1.9 percent since then.

By Laura Conaway

Do the math: On the last business day of August, the number of job openings in the U.S. was just under 2.4 million. The number of unemployed people hit 14.9 million that month, then climbed to 15.1 million in September. That means there about six unemployed people for every available job.

And it's been that way for a while. "The job openings rate was little changed in August in all industries and regions," reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary. Flat, flat, flat.

This job market is just not warming up. Hiring fell in the private sector and in the government one. Hiring fell in every region except for the Midwest, where it rose by 45,000. In the West, hiring fell by 175,000. The quits rate, which includes people who voluntarily leave a job for any reason other than retirement or death, fell back to a record low of 1.3 percent -- so low as to be meaningless.

By Laura Conaway

Good morning, and welcome to the Thursday numbers parade.

New claims for unemployment benefits have fallen to the lowest level since January, the Department of Labor reports. In the week ending Oct. 3, some 521,000 people said they'd lost their work, down 33,000 from the week before.

The four-week moving average fell by 9,000 to 539,750. As of Sept. 26, the number of people on regular unemployment insurance fell 72,000 to 6,040,000. The rolls rose again for Emergency Unemployment Compensation, which kicks in when regular benefits run out in states with high joblessness. As of Sept. 19, to 3,321,210 -- an increase of 45,997.

The central story line continues: Fewer people are losing their jobs, and the ones who do are struggling to find new ones.

In other news, the health care bill backed by Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) would lower the federal deficit by $81 billion over the next decade, the Congressional Budget Office predicts.

The federal deficit hit a record $1.4 trillion in fiscal year 2009, with much of the spending going to rescue the economy.

The failure of the New Frontier Bank in Greeley, Colo., has the federal government paying to feed and milk cows. Seriously.

Where are the laid-off lawyers? (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

By Laura Conaway

Some of the scariest words I've read all day appeared in Above the Law. The blog writes that law firms looking to hire won't give laid-off associates a chance:

Some firms are willing to consider attorneys from firms that have announced layoffs due to economic reasons, but they refuse to look at resumes from firms that have conducted "stealth" layoffs. The theory is that even if the economy played a role in the decision to let people go, firms "don't want to hire somebody else's problem."

Are you folks out there experiencing this kind of thing? If people who've been laid off can't get new jobs because they've been laid off, then we are in for a world of pain, people. Already job searches are taking record amounts of time.

Up, and not by much. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

By Laura Conaway

With unemployment on the rise in September, average hourly wages grew by a single penny, to $18.67. The length of the average workweek fell back by 0.1 hours to its historic low of 33 hours, first reached in June.

Bloomberg News today hauls out the "D" word -- deflation, which Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz says is "definitely a threat right now." Technically, deflation is when prices are falling but you don't care because wages are falling faster. It's a nightmare spiral.

Today's hourly wage growth of a penny comes in a year that saw zero growth from March to April and a penny growth from May to June. We may be stuck with this kind of stagnation for a while. From Bloomberg:

With unemployment elevated, companies may not need to raise pay to attract workers, even when the economy picks up.

The Commerce Department today rounded out the gloomy with its report on manufacturers' shipments, inventories and orders. In August, new orders fell by 0.8 percent after rising for four straight months. Only when companies have left over work can they be expected to hire more workers.

After the jump, a chart of that shrinking average workweek.

Continue reading "Wages, Hours Stagnate As Stiglitz Warns Of Deflation" >

The average job search has never taken this long. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

By Laura Conaway

As the jobless rate has continued its stubborn climb, reaching 9.8 percent today, chronic unemployment has been a major driver. The pace of layoffs has slowed from the fall and winter months, but companies aren't yet adding new workers. If you get laid off, you risk finding yourself in a tough spot.

After falling a bit in August, the average job search resumed its upward trajectory in September with a vengeance, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. As of September, job searchers could expect to spend 26.2 weeks on the hunt -- the longest average on record since the BLS started keep records back in 1948.

The last time the jobless rate was this high, the average search took 20.8 weeks. Today, people are facing average searches that are six weeks longer. The BLS says the number of people sidelined for 27 weeks or more has risen to 5,438,000 from 4,988,000 in August.

After the jump, a chart on job searches.

Continue reading "Chart: Average Job Search Hits All-Time High as Chronic Unemployment Sets In" >

By Laura Conaway

A month ago, on news that the unemployment rate had risen by 0.3 percent in August, the stock market rose right along with it. Today, on news that the rate grew by 0.1 percent to 9.8 percent in September, the market fell.

What's up with that?

It appears that traders saw the August numbers as reason to believe the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates at historic lows in an effort to get the market moving. Investors wanted in on the stimulus economy. Also, the total number of jobs lost in August, 216,000, was least amount in a year (and it was revised downward in today's report to 201,000). The report suggested to the market that companies had hit bottom and had matched the size of the work forces with the amount of work available. Productivity was on the rise and forecasts called for a turnaround in global trade.

Today's report features a much grimmer number of total jobs lost, 263,000 against the expectation of 180,000. Traders don't much like surprises, especially negative ones. The figure on jobs lost comes after a set of uncertain reports, from a slowly growing manufacturing sector to last week's jump in news claims for unemployment benefits.

Overall the market seems to be saying that if the recovery has started, it remains fitful.

By Laura Conaway

Unemployment rose to 9.8 percent in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. That's up a tick from the August rate of 9.7 percent. It's also the figure projected by economists in a Thomson Reuters survey. (Planet Money listeners predicted a rise to 9.9 percent).

Employers in September cut 263,000 jobs, many more than the predicted 180,000 and up significantly from the initial report of 216,000 jobs cut in August (revised today to 201,000). Unemployment is now at its highest since June 1983.

The ranks of the unemployed now include 15.1 million people in the U.S., up 7.6 million since the start of the recession in December 2007.

The broadest measure of unemployment -- U6, which includes discouraged workers and those working part-time because all they can get -- hit 17 percent. That's up 0.2 percent from 16.8 percent in August, a bigger climb than in the headline number.

After the jump, a look at the broadest measure of unemployment.

Continue reading "Unemployment Continues Stubborn Climb To 9.8 Percent" >

By Laura Conaway

Starting at 8:30 on Friday morning, we'll be blogging the latest unemployment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In August, the jobless rate ticked upward from 9.6 percent to 9.7 percent.

I invite your predictions about the rate for September. Poll closes at 8:29 a.m. Friday.

By Laura Conaway

New claims for unemployment insurance rose last week for the first time four weeks, climbing by 17,000 to 551,000, the Department of Labor reports. That's more than the 535,000 analysts expected.

If you're looking for work or know someone who is, take heart: the four-week moving average fell by 6,250, to 548,000. If you're waiting on your next benefits check, you're still in good company: As of Sept. 19, 6,090,000 people were waiting, too, about 70,000 fewer folks than the week before. The rolls of people on extended Emergency Unemployment Compensation rose to 3,275,213 as of Sept. 12, up from 3,175,381.

The key now is chronic unemployment, especially for people out of work longer than six months. Until they start finding work, unemployment is likely to keep right on climbing. We'll get the September figures Friday morning.

Meanwhile, consumers overall are spending more money -- or at least they spent more money in August. The Bureau of Economic Analysis says personal spending rose by $127.3 billion, compared to growth of $22.9 billion in July. Americans saved at a rate of 3 percent, compared to 4 percent in July. You can track that right to the government's Cash for Clunkers program, with spending on durable goods up by 5.9 percent.

The BEA says personal income rose by 0.2 percent, a touch over the expected 0.1 percent.

By Laura Conaway

New claims for unemployment benefits fell by 26,000 last week, to 550,000, the Department of Labor reports. The four-week moving average fell by 2,750, to 570,000.

