Jobs

America’s Structural Unemployment Crisis in Two Charts

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on America’s Structural Unemployment Crisis in Two Charts

It didn’t even start with the financial crisis. It started before the 2001 recession. But the strategy exploded in 2009, and it’s still getting worse.

They Actually Don’t Have A Clue About Employment And Jobs, Not In California

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on They Actually Don’t Have A Clue About Employment And Jobs, Not In California

California is at it again. It released its employment and jobs reports today, in parallel with the national reports released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. What a doozie. Is the California boom already over?

Why My BS-O-Meter Redlined In The Minimum-Wage War

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Why My BS-O-Meter Redlined In The Minimum-Wage War

“There is never a good time to raise the minimum wage,” explained Joseph Sabia, an associate professor of economics at San Diego State University. The Capitol Hill briefing was co-sponsored by the Employment Policies Institute, which is tied to the fast-food industry.

Fed Flails About To Squash “Misleading” (Very Inconvenient) Unemployment Measure

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Fed Flails About To Squash “Misleading” (Very Inconvenient) Unemployment Measure

The Fed uses the easing unemployment rate as proof that its heroic policies are successful and that Bernanke could ride off into the sunset with a nimbus above his head. Other official measures are less gung-ho. And the most important one has become the Fed’s nightmare.

Lousy Jobs Data: Five Years Of QE Fail, Yet Fig Leaf For Taper

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Lousy Jobs Data: Five Years Of QE Fail, Yet Fig Leaf For Taper

Today’s employment report is special. Exactly five years ago, the Fed kicked off its zero interest rate policy and QE to create the “wealth effect”: the elite would borrow for free and buy assets to drive up asset prices and make those people immensely rich; in return, they’d spend some crumbs of this new wealth, which would create jobs, say, at luxury retailers.

Next Shoe to Drop in Broke California’s Lopsided ‘Recovery’

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Next Shoe to Drop in Broke California’s Lopsided ‘Recovery’

If you come to San Francisco or Silicon Valley and look around, you’d think California is booming, that companies jump through hoops to hire people, that they douse them with money, stock options, and free lunches. And some do. But in other parts of the state?