unemployment – News Stories About unemployment - Page 26

Oct 14, 2009 7:49 AM CDT

Pay Cuts: America's New Norm

Nine straight months of declining pay sets new record

(Newser) - In previous recessions, layoffs were the principal way for employers to cut costs—pay cuts were seen as demoralizing and a sure-fire way to lose workers to other jobs. But now pay cuts, sometimes in the form of demotions or shortened workweeks, are more common than at any time since...

Economy Sparks
Record Military
Recruitment

Oct 14, 2009 3:41 AM CDT

Economy Sparks Record Military Recruitment

Bleak employment, bonuses boost numbers to highest level since draft ended

(Newser) - The recession has helped boost the US military to its best recruitment year since the post-Vietnam switch to an all-volunteer force. Recruiters hit or exceeded all their targets for the first time since 1973, surprising even Pentagon officials. In addition to rising unemployment, recruiting was helped by bonuses, a recruiting...

Dow Up 61 on
Strong Earnings

MARKETS

Oct 8, 2009 3:14 PM CDT

Dow Up 61 on Strong Earnings

Weekly unemployment claims fall to lowest level since January

(Newser) - Stocks closed below their session highs but still finished in positive territory after Alcoa set a strong tone for the third-quarter earnings season. The firm posted a $77 million profit after the bell yesterday. Also helping was good news on the jobs front, with last week’s initial claims for...

Tax Breaks for New Jobs
Gain Bipartisan Support

Oct 7, 2009 7:46 AM CDT

Tax Breaks for New Jobs Gain Bipartisan Support

But some dismiss move as 'corporate welfare'

(Newser) - Support is building in Washington for the idea of giving companies tax breaks when they hire new workers. President Obama’s economic team has been exploring the possibility for weeks, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle like the idea of helping unemployed constituents. “There’s a lot...

Put New
Stimulus
to Work for
Unemployed

OPINION

Oct 7, 2009 2:08 AM CDT

Put New Stimulus to Work for Unemployed

Painful 'new normal' isn't good enough

(Newser) - Economists are buzzing about a "new normal" of higher unemployment and wage stagnation post-recession, but Americans shouldn't resign themselves to a mediocre economy, writes Harold Meyerson. Downturns triggered by banking crises usually cause higher rates of unemployment for longer periods than normal downturns, but the cycle can be broken...

Obama Mulls
Tax Cuts,
Spending to
Goose Economy

Oct 6, 2009 5:52 AM CDT

Obama Mulls Tax Cuts, Spending to Goose Economy

Grim jobs outlook spurs talks on new stimulus measures

(Newser) - The Obama administration is examining new ways to boost the economy amid troubling unemployment statistics. The White House and Democratic leaders in Congress are considering strategies that include new transportation spending and an extension of tax credits for first-time homebuyers and small businesses struggling with operating losses. A proposal to...

Many Jobs Are Gone Forever

ANALYSIS

Oct 5, 2009 2:28 PM CDT

Many Jobs Are Gone Forever

Employment picture likely to remain grim for years, and predicting winning industries is a challenge

(Newser) - The job market is likely to be grim for years to come—economists expect that even if job creation returned to the brisk pace of the ‘90s, unemployment wouldn’t return to 5% until 2017. And for many of the unemployed, the numbers belie the real problem: The positions...

Despite Layoffs, High-Paying Jobs Go Unfilled

Oct 5, 2009 9:21 AM CDT

Despite Layoffs, High-Paying Jobs Go Unfilled

Employers can't find nurses, engineers, energy researchers

(Newser) - In a brutal job market, here's a task that might sound easy: Fill jobs in nursing, engineering and energy research that pay $55,000 to $60,000, plus benefits. Yet even with 15 million people hunting for work, even with the unemployment rate nearing 10%, some employers can't find enough...

Unemployment Now Lasts Longer Than Benefits

Oct 3, 2009 9:54 AM CDT

Unemployment Now Lasts Longer Than Benefits

(Newser) - A rough milestone on the jobless front: The average length of time it takes to find a job—26.2 weeks—now exceeds the standard length of unemployment benefits—26 weeks. That's first time it's happened since the Labor Department began keeping stats 60 years ago, reports Bloomberg. The bit...

GOP Revels in US Setbacks

piling on

Oct 2, 2009 2:15 PM CDT

GOP Revels in US Setbacks

1-2 punch of job stats, Olympic decision gets a third stage

(Newser) - From worse-than-expected unemployment numbers to Chicago’s foiled Olympic bid, today was a lousy day for America, but Republicans reacted as if Christmas had come early. Soon after the jobs numbers hit, Glenn Thrush of Politico got a slew of GOP press releases. “Rep. Mike Pence literally hit the...