We're still far outside what economists consider a healthy range of 300,000 to 350,000 new weekly claims. The sheer duration of joblessness is becoming its own factor, driving the overall jobless rate upward even as new claims fall. People who've been laid off face a record-low number of openings and are beginning to exhaust their benefits.

As of August 29, some 6,088,000 million people were collecting unemployment benefits, down from 6,247,000 from the week before. As of August 22, another 3,102,877 people were receiving Emergency Unemployment Compensation, a federally funded program that allows for 33 additional weeks of benefits in high-unemployment states. The emergency benefits rolls grew from 3,029,668 the week before.

Meanwhile, the U.S. trade deficit grew by 16.3 percent to $32 billion from June to July, the Commerce Department reports. If that looks like a big jump, it's because it is -- the biggest percentage jump in a decade, AP reports.

In a sign that consumer demand made something of a rebound, imports grew by 4.7 percent, the biggest increase since at least 1992. Exports also grew, by 2.2 percent. Part of the increase in imports came from rising oil prices, which pushes the dollar value of imports up. Also leading the way were imports of cars and car parts, with a 21.5 percent spike as Cash for Clunkers drew customers into showrooms and factories started production again.

After the jump, more headlines worth your attention.

Continue reading "Job Loss Claims Fall, Trade Deficit Grows. Plus: A French Carbon Tax" >

Laid-off workers have struggled to find new jobs. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for July, and it's about stark as stark can be. From the BLS:

On the last business day of July, the number of job openings in the U.S. was little changed at a series low level of 2.4 million, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The hires rate was little changed and remained low at 3.1 percent in July. ... The number of job openings has fallen by 2.4 million, or 50 percent, since the most recent peak in June 2007.

The only industry to show a change in job openings was retail, and that was a decline of 0.4 percent. Likewise, the BLS says the number of job openings showed little change across regions, except for a decline in the northeast.

Last week, the BLS reported that with a jobless rate of 9.7 percent, the average job search has declined just a nubbin, to 24.9 weeks. That's still in record territory by a solid month. There are now more than six people unemployed for every job opening. A labor market with so few openings can't begin to reabsorb the 14.9 million people now counted as unemployed.

Click to launch The Way We Work. (Produced by Andrea Hsu / NPR)

By Laura Conaway

After today's report that 14.9 million Americans are out of work, consider another number: 130 million. That's the number of people in the U.S. who have jobs.

NPR's Andrea Hsu provides a Labor Day weekend look at the work lives of three Americans -- auctioneer Derek Hopkins, nurse-midwife Lisa Uncles, and Target employee Domonique Taylor. They talk freely and movingly about what their jobs mean to them in Hsu's multimedia feature, The Way We Work: Signs Of Life In The Labor Market.

If you're spending this Labor Day unemployed, you might find the news from NPR's Robert Benincasa encouraging. Benincasa writes that businesses hired 3.8 million workers in June. Half of that is just the normal churning of the labor market, as people retire or change jobs. The other half stems from businesses doing well despite the recession.

And with staffing cut so thin in many shops, any increase in work leads quickly to hiring. Benincasa finds one headhunting group that got 27 new orders for employees in the past 2.5 weeks. Call it a hopeful thought for a holiday weekend.

This has been a year of chronic unemployment. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

By Laura Conaway

If you're unemployed and looking, take heart. The length of the average job search fell in August for the first time since November 2008. As of last month, the average hunt for a new gig took 24.9 weeks, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.

In more ordinary times, that would hardly count as good news for laid-off people. Had the past few months not been so miserable, that 24.9 weeks would be the highest average since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began keep records on duration of unemployment, way back in 1948.

Today's report shows an increase to 9.7 percent in joblessness, fueled in part by a continued rise in chronic unemployment. Employers cut the fewest jobs last month in a year, at 216,000. But people who've been laid-off already are having a hard time getting back into the workforce.

Now the overall jobless rate has hit a 26-year high. Back then, in June 1983, the average search took 20.8 weeks. Today, people are facing average searches that are a full month longer. The BLS says the number of people sidelined for 27 weeks or more has risen to 4,988,000 from 4,965,000.

After the jump, a chart on job searches.

Continue reading "Chronic Unemployment Fuels Rise In Jobless Rate" >

Still going up. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

By Laura Conaway

The average hourly wage rose to $18.65 in August, from $18.59 in July. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the growth of 0.3 percent as part of its overall report on employment today. The jobless rate has risen to 9.7 percent, and economists expect it to continue climbing.

That compares to a 0.1 percent drop in disposable personal income -- what's left over after taxes -- reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis for July. The BEA's numbers have been clouded by one-shot stimulus boosts to people on Social Security and veterans benefits.

In a longer view, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on July 31 that overall wages and benefits grew by 0.4 percent in the second quarter. For the year ending June 2009, wages grew by 1.8 percent.

Flat for the second month and barely up from a record low. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

By Laura Conaway

After falling to a record low in June, the length of the average work week stayed flat in August for the second straight month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.

The average hit 33.1 hours per week last month, a nubbin over the historic trough of 33 in June. The figure comes as part of the overall report on unemployment, which shows the jobless rate climbing to 9.7 percent, a 26-year high.

Employers are less likely to hire new people until the ones they've got are fully occupied. Despite the increase in the jobless rate, the labor market appears to be leveling out. The average job hunt took slightly less time in August, dropping to 24.9 weeks from 25.1. Last quarter, productivity took the biggest jump since 2003 -- meaning that workers had plenty to do. Employers cut 216,000 jobs, the fewest in a year.

Together, the flattening of the average workweek, the rise in productivity and the drop in layoffs suggest that the pace of decline is slowing. Employers are starting to get their situations back in balance, but they're not likely to start hiring anytime soon.

By Laura Conaway

The stock market greeted today's increase in unemployment with a rise of .7 percent before fluctuating set in. The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that in August, the jobless rate hit 9.7 percent, up from 9.4 in July.

How could that be good news for anyone?

There are two reasons traders like it. First, the pace of decline seems to be slowing. Employers slashed 216,000 jobs, the fewest in a year. That suggests that companies have hit bottom and now have matched labor costs with the work available. It squares with increases in productivity -- a 6.6 percent leap last quarter shows that workers are fully occupied -- and forecasts that global trade has found the bottom and is ready to rebound.

Second, investors want the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low. As long as unemployment is growing, consumer demand should remain flat. A lack of demand will help stave off inflation. And low inflation buys the Fed more time for its program of record-low rates to stimulate the economy. If prices began to climb uncomfortably fast, it would suggest there was too much money sloshing around in the system and the Fed would have to raise interest rates.

For stock traders, low interest rates act like oxygen fueling a fire. On the flip side, low rates drive down the value of lending money. You can see that in U.S. Treasurys, which fell after today's news before settling out.

By Laura Conaway

Unemployment rose to 9.7 percent in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. That's up 0.3 percent over the July rate of 9.4 percent. Analysts had expected a bump back up to the June level of 9.5 percent, so the actual number is solidly grimmer news for workers. (The stock market, on the other hand liked it.)

Last month's small dip was the first decrease in 15 months, and it apparently didn't start a new trend. Employers in August cut fewer jobs than expected, with 216,000 lost overall as opposed to 276,000 in July. Unemployment is now at a 26-year high. White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs told reporters this morning that President Obama still expects unemployment to exceed 10 percent at some point this year.

The labor force grew by 73,000 people last month, which shows that some of those who'd dropped out of looking went back to the hunt. The July report showed that 422,000 people left the job market for whatever reason, which helped account for the month's slightly lower unemployment rate.

The ranks of the unemployed now include 14.9 million people in the U.S., up by 466,000 since last month. The average monthly job loss for May through July was 331,000, about half the rate of 645,000 from November through April. Since the beginning of the recession, 6.9 million jobs have been lost.

The broadest measure of unemployment -- U6, which includes discouraged workers and those working part-time because all they can get -- hit 16.8 percent. That's up from 16.3 percent in July.

