The April unemployment rate dropped slightly, to 8.1 percent. Unfortunately, the decline was due not so much to the creation of new jobs, but to the fact that hundreds of thousands of people just quit looking for work. Under the government’s approach to calculating the unemployment rate, those people just aren’t counted as unemployed any [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Unemployment’
When People Give Up
Posted in America, The Economy, Work, tagged America, Giving Up, High Unemployment, Parenting, Qutting, The Economy, Unemployment, Work on May 14, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Teetering On The Brink, And Stuck In The Mud
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, tagged America, Mitt Romney, political campaigns, Politics, President Obama, The Economy, Unemployment, Voters on May 4, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Today the April unemployment report is released. It probably will be read more closely in the lobbying offices on K Street than in the trading pits on Wall Street. Americans vote with their pocketbooks. For all the recent talk about Mitt Romney’s roof transportation of a family pet years ago, President Obama eating dog meat [...]
An Ohioan’s Thoughts On The Race Ahead
Posted in America, Ohio, Politics, tagged 2008 Presidential Election, 2012 Presidential Election, America, Gas Prices, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Ohio, Politics, President Obama, Unemployment, Voters on April 17, 2012 | 2 Comments »
We’re now less than seven months away from the 2012 presidential election. What does the race look like, from the perspective of battleground Ohio? I think the 2012 election will be much less emotion-charged than 2008 was. In 2008 many hoped that Barack Obama would be a transformative figure whose election would finally slay the [...]
A Glimmer On The Horizon
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, tagged America, Jobs, Politics, President Obama, Republicans, The Economy, Unemployment on February 4, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Yesterday’s unemployment report contained some good news, for a change. The Bureau of Labor Statistics released data stating that 243,000 new jobs were created, and the unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent. Both results are better than what economists and analysts — who never seem to be right — were expecting. There are some curious [...]
Tuning Out
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, TV, tagged America, Politics, President Obama, recession, State Of The Union speech, The Economy, TV, Unemployment on January 26, 2012 | 1 Comment »
I didn’t watch the President’s State of the Union speech earlier this week. It turns out I’m not alone. According to the New York Times, 37.8 million viewers watched the President’s speech. That’s down from 42.8 million in 2011, 48 million in 2010, and 52.3 million for the President’s 2009 speech to Congress. In short, [...]
The President’s Curious, Overcooked Metaphors
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, tagged 2012 Presidential Election, 60 minutes, America, Politics, President Obama, Public Speaking, Ship Captains, Ships, The Economy, Unemployment on December 31, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Although he has a reputation as a fine public speaker, President Obama often struggles to make his point and move on. At times, he seems to get trapped within expanding metaphors, fighting without success to make his way out. I first noticed this after he was elected, when he sought to explain why he wouldn’t [...]
The President’s Bill Goes Down — Now What?
Posted in Politics, The Economy, tagged economy, National Debt, Politics, Unemployment on October 12, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Last night the United States Senate — in one of those weird maneuvers that make sense only to Senators — took a vote that killed President Obama’s “jobs” bill. A majority of Senators voted in favor of moving the bill forward, but there weren’t enough votes to overcome a threatened filibuster. Every Republican opposed it, [...]
Looking For A Job, Any Job, In Cleveland
Posted in Ohio, The Economy, tagged casino jobs, casinos, Cleveland, economy, Horseshoe Casino Cleveland, Ohio, Unemployment, Unemployment statistics on September 30, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Times are tough in Cleveland. How tough? Today a story gave us some sense of the distress felt by many people. The times in Cleveland are so challenging that, when the Horseshoe Casino Cleveland announced that it was accepting applications for table game and poker dealer jobs that pay between $17 and $22 per hour, [...]
Suffering From Self-Inflicted Wounds
Posted in America, Politics, tagged Jobs bill, Politics, President Obama, Republicans, Schoolhouse Rock, Unemployment on September 12, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I think one reason that President Obama’s job approval ratings have fallen over recent months is that his actions often indicate that he and his staff simply do not pay attention to the basics. When the nuts and bolts appear to be neglected, questions about competence and credibility inevitably will arise. Consider the President’s recent [...]
The President’s Speech
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, tagged America, Congress, economy, Extended unemployment compensation, Politics, President Obama, Republicans, stimulus, Unemployment on September 8, 2011 | 2 Comments »
I watched the President’s speech tonight, and I found it to be quite interesting for a number of reasons. The first part of the speech seemed like “same old, same old,” and I think it will generally be perceived as such. It appears to be more of the “stimulus” concept that has been tried and [...]
Separating Disrespect From Not-Disrespect
Posted in America, Politics, tagged America, Democrats, Nancy Pelosi, News, Politics, President Obama, Republicans, Senator Jim DeMint, Unemployment on September 8, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Given our current political climate, it is utterly predictable that even the august occasion of a presidential address to a joint session of Congress will be turned into an occasion for asinine political gamesmanship on both sides of the aisle. According to news reports, some Republicans have said they won’t attend. Senator Jim DeMint, for [...]
The Power Of Zero
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, tagged America, economy, Jobs, Politics, President Obama, recession, Unemployment, Unemployment statistics on September 2, 2011 | 2 Comments »
The August jobs report was released today, and it showed that the American economy created no net jobs in August. That’s right: a big, fat zero. Nada. Zilch. A goose egg. Naught. Zippo. What could be a more apt and powerful description for the moribund state of our economy? Neither up nor down. Dead in [...]
Looking On The Bright Side
Posted in America, Humor, Movies, The Economy, tagged Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, America, economy, Humor, Life of Brian, Monty Python, Movies, Optimism, recession, Unemployment, Unemployment statistics on July 8, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Today’s announcement of the latest unemployment figures was bad news all around — only 18,000 jobs created, the unemployment rate up to 9.2%, more than 270,000 out-of-work Americans who have just stopped looking for a job, and growing fears that our lingering recission is going to get worse before it gets better. One economist quoted [...]
Bleak, Bleak, Bleak
Posted in America, The Economy, tagged America, economy, High Unemployment, recession, Unemployment, Unemployment statistics on July 1, 2011 | 1 Comment »
I haven’t written about the economy for a while, and there is a reason for that: I am trying to maintain a positive attitude this summer, and the economic news has been unrelentingly bad. Avoidance therefore is the only path to optimism. Of course, it is impossible to fully ignore the news, which is discouraging. [...]
The Stubborn Problem Of Consumer Confidence
Posted in America, The Economy, tagged America, Consumer confidence, consumers, Economists, economy, Gasoline Prices, House prices, recession, Unemployment, Unemployment statistics on May 31, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index fell in May to a recent low, causing some to fear that we may be on the cusp of the dreaded “double-dip” or “W” recession. Economists expressed surprise at the news. The only thing surprising about this news item is that some economists are still expressing surprise that American [...]
