Jobs

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?

Does QE Boost Employment? (Somebody Should Send This To Yellen)

by Contributor •  • Comments Off on Does QE Boost Employment? (Somebody Should Send This To Yellen)

By Lee Adler, The Wall Street Examiner: Overlaying raw employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics with the Fed’s balance sheet offers surprising insights. Brief must-see video with excellent chart and explanation. Somebody should send it to Yellen.

Spain, No Country For Young Men

by Don Quijones •  • Comments Off on Spain, No Country For Young Men

By Don Quijones: Despite a miraculous economic “recovery,” EU-wide youth unemployment hit 24%. New records were set in Spain (56.5%), Greece (57.3%), Italy (40%), and France (26%). The warnings from history are clear: governments that allow youth unemployment to escalate, do so at their own peril.

On The Surface, There’s Nothing Perturbing In The Challenger Job Cut Report

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on On The Surface, There’s Nothing Perturbing In The Challenger Job Cut Report

In terms of announced mass layoffs, 2013 is shaping up to be the best year since 1997. Overall, employers aren’t shedding lots of jobs. But glitter in some sectors covers up aggressive, permanent job destruction in other sectors – where the sky used to be the limit.

Politicians Are All Jabbering About Creating Jobs (Doing What?)

by James Murray •  • Comments Off on Politicians Are All Jabbering About Creating Jobs (Doing What?)

By James Murray: Computer power has reached the point where almost anything can be automated, and computer pricing has reached the point where it is profitable to do so. The world is undergoing a mega shift, and governments have no clue how to handle the problem.

Jobs Don’t Keep Up With Population Growth, But Unemployment Rate Drops Elegantly, Keeps Intact The Pretext For Fed “Taper”

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Jobs Don’t Keep Up With Population Growth, But Unemployment Rate Drops Elegantly, Keeps Intact The Pretext For Fed “Taper”

When the Fed said it wanted to print more money in order to create jobs, it’s this graph that came to mind. And when it now says that it wants to taper that process because it already created enough jobs, it’s also this graph that comes to mind. Job creation and economic growth were just a pretext – a pretext that has been very crummy.

In Last 12 Months: Fed SOMA Up 27%, Housing Prices Up 13.5%, Stock Market Up 22%, Jobs Up 1.7%

by Contributor •  • Comments Off on In Last 12 Months: Fed SOMA Up 27%, Housing Prices Up 13.5%, Stock Market Up 22%, Jobs Up 1.7%

By Lee Adler, of The Wall Street Examiner: By now it’s clear to everybody, even the Fed, that QE does absolutely nothing to stimulate economic growth while fomenting bubbles in housing and stock prices. The Fed will disingenuously use steady job growth as an excuse to begin cutting back on QE soon. But its real reason lies elsewhere.