After the jump, a look at the broadest measure of unemployment.

Continue reading "Unemployment Hits 9.7 Percent, Underemployment At 16.8 Percent" >

By Laura Conaway

Being unemployed is just awful. It sounds simple to say, until you're the one living it.

Now the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, part of Rutgers University, puts some scholarship behind the obvious. Its new survey of 1,200 Americans out of work "portrays a shaken, traumatized people coping with serious financial and psychological effects from an economic downturn of epic proportion," the center reports.

Two-thirds of the respondents described themselves as depressed. More than half have hit up family or friends for loans. Sixty percent said they had no warning -- a category the Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks -- and only 15 percent said they got any severance. The survey includes comments from laid-off workers, including this one:

There used to be page of jobs every day and -- in my industry -- two columns in the paper. Now there are days where the entire list of available jobs in this city, you can count on both hands!

On Friday morning, we'll be posting charts from the new August unemployment report so you can see the latest on what's happening in the national job market.

By Laura Conaway

New claims for unemployment insurance ticked downward last week by 4,000, to 570,000, the Department of Labor reports. The four-week moving average, which generally smooths out the blips of any given period, showed an increase of 4,000 from the week before.

Economists consider a healthy number of new weekly claims to be between 300,000 and 350,000. Whatever's going on with the numbers -- and the big August unemployment report should help fill in the picture Friday -- we're nowhere near normal.

As of August 22, some 6,234,000 were collecting unemployment benefits, up 92,000 from the week before. As of August 15, another 3 million people were receiving Emergency Unemployment Compensation, a federally funded program that allows for 33 additional weeks of benefits in high-unemployment states. The emergency benefits rolls grew by 85,570 from the week before.

By Laura Conaway

People getting by on low wages also tend to lose out on overtime they've earned, and they're more likely to get paid less than the minimum wage. Those are the findings in "Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers," a new study by the Ford, Joyce, Haynes and Russell Sage Foundations.

The New York Times runs the numbers:

In surveying 4,387 workers in various low-wage industries, including apparel manufacturing, child care and discount retailing, the researchers found that the typical worker had lost $51 the previous week through wage violations, out of average weekly earnings of $339. That translates into a 15 percent loss in pay.

The Times calls the study "the most comprehensive examination of wage-law violations in a decade." Of the workers interviewed, 68 percent had been through at least one violation of their pay rights in the past work week. Female illegal immigrants were most likely to report they'd earned less than the minimum wage -- in industries ranging from garment work to childcare.

By Laura Conaway

Productivity grew at an annualized rate of 6.6 percent in the second quarter, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. That's the largest increase since the third quarter of 2003.

It's good news for workers, in the sense that people with jobs are finding themselves more fully occupied. Only when companies can profit from doing more work will they hire new people to do it. When productivity rises, it suggests that employers are coming closer to having the right size of workforce -- a better base from which to grow.

Today's numbers show that actual output is falling, but that hours worked are falling faster. Compared to this time last year, output was down 5.5 percent and hours worked 7.2 percent. Labor costs -- the ratio of hourly wages to productivity -- fell at an annual clip of 5.9 percent. That's the biggest drop since the second quarter of 2000.

Update: After the jump, what "productivity" means.

Continue reading "Productivity Makes Biggest Leap Since 2003. (Yes, You're Working Harder.)" >

By Laura Conaway

Unemployment has kept on growing in every one of the nation's 372 metropolitan areas, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. Unemployment was higher in July 2009 in each metro than at this time last year.

Of the 19 metros where joblessness tops 15 percent, California lays claim to eight. God bless El Centro, Calif., which has the highest unemployment at 30.2 percent. Another five of the most miserable metros are in Michigan.

At the other end of the scale are Washington, D.C., at 6.2 percent, and Oklahoma City at 5.9 percent.

The jump from this year to last year happened in Greater Detroit, with 8.4 percent. Next up were Bend, Ore., with 7.1 percent and Elkhart County, Ind., at 7 points. The only places where joblessness grew by less than a point were Bismarck and Grand Forks, N.D.

The national unemployment rate dipped by 0.1 percent to 9.4 percent in July. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is set to release the August figure on Friday.

A range of 300,000 to 350,000 is considered healthy. (Source: U.S. Department of Labor)

By Laura Conaway

Good morning, or what passes for it.

The U.S. economy was shrinking at annualized rate of 1 percent in the second quarter of this year, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reports today. The bureau confirmed the advance number it gave on July 31 for U.S. gross domestic product, or GDP, which measures all economic activity. That advance figure often changes in later reports, but not this time. In the first quarter, the economy was shrinking at a yearly clip of 6.4 percent.

New seasonally adjusted claims for unemployment insurance fell last week to 570,000, from a revised figure of 580,000 the week before, the Department of Labor reports. This decline ended two straight weeks of rising claims, after six weeks of falling.

The four-week moving average, generally a less volatile number, fell by 4,750 to 566,250. That's 90,000 lower than the peak in April. Economists consider a healthy number of new weekly claims to be between 300,000 and 350,000.

After the jump, the bigger picture on unemployment.

Continue reading "Surprise! GDP Stays At -1 Percent Growth. New Job Loss Claims Fall" >

(Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

By Mathew Katz

Weekly initial jobless claims may be up, but mass layoffs are dropping -- fast. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' seasonally-adjusted numbers, employers in the U.S. took 2,157 mass layoff actions in July, 606 fewer mass layoffs than June. A mass layoff is defined as any single employer laying off 50 or more people. July's numbers are the lowest in nearly a year.

The manufacturing sector was the hardest-hit, accounting for 37 percent of mass layoffs. California was the state with the most people fired in mass layoffs. Last month, Cisco Systems alone laid off over 600 workers.

The decline may just be because we've had so many mass layoffs already that we've exhausted them. Still, there's something about the nosedive that chart is taking that makes me happy. Let's hope it continues.

We're still way above the 'healthy range' of 300,000 to 350,000 new claims. (Source: Department of Labor)

By Mathew Katz

New seasonally-adjusted claims for unemployment insurance rose last week to 576,000, up from from a revised figure of 561,000 the week before, the Department of Labor reports. Before this morning's report, analysts had expected new claims to drop to 550,000. This is the second week in a row that initial claims rose -- they had fallen for six straight weeks, but ticked up last week.

The four-week moving average climbed by 4,250 to 570,000 -- which is still up from the average weekly decline of 6,077 from April 25 to July 25, but not as bad as last week's jump of 8500. The figures for July are a bit off, because of problems with the Department of Labor's formula for calculating new claims. The DOL takes seasonal factors into account, and this year the usual summer layoffs in the auto industry happened in the spring. The DOL says its formula should now be back on track.

Today's report also shows that the number of people on regular unemployment benefits is a tiny bit up -- the number is now 6,241,000 from 6,239,000 the week before.

After the jump: a reminder of the bigger unemployment picture.

Continue reading "New Job Loss Claims Up Again" >

Economists consider a healthy range to be 300,000 to 350,000 new claims. (Source: Department of Labor)

By Laura Conaway

New claims for unemployment insurance rose last week to 558,000, from 554,000 the week before, the Department of Labor reports. Heading into Thursday morning's report, analysts expected new claims to drop to 545,000. They had fallen for six straight weeks.

The four-week moving average, often a more reliable barometer, climbed by 8,500 to 565,000 -- significantly more than the average weekly decline of 6,077 from April 25 to July 25. The figures for July are clouded because of problems with the Department of Labor's formula for calculating new claims. The DOL takes seasonal factors into account, and this year the usual summer layoffs in the auto industry happened in the spring. The DOL says its formula should now be back on track.

Today's report also shows that the number of people on regular unemployment benefits fell to 6.2 million from 6.35 million the week before.

