Jobs

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I happen to think we are in (an unsustainable) recovery. And that means that the labour market, while poor is improving.  This is why my headline from the latest employment figures was “Unemployment rate recedes as worst of this…

In the past few weeks I have been alarmed about the growing debate about deficits and taxes, so much so that I have moved to a double dip baseline from one of a multi-year recovery.  I find it in total disregard of past economic…

From the U.S. Department of Labor: In the week ending Nov. 28, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 457,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 462,000. The 4-week moving average was…

Gallup’s monthly economic  survey breaks down the employment situation by region in the U.S.. No region is doing great, but the West is doing the worst and the situation is getting worse.  Here is what they say: During a week…

This is an important question which Brad DeLong asks (Hat tip Mark Thoma). Here’s the logic: Right now, if you ask the decisive members of congress—by which I mean the Blue Dog Democrats in the House, or the most conservative Democrats…

This comes via the Wall Street Journal: Highway-construction companies around the country, having completed the mostly small projects paid for by the federal economic-stimulus package, are starting to see their business run aground, an…

Below is another great article from John Mauldin via his weekly newsletter, this time featuring John Hussman who is talking double dip and depression. My last post shows I am very concerned about this scenario – which I see as likely - and…

As we discuss sovereign debt levels, currencies and competitiveness, it bears remembering that interest rates are at the heart of many of these debates. To the degree debt service costs are the only measure used to determine how high a…

Unemployment claims dropped dramatically to 466,000 this past week. This is the best data on the unemployment front we have seen in a long time. The prior week’s claims were also downwardly revised for the first time in a while. These…