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02 Sep 2011 12:19

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Biz, U.S.: August’s depressingly bad job numbers will depress you greatly

  • 17k number of jobs gained in the private sector in August — down significantly from July
  • 17k number of jobs lost in the public sector in August — see where this is going, guys?
  • 0k number of jobs created as a whole in August; unemployment stayed at 9.1 percent source
  • » Another month of 9-plus-percent unemployment: Of the past 28 months, 26 of them have sported unemployment above 9 percent. And here’s a number that will depress the crap out of you — 14 million people are currently unemployed, which makes job gains of 100,000 seem like not enough, let alone completely flat months like August.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Mar 2011 10:46

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Biz: Job numbers: Why Feburary’s numbers are particularly promising

  • 8.9% the unemployment rate in February, the lowest it’s been in over two years
  • 192k the increase in nonfarm payrolls – the biggest monthly leap since May
  • 58k the jump in January’s payroll numbers in revised estimates source
  • » Why this jump is a pretty big deal: Simply put, this is all private-sector growth, meaning that business are hiring again. It’s not nearly as quick as economists want it, but the growth is promising, so they’ll take it. Also worth noting – the jump in jobs last May was due to the Census, which means that those were here-today-gone-tomorrow-type jobs. This is actual, real growth. Hopefully it keeps up.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Jan 2011 09:35

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Biz: Unemployment dips in December, but job growth only moderate

  • 103,000 the increase in jobs last month – decent but lower than expected (and mostly private job growth)
  • 9.4% the decrease in unemployment, which is down nearly half a percentage point source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Jan 2011 11:23

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Biz: Could unemployment rate drop? Key indicator looks very positive

  • 297k new payrolls among private employers in December, according to payroll processor ADP, which tracks stuff like this
  • 100k new payrolls were expected in the December survey, so this is an extremely positive sign for economic growth
  • eleven straight months of growth for private-sector payrolls … but will unemployment drop? (those numbers will come Friday) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Dec 2010 11:05

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Biz: Like contradictory jobs data? Here’s some good, then some bad

  • 93k the growth in private-sector employment last month (nice!)
  • 03/07 the last time job growth was that high in a single month (pre-recession)
  • ten consecutive months of private-sector job growth source
  • » Not all rosy: The above tally, by payroll processor ADP, is definitely positive, but separate data by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas says that employers were looking to cut jobs, too – at a rate of 48,711 last month, the highest level in six months. Gotta love contradictory data, but the firms tend to focus on different part of the employment life process.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Nov 2010 11:22

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U.S.: A federal pay freeze might halt out-of-whack wage increases

  • 3% the yearly increase in pay rates above inflation for public-sector workers
  • 0.8% the increase of the same measure for private-sector workers source
  • » Also worth noting: As of 2010, 82,000 federal workers make over $150,000 – a huge leap from even five years earlier. And had Obama not ordered the pay freeze, federal pay would’ve gone up by 1.4 percent across the board. Federal workers are getting paid out of whack with the private sector as-is. To stop this now, as he’s getting hit on all sides, seems like a very smart move on Obama’s part, though we’ll see as the story develops.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

05 Nov 2010 09:56

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Biz: Unemployment stays put despite genuinely solid job growth

  • 151,000 the increase in hiring in October – mostly on the back of private sector jobs, which is really good
  • 9.6% the current unemployment rate, which didn’t improve even though jobs numbers were strong source
  • » Far better than predicted: Economists were expecting a hiring increase of around 60,000 in October, which was more than doubled. So hey, that’s a positive!
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

06 Oct 2010 10:08

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Biz: September offered more good news for job growth (sarcasm)

  • 39,000 private sector job cuts (meh) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

13 Sep 2010 20:33

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World: Cuba finding full communism not working so well for them

  • 500,000 commie jobs are going away source
  • » And they’re going private: The country, with its economy in steep decline, had made a pledge to shed a million state workers and allowed them to be replaced by private jobs. But instead of sticking to the five-year timeframe that they put forward, these jobs are going to dissipate in the next six months. Hopefully the private sector can keep up.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Sep 2010 09:52

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Biz: Jobs grew, but the unemployment rate still rose

  • 9.6% the latest unemployment rate, which is an uptick source
  • Why the increase? Interesting reasons, actually; apparently, private-sector jobs actually increased. Unfortunately, government jobs continued to disappear.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink
 
 
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