Continue reading "New Job Loss Claims Creep Upward After Weeks Of Falling" >

By Laura Conaway

American workers increased nonfarm productivity an annualized rate of 6.4 percent in the second quarter of this year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. That's well more than the 5. 5 percent increase many economists had expected. Workers saw their overall compensation grow by .2 percent, while companies enjoyed a drop in labor unit costs of 5.8 percent.

This official number helps make sense of a few developments in the economy. First, many large corporations reported that revenue was down but profits were up last quarter. That's because they'd cut labor costs by laying off workers and squeezing more productivity out of the people who remained. Second, workers who say they're being asked to do more with less are just plain right.

The numbers also seem to show that inflation is not an immediate threat. The slight rise in hourly compensation is stronger than the negative 2.4 percent from the first quarter, but it's a shadow of the 1.3 percent gain from a year ago and the 4.2 percent gain overall in 2007.

The BLS reports that the jump in productivity is the result of "hours falling faster than output" -- and how. Output was falling last quarter at a yearly clip of 1.7 percent. Meanwhile, hours worked fell for the sixth straight quarter, at an annualized pace of negative 7.6 percent compared to negative 9 percent from the first quarter. If not for the last two miserable quarters, this quarter's drop in hours would be the steepest in the BLS data -- back to 1947.

This number dropped, too. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

By Laura Conaway

The U.S. will likely not reach 10 percent unemployment in this recession, argues Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com. Silver, the master statistician and predictor of the 2008 election, says that people misread part of Friday's unemployment report -- specifically, he says they made too much of the shrinking labor pool.

Some 422,000 people bailed out of the workforce in July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, and that's part of what caused the unemployment rate to fall from 9.5 percent in June to the new rate of 9.4 percent. At least some of those people are thought to have given up on hunting for work completely.

The BLS does track discouraged workers, which it defines as unemployed workers who give an economic reason for why they've stopped looking. Silver writes:

This discouraged workers story has been a bit oversold though: U-4, the measure of unemployment that includes discouraged workers, went down too. Most of this, rather, is a matter of people finding somewhat longer-term alternatives to seeking employment: going back to school, early retirement, joining the Army or the Peace Corps, etc.

As you can see in the chart above, the category of U-4 -- total unemployed plus discourged workers -- fell by .2 percent, more than the decline in the overall unemployment rate.

Chelsea Pennick writes:

I, admittedly, have nothing to complain about. I have a good and secure job that also happens to be with a nonprofit organization. But I am also young and building my career. About a year ago, I decided I was ready for the next challenge and began looking to make my next move.

Nada. Nothing to even apply for. Of course, my expectations were not high considering I live in Montana, but my town is credited with the highest per capita number of nonprofits in the US (or at least was at one time), so I held some faith that over a year, something would spark my interest.

And I'm not alone. I've had any number of conversations with other folks my age (30-ish) who are either in the same boat--or worse--are finding themselves competing with seasoned professionals and baby boomers who, under other circumstances, would no longer be in the job market. Now THAT is frustrating for a young person looking to develop their career, and who may consider themselves "next generation's leaders." It leaves one with diminishing hope when we find ourselves competing with people who should be retired. Maybe now we should start calling ourselves the next-after-the-next generation's leaders--the "3rd string."

Wages may be up, but a lot of people who have been laid off are taking new jobs with a pay cut. We get this story from Elliot Vos, from Rochester, New York:

I had only been in the workforce for six months when I lost my job in December (not counting paid internships during college). The company I worked for cut a ton of back office staff to weather the recession. They gave me a decent severance package, and I had too much withheld from my paycheck for taxes, so I was able to retreat back to a "college kid" budget and survive pretty well.

I was unemployed for six months. I had a couple promising interviews, but nothing materialized. Finally, a company I had worked for before on one of my paid internships called me up. They offered me 75 percent of what I had been making, with a loose promise that once their income had straightened out fully, I'd get another $5,000/year. The only problem was that this company was in my parents' town and I didn't want to move back home to that small town. They're graciously letting me telecommute, but I'd much rather work locally in Rochester. I'm still working at my starting salary, too, which is much lower than the average for my profession (actually, their promised increase is still a bit lower than average). So, I'm still looking.

Making all of this worse, my father lost his job the day before me. He eventually changed his career slightly, and found a job in his small city getting about 75 percent of what he was making as well.

Finally tapering off. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

By Mathew Katz

One number that really interests me in this morning's employment report is the U-2 measurement of job losers and completed temporary jobs. That number has more than doubled in the past year, but it's finally leveling out.

It might seem like a statistic that's so obvious there's no point in keeping it. The BLS defines "job losers" as people who involuntarily and unexpectedly lost their jobs -- folks who were fired or suddenly laid off, arguably the worst way to lose a job. The BLS asks laid-off workers if they were expecting it, if they'd had any warning. The "job losers" are the ones who say they didn't really get any chance to prepare for unemployment. These are the sort of sudden, jarring layoffs that have defined this recession -- you show up to work on Monday, and your job is gone by Wednesday.

Then there are the people who completed temporary gigs, the ones who know it's coming. I'm really interested in that category because as of 5:00 this evening, I'm part of it. Today's my last day as an intern at Planet Money. Tomorrow, I'll be an addition to the August unemployment statistics we all know and love -- and yes, the BLS counts unemployed Canadians in the U.S. in their jobless numbers.

There are three possible reasons for that temps number flattening out: either there was less temp work to go around, individual temp jobs are being extended, or people finishing temp jobs have been able to pick up new work after their gig ends. I'm hoping the third option wins out.

Some of you might remember Daniel Cross, aka @engineer27. He's a circuit designer in Florida who got furloughed, then laid off, then hired by a new company for less money, then laid off again, all in the last 12 months. Cross writes:

Like the hot and humid air here in South Florida, the market for technology work in June and July has been completely motionless, even stifling. However, as August begins, just as the tropical winds begin to pick up, we are starting to see some hiring action occurring. One person in our networking group has accepted an offer, and word-of-mouth reports indicate that the slew of job ads and recruiter postings are for "real" jobs. Still, employers right now have their pick of qualified candidates, with 10-50 qualified local applicants for each position.

Hiring firms also save by lowballing salary offers, not offering relocation, and more. Not all of them get away with squeezing their employees, however. A friend in IT just jumped to a new company when her previous employer cut her pay and reduced her flexibility of work hours (she is a new mom).

In summary, the job market is up to "really tough" from "abominable."

The government's view of unemployment. (Source: Commerce Department)

By Mathew Katz

Economists were surprised by today's drop in the unemployment rate, which went from 9.5 percent in June to 9.4 percent in July. Close watchers of the labor market had expected to see the figure rise to 9.6 or 9.7. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters today that President Obama still expects to see unemployment hit 10 percent this year.

So why did the number go down in July? Part of the reason is that employers cut fewer jobs -- by 247,000, against an average of 331,000 for the last three months, including July.

Another, and perhaps larger part of the answer is that one key number factored into the rate fell unexpectedly. Unemployment is the number of people out of work as a percentage of the total labor force. The labor force in everyone who's employed or who wants a job. In July, that total labor force fell by 422,000.

Continue reading "Why The Unemployment Rate Fell" >

As fun as charts are, a more visceral take on job market is what you folks are feeling on the ground. We got this story from Pam Chozen, of Bloomington, IN:

I'm an advertising copywriter who got laid off (along with 40 percent of agency) in April. Since then, I've been applying to at least three agencies a week but have only gotten two interviews so far -- UNTIL THIS WEEK. I'm just about to do my third phone interview of the week, and I've also gotten two new freelance gigs in the last 24 hours. It really feels like the ice has broken, except I am not at all sure whether to trust it.

We'll likely hear more from Pam on today's podcast.