Dow Falls 34
Ahead of Jobs Data

MARKETS

Sep 29, 2009 3:16 PM CDT

Dow Falls 34 Ahead of Jobs Data

Dow still on track for best quarter in 10 years

(Newser) - Stocks fell today as traders lost some of yesterday’s confidence ahead of looming job reports. ADP will release its September survey tomorrow, with weekly data due Thursday and the government’s nonfarm payrolls report coming Friday. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index, which analysts had been expecting to...

Social Security Faces Grim Forecast for 2010, 2011

Sep 27, 2009 4:40 PM CDT

Social Security Faces Grim Forecast for 2010, 2011

Payouts will exceed tax receipts for first time since 1980s

(Newser) - Big job losses and a spike in early retirement claims from laid-off seniors will force Social Security to pay out more in benefits than it collects in taxes the next 2 years, the first time that's happened since the 1980s. The deficits—$10 billion in 2010 and $9 billion in...

Jobless Outnumber Jobs, 6-1

Sep 27, 2009 10:38 AM CDT

Jobless Outnumber Jobs, 6-1

Ratio hits worst level since recording began in 2000

(Newser) - Even as the US pulls out of the recession, the ranks of the out-of-work have swelled to 14.5 million people, leaving six jobless people vying for every available job—the worst ratio since the Labor Department began keeping track in 2000. "There's too much uncertainty out there,"...

Outlook Bleak for Holiday Hiring

Sep 23, 2009 1:22 AM CDT

Outlook Bleak for Holiday Hiring

Pessimistic retailers plan to slash seasonal jobs

(Newser) - Retail jobs are expected to be in short supply even as the holiday shopping season approaches, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some 40% of retail chains surveyed say they plan to hire fewer workers this year than they did last year when the recession forced many to cut staffing levels....

Job Market Splitting Up Couples

Sep 22, 2009 5:18 AM CDT

Job Market Splitting Up Couples

Nearly 1 in 5 Americans relocates for new position

(Newser) - With the job market failing to recover along with the larger economy, two-career couples are facing tough choices and increasingly being forced into long-distance relationships. A recent survey has found that 18.2% of Americans who took new jobs in the second quarter also relocated, up from 11.4% a...

Business Is Booming
on Appalachian Trail

Sep 21, 2009 1:00 PM CDT

Business Is Booming on Appalachian Trail

In echoes of Depression-era hobos, hikers subsist on bartered farm labor

(Newser) - The Appalachian Trail has been packed this year, as the unemployed wait out the bad economy by hiking almost 2,200 miles between Maine and Georgia—and often pay for the journey by working as they go, the Wall Street Journal reports. The trail offers a subsistence lifestyle—hikers budget...

Obama 'Skeptical'
About More Troops
in Afghanistan

TALKSHOW ROUNDUP

Sep 20, 2009 9:13 AM CDT

Obama 'Skeptical' About More Troops in Afghanistan

Pres calls Russians 'paranoid' and refuses to comment on ACORN

(Newser) - If it’s Sunday, it’s President Obama, who took to five Sunday talk shows today (including Univision, but excluding Fox) to promote his agenda. Among the highlights:

Obama warned US commanders on This Week he’s “skeptical” that more US troops in Afghanistan will make a difference.
On

...

NYC Unemployment Hits 10.3%

Sep 18, 2009 7:10 AM CDT

NYC Unemployment Hits 10.3%

City given grant to help laid-off Wall Street workers retrain

(Newser) - The Big Apple's unemployment rate hit double digits last month for the first time since 1993, the New York Times reports. At 10.3%, the rate is now higher than the national rate of 9.7%. State officials say continuing layoffs on Wall Street are to blame for the rise,...

Recession Crushes
White-Collar Michigan

Sep 17, 2009 1:26 AM CDT

Recession Crushes White-Collar Michigan

Layoffs, property price plunge leaves middle-aged workers in limbo

(Newser) - Tens of thousands of middle-aged white-collar workers have been left jobless and stranded in Michigan by the recession, the Wall Street Journal reports. Auto industry veterans laid off by the Big Three are finding themselves competing against against younger people for a smattering of job openings. With property prices down...

Wages Are Up—for
Workers With Jobs

Sep 16, 2009 6:41 AM CDT

Wages Are Up—for Workers With Jobs

Avg. weekly pay hit $618 last month, up from $612

(Newser) - For those with the good fortune to have a job, wage growth has actually increased in recent months, government surveys show. From the fall of Lehman Brothers last September to this June, average weekly pay stayed at $612. But since June, the workweek has gotten longer and hourly pay growth...