Quick Facts
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GDP Rises 1.7%; Why That’s Horrible
The US economy grew 1.7% last quarter, the Commerce Department announced today , which is a lot better than the 1% analysts expected. "It is what markets and the journalists who write about them like to call a 'huge beat,'" writes Neil Irwin at the Washington Post , before adding,... Go to Source Author: Kevin Spak
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Jobless Rate Holds at 7.6%
Expectations were slightly upended with today's release of the June jobs report: Most predictions had the unemployment rate ticking down from 7.6% to 7.5%, with somewhere in the neighborhood of 160,000 jobs created. That latter figure turned out to be 195,000 jobs—and yet the jobless... Go to Source Author: Kate Seamons
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Eurozone Joblessness Hits New High
Unemployment across the 17 European Union countries that use the euro hit another all-time high in May, official data showed today. Eurostat, the EU's statistics office, said the eurozone's unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage point in May to 12.1%. April's unemployment rate was initially estimated to be 12.... Go to Source Author:
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Dear DC: 7.6% Unemployment Is Not OK
Once upon a time, back before the financial crisis, Americans had certain expectations for their economy. "Normal, back then, meant an economy adding a million or more jobs a year," and an unemployment rate "not much above 5%," recalls Paul Krugman at the New York Times . Now, Washington is making... Go to Source Author: Kevin Spak
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Unemployment Ticks Up to 7.6%
The unemployment rate ticked up a notch in May: It had been expected to remain at 7.5% , but instead went up to 7.6%, the Wall Street Journal reports. But, the AP notes, that's because more people are looking for work, which is a good thing. And while 169,... Go to Source Author: Evann Gastaldo
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Eurozone Jobless Rate Hits Grim Record
Unemployment across the 17 European Union countries that use the euro has hit another record high, the latest in a series of ignominious landmarks for the ailing single currency zone. Eurostat, the EU's statistics office, said today that unemployment rose to 12.2% in April from the previous record of... Go to Source Author:
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No, America Doesn’t Have a Skilled Worker Shortage
Employers have been complaining for years now that the US is short of skilled workers, which is fast becoming the conventional wisdom explanation for persistently high unemployment. After all, there are currently more job openings than our current unemployment rates would suggest there should be. "There's only one problem with... Go to Source Author: Kevin Spak
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Unemployment Hits 4-Year Low: 7.5%
Today's jobs report beat expectations: The unemployment rate fell to 7.5%, a four-year low, in April, and 165,000 jobs were created. Economists had expected 148,000 new jobs and an unemployment rate holding steady at 7.6%, the Wall Street Journal reports. More good news from the AP... Go to Source Author: Evann Gastaldo
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Gloom in Spain: Unemployment Hits Record 27%
Spain's unemployment rate has soared to 27.2%, the highest it's been since record-keeping started in the 1970s. Some 6.2 million people were jobless in the first quarter, a figure that has continued to climb for seven quarters. Madrid has sharply curtailed its spending, and these latest numbers are... Go to Source Author: Matt Cantor
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Just 88K Jobs Added in March
Unemployment fell to 7.6% in March, but just 88,000 jobs were added—which the Wall Street Journal calls a "very bad number." Economists weren't expecting much from today's jobs report—according to NPR , they were forecasting "slow and steady" growth—but they had predicted 200,000 new jobs.... Go to Source Author: Evann Gastaldo