Up slightly from a record low. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

By Mathew Katz and Laura Conaway

In the June unemployment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, one of the most startling numbers was for average time spent working each week. It hit 33 hours in June, the lowest on record, and a monthly fall of .8 percent. Employers are less likely to hire new people until the ones they've got are occupied full time full-time.

In today's new report, for July, the average number climbed a nubbin to 33.1 hours per week.

Other Charts: Overall Unemployment/ Duration of Unemployment/ Average Hourly Wages

Going up again. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

By Laura Conaway and Mathew Katz

As the unemployment rate has risen, wages have all but stagnated. By contrast, today's unemployment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics finds hourly wages rising in July to $18.56 from $18.53 for June and May.

The overall picture for wages remains cloudy. Compare the small increase reported today with official indicators of income. This week, the Bureau of Economic Analysis found that personal income notched a fourth straight monthly decline in June with a fall of .4 percent. The BEA said the increase may have stemmed in part from a one-time stimulus boost to Social Security recipients the month before.

And Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on July 31 that overall wages and benefits grew by .4 percent in the second quarter. For the year ending June 2009, wages grew by just 1.8 percent.

Charts:Overall Unemployment/ Duration of Unemployment/ Average Workweek

The average job search is taking longer. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

By Mathew Katz and Laura Conaway

Today's report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics finds the unemployment rate ticking downward, to 9.4 percent in July from 9.56 in June. The BLS describes the situation as "little changed."

One number that has continued to shift is the duration of unemployment. In a sour note for people who've been laid off, the duration of unemployment has kept rising. The average search took 25.1 weeks as of July, up from 24.5 weeks in the June report.

After the jump, a chart that breaks that number down.

Other Charts: Overall Unemployment/ Average Hourly Wages/ Average Workweek

Continue reading "Job Searches Taking Longer" >

By Laura Conaway and Mathew Katz

Unemployment fell to 9.4 percent in July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. That's down .1 percent over the June rate of 9.5 percent. Economists had expected the number to increase by .1 or .2 percent. It's the first decrease in 15 months.

UPDATE: President Obama's spokesperson Robert Gibbs told reporters this report "is more evidence that we have pulled back from the edge and away from the brink of a depression." He added, "The pace of job loss is declining and that's positive, but no one loses sight of the fact that last month a quarter million people lost their jobs." Gibbs said the president still expects the jobless rate will hit 10 percent later this year.

All told, 14.5 million people were unemployed. Employers last month shed 247,000 nonfarm jobs last month. The average monthly job loss for May through July was 331,000, about half the rate of 645,000 from November through April. Since the beginning of the recession, 6.7 million jobs have been lost.

The broadest measure of unemployment -- U6, which includes discouraged workers and those working part-time because all they can get -- hit 16.3 percent. That's down from 16.5 percent in June. We've got a chart after the jump.

As the unemployment rate has risen, wages have all but stagnated. By contrast, today's report finds hourly wages rising to $18.56, after being flat for May and June.

Duration of unemployment: The average length of unemployment hit 25.1 weeks, up from 24.5 weeks in June.

After the jump, a look at the broadest measure of unemployment.

Other Charts: Duration of Unemployment/ Average Hourly Wages/ Average Workweek

Continue reading "Unemployment Takes Surprising Dip: Falls To 9.4 Percent" >

Still falling. (Source: Department of Labor)

By Laura Conaway

New claims for unemployment insurance fell last week to 550,000, down 38,000 from the week before, the Department of Labor reports. The four-week moving averge was down 4,750 -- less than the average weekly decline of 6,077 from April 25 to July 25, but still lower.

The improvement surprised bearish economist Ian Shepherdson of High Frequency Economics, who writes:

Labor officials appear not to have identified any specific factors pushing claims down, but that does not mean we can assume 550K is the new trend; the numbers are volatile even when the trend is clear, and we need to see several more weeks at this level to confirm a real shift. Still, this number certainly looks good relative to the pre-auto chaos trend of about 615K.

For much of July, the Department of Labor said it couldn't properly calculate the number of new claims because the usual summer layoffs in the auto industry had happened in the spring.

Today's report shows the number of people on unemployment benefits hit a record high, at 9.35 million. We're seeing fewer people losing their jobs, even as those laid-off still struggle to find new ones.

By Laura Conaway

Let's say you're going about your business one day, when the economy comes along and announces other plans for you. In an instant, you're out of work and staring at a growing pile of bills and a checking account that's only getting smaller. What do you do?

For the former office workers in this video, the answer turned out to have four wheels and a meter. Thanks to Columbia University's Richard Gergel and Simon Doolittle for sharing their work with us.

By Laura Conaway

The ADP National Employment Report is very unofficial, but it does count for something. The payroll company says finds that the economy lost 371,000 nonfarm jobs from June to July 2009. From the report:

July's employment decline was the smallest since October of 2008 and continues the notable improvement between the first and second quarters of 2009. Nevertheless, despite recent indications that overall economic activity is stabilizing, employment, which usually trails overall economic activity, is likely to decline for at least several more months, albeit at a diminishing rate.

The last ADP report, covering the change from May to June, showed a decline of 463,000 nonfarm jobs. On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals its latest employment report. The general trend in new job loss is downward, even if the overall unemployment rate continues to rise.

In less encouraging news, the outplacement firm of Challenger, Gray and Christmas says the number of announced job cuts rose from June to July by 31 percent, to 97,373. You can follow the number of mass layoffs, meaning 50 or more people, at the BLS -- it's been a series of small peaks and valleys since February.

By Laura Conaway

From the Bureau of Economic Analysis:

Personal income decreased $159.8 billion, or 1.3 percent . . . in June.

Personal spending rose from May to June by $41.4 billion, or 0.4 percent. The bureau's price index shows a .5 percent increase in June, versus .1 percent in May. If you exclude the volatile costs of food and energy, prices increased .2 percent versus .1 percent in May. "This should help temper any near-term inflation fears," writes Marc Chandler of Brown Brothers Harriman.

The BEA pins the monthly fall in income on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, otherwise known as the $787 billion stimulus, which called for a one-time $250 check to Social Security recipients in May.

Wages and salaries, as a category, notched a tenth straight monthly decline, falling by .4 percent in June.

While you're at it, imagine world peace. (Graph by Alyson Hurt of NPR. Math by listener Samuel Rutledge.)

By Laura Conaway

People often ask what's it like to sift through lousy economic news all day -- you know, the kind that makes you think -1 percent growth in the economy means things are looking up.

Confronting rising unemployment numbers and stagnating wage reports feels about like you'd expect. It's fascinating, and challenging, and very, very sad. Some days I want to write an open letter to the economy: "Dear Recession, You've made your point. Now please go away."

On Thursday, I posted what feels to me like a positive development. The numbers are clouded, but bear with me: The four-week moving average of new claims for unemployment benefits is going down. It might well go up again -- we're seeing lots of little peaks and valleys -- but overall, it's falling.

And just for fun, totally for fun and relief, I wanted to see how long it would have to keep falling this way before we get back to normal. Economists say a healthy range for new claims each week is something like 300,000 to 350,000 -- call it 325,000, for the sake of argument. There's absolutely no predicting whether the current pace of claims will continue; it could easily start falling faster or slower. This is an arbitrary exercise, asterisk, asterisk, asterisk. And even if new claims keep falling at the average of the last three months, there's no guarantee that companies will start hiring so the people already laid-off can get new jobs. Unemployment could keep rising, just as predicted.

Continue reading "Chart Therapy: 'Normal' Job Loss Resumes April 24, 2010***" >

By Laura Conaway

Overall wages and benefits grew by a mere 0.4 percent in the second quarter, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. True, it's not a negative number, as we saw with gross domestic product this morning. But that 0.4 percent is unsettling.

It comes as the final number in a year when compensation costs for private industry workers grew by 1.5 percent over the year before. BLS says it's the smallest change in the Employment Cost Index since it began in 1980.

Wages and salaries grew by just 1. 8 percent for the year ending June 2009, compared to 3.1 percent for the year ending June 2008. That means wage gains have been cut in half, and many people are taking home less. "As long as this lasts it is very hard to see
anything but downward pressure on core inflation," writes economist Ian Shepherdson.

On average, things are looking better -- if not yet good. (Source: Department of Labor / Planet Money/NPR © 2009)

New claims for unemployment insurance rose by 25,000 last week, seasonally adjusted. The Department of Labor says its formula for calculating the report has come back in line with what's actually happening out there. We've been flying blind for a few weeks now, owing to the auto industry laying off people this spring instead of in July. The DoL says the past few reports have been artificially low.

Continuing claims, still affected by the skewed formula, fell 54,000 to 6.197 million in week ending July 18. That's the lowest level since April. Tune in next week for a clearer view.

Meanwhile, and for whatever it's worth, the four-week moving average continues its very slow descent toward normal, dropping by 8,250. Economist Ian "First to Your Inbox" Shepherdson predicts another rise in the weekly figures next week: "[T]he claims numbers are yet another example of economic data which are less bad than a few months ago but which are still terrible."

By Mathew Katz

Today, the Federal Reserve released the Beige Book, a regular summary of what each of the different Federal Reserve banks are seeing in their local economic scene. Overall, the Beige Book says the recession has begun to taper off. But toward the bottom of the summary, there's one big, scary money quote:

Boston, Cleveland, Richmond, Chicago, Dallas, and San Francisco cited a range of methods firms are using to limit compensation, including cutting or freezing wages or benefit contributions, deferral of future salary increases, trimming bonuses and travel allowances, reducing hours, temporary shutdowns, periodic furloughs, and unpaid vacations.

No matter how you spin it, companies are trying to pay employees less money. As we've talked about before, falling wages are a key ingredient in deflation. Still, we haven't seen the other factor in deflation: falling prices.

In Elkhart County, Ind., RV-maker Jayco has laid off a third of its workers. (Scott Olson / Getty Images © 2009)

By Laura Conaway

The jobless rate was higher this June than the year before in every American metropolitan area, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In a report released today, the BLS finds that 18 of those 372 mets have unemployment of at least 15 percent. Eight of those were in California and five in Michigan.

Elkhart County, Ind., with its devastated RV industry, posted one of the biggest year-over-year increases -- a 10 percent jump to 16.8.

For the lowest rates, head to the Dakotas. Bismark, N.D., rings in at 3.8 percent (up from 3.2) and Rapid City, S.D., at 4.6 (up from 2.6).

Bonus: Find the rate where you're from.

Trending downward? Not necessarily. Department of Labor

 

New claims for jobless benefits rose last week, to 554,000 from 524,000. The Department of Labor revised the number from the week before upward by 2,000.

It's hard telling what to make of the numbers just yet. The Department of Labor says it can't properly figure the total of new claims because of unusual conditions in the job market.

Continue reading "New Jobless Claims Rise Again -- Formula Still Skewed" >

Closed in Burlington, Mass. Louis Abate/ Flickr/ Creative Commons

 

This is corporate earnings season, the time when publicly traded companies let the world know how they're doing. For Morgan Stanley and Whirlpool, the new hasn't been great. For Apple and Southwest Airlines, the numbers were better than expected.

Among the winners and losers is a string of curious cases, companies that report their profits are up even though their revenues are down. Coca-Cola, for one, said quarterly profits are up 43 percent from last year -- even as sales are down 9 percent. And then there's Starbucks, which went from a $6.7 million loss last year to a gain of $151.5 million -- though revenue fell by 6.6 percent.

How's that possible? In a word(ish): cost-cutting.

After the jump, a closer look -- with charts!

Continue reading "Revenue's Down, Profit's Up. How's That Work?" >

Click for a larger version

 

Back in February, President Obama said that he would consider the $787 billion economic stimulus successful if it creates or saves 4 million jobs. Then, last month, the Obama administration said that the plan will create or save 600,000 jobs in the following 100 days. It's tricky to tell if that projection panned out, but according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. has shed just under 3.5 million jobs since the year began. Those gloomy numbers have caused some to call for a second stimulus package, but the Obama administration says that's not needed at the moment.

After the jump, a chart of jobs lost, gained and projected.

Continue reading "Mind The Gap: Job Losses Vs. Economic Stimulus" >

Continuing the conversation on how best to pay people, Jay Schuster of the Physician's Computer Company writes:

It's been a while, but our company (about 45 employees) went through a lot of soul-searching about compensation a bunch of years ago. I would recommend Alfie Kohn's book Punished by Rewards for some of our thoughts on compensation.

We kept running into problems with the traditional model of pay tied to performance reviews for all sorts of reasons. If you think about it, that model of compensation only discourages teamwork. The pool of money for raises is fixed, and so the only way to get more money than your coworkers is to make sure they perform worse than you. Also, some people aren't really motivated by money, and so micromanaging their jobs by dangling financial carrots in front of them for parts of it only rewards those who are good at playing the system.

Continue reading "Compensation: Trying To Reward Teamwork" >

The pink line is misleading. Click for a larger version.

 

The Department of Labor released its weekly unemployment insurance claims report today, which says there were 565,000 new jobless claims the week ending July 4. But that's not the actual number of jobless claims -- it's the seasonally adjusted number. Actual jobless claims for that week were 577,506.

Welcome to one of the weirder corners of labor statistics.

Continue reading "Why You Can't Trust The New Job-Loss Numbers" >

The wage floor for socket jockeys. vkdir/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

 

With another look at how pay works, Raymond McCormick checks in from McCormick Diesel & Brake in Palmdale, Calif.:

So how does your average socket jockey get compensated? We use a system called "Flag Hours." Essentially every job or task you have, be it oil change, brake job or tune-up, has a predetermined amount of time it should takes to perform said job or task. Most shops tend to use a big books called Labor Time Guides to find these time. So as a mechanic you are assigned an brake job on a truck that should take 3 hours. If you do it in under three hours, great -- you get paid for three hours of work. However if it takes you 4 and a half hours, bummer you are still only getting paid for 3 hours of work.

Continue reading "Comp: How Mechanics Get Paid" >

Wow, it really is some job market out there. Alberto Gonzales resigned his post as U.S. attorney general not quite two years ago under less than rosy circumstances. Gonzales has now found a new gig, teaching political science at Texas Tech.

Chancellor Kent Hance says Gonzales got a one-year deal to teach a course on contemporary issues in the executive branch. From the Houston Chronicle:

"We're excited," Hance said. "Any time you can get a former Cabinet member ... it is great."

I don't know about you, but I can't help thinking of all the times I've lately heard people with a job to offer. They keep saying they can hire any superstar they want.

(Thanks to Twitter pal @kalunlee, who calls the news a "green shoot.")

The lowest ever. source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

 

Viewed a certain way, the drop in the average American workweek looks small -- very, very small. In June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, production and nonsupervisory workers spent one-tenth of an hour less on the job than they had in May. Six minutes? How big a deal is that? Here's how big:

It's "the lowest level on record for the series, which began in 1964," the BLS says.

Late last year, we started hearing from you folks about your hours being cut or your employers sending you out on furlough. At the time, the experience was so new that you couldn't find much record of it in the government stats. Now you can, and it's a scary sight. That average of six minutes a week reflects a nation of people who've been laid off, or pushed into part-time work, or lost a day's pay here or there, or can't pick up the overtime that they once used to cover their bills.

Continue reading "Hours Worked Hits Historic Low: You Saw It Coming" >

Several of you have asked whether today's report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is good news or bad news.

First, the good news, such as it is: The jobless rate for June ticked up by just .1 percent, to 9.5. The last report, for May, showed a jump of .5 percent.

You can also consider the overall number of jobs lost last month.

Continue reading "Four Ways Of Looking At The New Job Loss Numbers" >

Unemployment hit 9.5 percent in June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. That's compared to 9.4 percent in May and a tick less than the 9.6 percent some economists expected. The broadest measure of unemployment -- U-6, which includes people who'd like a job but have given up looking -- reached 16.5 percent, compared to 16.4 percent in May. All told, employers cut 467,000 jobs in June, or 100,000 more than economists expected. The job market hasn't been this bad since August 1983.

As of June, the average job search was clocking in at 24.5 weeks. That's compared to 22.5 in May.

So we have almost the same rate of joblessness, but it's taking longer to replace a job that's been lost. From the BLS:

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) increased by 433,000 over the month to 4.4 million. In June, 3 in 10 unemployed persons were jobless for 27 weeks or more.

After the jump, woe to bankers, car dealers and journalists.

Continue reading "Jobless Rate Nearly Steady, But Finding New Work Takes Longer" >

Click to enlarge. Department of Labor

 

New claims for jobless benefits ticked upward last week by 3,000, to 608,000, the Department of Labor reports. For a sense of scale, consider that last week's number was revised upward by 4,000. The overall trend in new claims is still downward, if painfully slowly.

Keep your eye on those continuing claims, though, meaning the pool of people who've been canned and haven't yet found work. This time, those claims fell by 148,000, but they'd climbed by 78,000 the week before. It's hard to tell what to make of that, exactly. Ian Shepherdson of High Frequency Ecnomics takes a stab. He writes that continuing claims "lag initial claims by a few weeks; they ought to be falling now given that initial claims peaked more than two months ago."

After the jump, why so many people still can't get a job.

Continue reading "U.S. Companies Still Not Hiring" >

Click for a larger version

 

Today's fun chart shows the number of job openings and the number of hires, in the U.S since the end of 2006. As you'd expect, both numbers have gone down drastically. Note the growing gap between the reported number of hires and the reported number of job openings. This suggests companies are filling their openings either right away, without actually advertising that a job is open -- perhaps by calling back people who've been laid off .

These numbers come from the monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (or JOLTS) put out by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

How we're doing. Source: Department of Labor

 

Some 24,000 fewer souls made initial claims for unemployment insurance last week, the Department of Labor reports. If you squint hard at the last two bars on our chart, you can see the averaged week-to-week difference. The difference from April, and certainly from this time last year, is easier to spot.

However small the change may be, when economists say that the downturn is moderating, this is the kind of number they mean. Of the states, Florida registered the biggest decrease in new claims, citing fewer layoffs in construction, manufacturing and agriculture among other industries. Michigan noted 4,385 fewer layoffs, a change it attributed to fewer cannings in the automobile industry.

You can file this under Purely Anecdotal, but I find it noteworthy: Of the three people Planet Money has followed through the process of losing work and finding a new job, each one has taken what amounts to a pay cut in the new job.

Terri Weiss, an educational proofreader laid off in Ohio, found another gig at roughly the same pay, except that the new company was under a temporary salary reduction. Noel Paterson, a game developer in Washington state, found new work at about 10 percent lower pay. Daniel Cross, a circuit designer in Florida, found a new job and a 25 percent smaller salary. "I'm happy to get it," he says, echoing what the others told us about their situations.

Here's something you can file under Actual Statistics: Workers are losing the ground they've gained in wages.

Continue reading "'Wage Gains Tanking'" >

Unemployment hit 9.4 percent in May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. That's compared to 8.9 percent in April and higher than the 9.2 percent some economists expected. The broadest measure of unemployment -- U-6, which includes people who'd like a job but have given up looking -- reached 16.4 percent, up from 15.8 percent in May.

Howard Rosen of the Peterson Institute for International Economics sent over a series of charts this week on the current labor market. The theme? As a recession eases, joblessness lingers -- the old "lagging indicator" effect. He writes that in our current market, it may be getting harder to find a job:

"Forty-seven percent of UI recipients exhausted their assistance before finding a new job in April," Rosen notes. "Twenty-seven percent of unemployed are unemployed for more than 27 weeks."

As of May, the average job search was clocking in at 22.5 weeks. That's up from 21.4 in April.

Office closes: "Rows of PCs, ready to be packed up." Engineer27/Planet Money Flickr pool

 

Financial proofreader Leah Casner sent this Recession Haiku the other day:

Heavy cloud laden
Laid off morning mourning job
Nursing a cold tea

And yes, she'd just been laid off.

The news this morning is that the number of people on unemployment insurance dipped last week for the first time 20 weeks, by 15,000, to 6.7 million. Considering that economists expect unemployment for May to top 9 percent -- the number's out tomorrow -- it's no surprise that Ian Shepherdson writes, "Feeble green shoots don't stop companies laying off staff, still less actually starting to hire again."

Hang in there, folks. We've got a ways to go on this one.

Bonus: The person who took that picture up there just got another job.

It's hard to keep hunting. The Bureau of Labor Statistics.

 

New jobless claims went up last week by 32,000 over the week before, to 637,000. Apparently we can chalk that up to layoffs in the auto industry, especially at Chrysler. When the recession started, new weekly claims were in the neighborhood of 340,000.

Today, if you're buying groceries with unemployment benefits, you've got company -- more than 6.5 million souls' worth.

Meanwhile, from the Department of Obvious but So True, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that more people are giving up the search for new work, at least for a while.

Unemployment climbed again in April, from 8.5 percent to 8.9. The rate has risen 3.9 percent over the past year. For you watchers of U-6, the broadest measure of unemployment went up .2 percent to 15.8.

Unemployment's generally a lagging indicator, meaning we'll likely see the overall economy improve before businesses start hiring again. Fed chairman Ben Bernanke warned Congress as much this week.

Nonprofits across the country have seen a surge in volunteers since the recession started -- a sharp contrast after several years of a declining U.S. volunteer rate.

These days, when people get laid off, it seems the first thing many of them do is search for something to do, even if it's working for nothing.

Road to recovery. Apripom/Planet Money Flickr pool

If you're looking for the news, take these: Citigroup and Bank of America are out in the weeds looking for $10 billion each in fresh capital, ahead of the stress tests results expected on Thursday. Fiat wants a chunk of GM, too, not just Chrysler. President Obama's intent on kicking over corporate tax havens, and on making Pell Grants for college an entitlement program like Medicare and Social Security.

But that's not where my heart is. I spent yesterday talking to a guy who's nearing the end of school and hoping to become a teacher. His advisor's telling him this is the worst year he has seen for placing new teachers in 20 years. I tried to tell him, hey, even your parents don't have a model for this kind of job market -- it's bound to let up at some point. And you could see it cheered him not a whit.

Then Paul Krugman got me today with his column on wage deflation. A lot of you have told us about cuts in wages, either in your same old jobs or in the new ones you were lucky enough to find after getting laid off. At NPR, we're looking at what feels like a modest pay cut, in the form of five furlough days and the ending of certain paid holidays. Krugman writes that furloughs may save jobs at the level of the individual company, but they're bad for the overall economy.

Continue reading "The Paradox Of Cutting Pay" >

Dan Hertz knows a lot about auditory neuroscience. Not so much about quantitative finance. But this email recently showed up in his in-box.

Hi Daniel,

I run the quant and development recruitment team at my firm, which I've been with for about 8 years. I'm working on a role for a quant research high frequency team at a major hedge fund client of mine.

My clients are the top funds and IB's in the world; it's my job to keep my finger on the pulse of the market and offer people like you an opportunity to progress within a healthy organization.

Would you be open to speaking with me about some of the opportunities I'm working on? I very much look forward to hearing from you!

Tim

Continue reading "Still Headhunting?" >

As we reported earlier today, Chicago Tribune "Recession Diarist" Lou Carlozo was told Wednesday he was among those being laid off in the newspaper's latest round of cuts. Carlozo says when he learned the news editors forced him to remove an entry telling readers that he was out of work too.

The entire "Recession Diaries" blog was removed from the paper's web site. But Carlozo agreed to share his spiked posting for "Recession Diaries" with Planet Money so others could learn what it was like for him to confront the economy, first hand.

Continue reading "Update: Spiked 'Recession Diary'" >

Lou Carlozo thought he was being pretty nimble at a time the economy was wreaking havoc on his employer and the larger world. The veteran Chicago Tribune arts reporter was asked by editors to chronicle how the recession affected families in his region. In recent months, he blogged under "The Recession Diaries" about his own family's pocketbook concerns.

On Wednesday, the Tribune laid him off. And, according to a piece he wrote for a blog called True/Slant to which he contributes, the Trib told him to pull an account he had put online of the firing, part of wider job losses there. I heard about it from a friend who saw a Facebook posting yesterday -- so the news was already out.

Continue reading "'Recession Diarist' Laid Off" >

I've been spending time with a father and daughter in southwest Washingon state who both lost their jobs last January. Gary and Rachel Peterson both worked at a Weyerhaeuser sawmill Aberdeen. They didn't just lose their jobs, they also lost their trade. Aberdeen used to be a big timber town is now almost completely empty of industry. The mills are gone. And thanks to that fact, the Petersons qualify for what is, according to one local career counselor, the "Cadillac of all unemployment benefits."

The Trade Adjustment Assistance program is for people who worked in farm or manufacturing jobs that are being displaced by global trade. The Petersons now qualify for extra help with their job searches, relocation allowance, training and extra income support.

Continue reading "The 'Cadillac of Unemployment'" >

When a big manufacturing plant closes, the lucky employees are the ones who can find work elsewhere. But in this economy elsewhere is often far away. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that workers from the closed GM plant in Doraville, Ga., took jobs in places as varied as Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Iowa, Delaware, Missouri, Colorado and even the company's ancestral homeland -- Michigan. For many, that dislocation is jarring but not new.

"I never wanted to be a GM gypsy. I just ended up being one," Brian Kieckbusch, a 35-year-old autoworker, told the AJC. "I gave up my family in Wisconsin, my [foreclosed] house in Georgia, and if it tanks here, I'm lost."

Unemployment by state. Indiana Business Bulletin

 

Today, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics reported that unemployment rates in more than a dozen states are significantly higher than the national figure of 8.5 percent.

The states feeling the most pain are:

1. Michigan, 12.6 percent
2. Oregon, 12.1 percent
3. South Carolina, 11.4 percent
4. California, 11.2 percent
5. North Carolina, 10.8 percent

BONUS: Indiana Business Bulletin graphs compare individual state unemployment rates with the national average.

State unemployment rates rose in 46 states in March. Which ones fared better or worse over the month?

Continue reading "Where It's Worse Than 8.5" >

Economists are debating, still, whether it's better for companies in trouble to lay off workers or put them on furloughs. Meanwhile, you're living it. And the news keeps on. From the Wall Street Journal:

Many [employers] also are experimenting with furloughs, hoping that by sharing the pain of the downturn more broadly among staffers, they will keep talented employees, win additional loyalty and better position themselves for the recovery. Of 245 U.S. companies surveyed in February by consulting firm Watson Wyatt Worldwide Inc., 17% said they are ordering mandatory furloughs, while 19% said they are offering workers voluntary furloughs. A much larger group, 65%, said they had cut jobs or plan to cut jobs.

The so-called quits rate leveled out in February. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports today that the same percentage of the workforce left a job in February voluntarily as did so in January. The quits rate covers everyone who gives up an ID card for reasons other than getting canned, or retiring, or dying.

If you've got a job these days, you're likely clinging to it, regardless of whether you like it. (See also: Planet Money pal Dan Pashman's recent "Should You Feel Guilty About Having a Job?.")

Job openings showed little change, as well. They're down 35 percent from peak, in August 2007. One bright spot: Hires in manufacturing edged up, from 115,000 in January to 140,000 in February.

U.S. unemployment spiked again in March, reaching 8.5 percent. Our good friends over at NPR.org have put together a slew of charts to help us all get it. And while we're at it, I recommend their Portraits of the Unemployed, too.

Monthly Change In Payrolls

Change in payroll employment, in thousands

Continue reading "What 8.5 Percent Looks Like" >

With 663,000 jobs lost in March, U.S. unemployment hit 8.5 percent. We're up to 5.1 million layoffs since the recession began in December 2007, nearly two-thirds of them in the last five months. "In March, job losses were large and widespread across the major industry sectors," writes the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The category of people out of work for 15 weeks or longer continued its steady rise, to 3.7 percent.The category of U-6 -- which includes standard layoffs plus workers who've given up looking, plus everyone who's had to settle for part-time work -- checked in at 15.6.

Bonus: NPR's Portraits of the Unemployed

New jobless claims rose last week by 12,000 to 669,000. Ian Shepherdson, the High Frequency economist so often first out of the box, notes that the consensus predicted 650,000 new people looking for unemployment benefits. Claims for last week were revised upward by 5,000, helping the four- and eight-week moving averages hit new highs. He writes:

The rate of increase is likely slowing, though, as the extreme compression in economic activity after the Lehman bankruptcy eases a bit. But claims are typically one of the very first indicators to signal economic recovery, and there is no sign of that in the data yet.

I sent Howard Rosen, who took questions from y'all about employment, this query from a listener:

Given the fact that most women were NOT in the workforce during the Great Depression and now most women ARE in the workforce, how do we compare unemployment rates? One could read it that unemployment in the Great Depression was closer to 70 percent (25% of men and say, 90% of women). Or one could read it that unemployment in the Great Depression was more like 12.5%, (25% of men wanted work and couldn't get it, but that's only 12.5% of the population.) Please help me understand just how bad things are now when compared to the Great Depression.

Rosen's reply, after the jump.

Continue reading "Job Loss, Now And Then" >

High Frequency Economics' Ian Shepherdson spots the silver lining in today's job-loss figures. New claims for unemployment benefits rose by 8,000, to 652,000 -- about what people expected. Shepherdson says he'll need a few months' data to be sure, but writes:

The trend in claims is still upwards, though the rate of increase might be slowing.

I'll take it.

Continue reading "A Bright Spot In Job Numbers" >

You'd think the law would be one of our more recession-proof trades -- we've been counting on it at my house. At the very least, New York's big firms should have a bunch of Wall Street clients to represent. But it turns out even top 10 firms are starting to pare back.

Layoffs are painful everywhere, but how hard are law firms trying to avoid them? The self-styled "legal tabloid" Above The Law has been chronicling the efforts to cut costs and has noticed that some big firms have found creative solutions. They're offering associates cash (generally in the neighborhood of $75,000) to take a year off from firm life and find an unpaid public interest "internship." Some firms are pushing back start dates on incoming first year associates to January 2010. At least one firm has even offered buyouts.

In his morning note today, Carl Weinberg of High Frequency Economics writes:

"[T]he U.S. economy. . .seems to be the only one shedding workers faster than GDP is falling."

Which seems to hold a key to understanding what's happening in the American employment scene.

Continue reading "The Next Big Layoffs" >

One of my favorite data points came in today: The "quits rate" dropped .1 percent in January, says the Bureau of Labor statistics. That means fewer people are voluntarily leaving jobs -- whether to sail around the world or to take another gig. In this lay-off economy, it appears, fewer of us are willing to trade seniority in a current job for opportunity in a new one. From the BLS:

The quits rate can serve as a barometer of workers' willingness or ability to change jobs. Although the quits rate was essentially unchanged in January at 1.5 percent, the rate was at the lowest point in the 8-year series.

Continue reading "Americans Staying Put" >