Tag Archives: Labor Department

The latest jobs report from the Department of Labor offers wildly exceeded expectations alongside disappointing compensation. Do solid employment numbers spell good times ahead? Or do sluggish wages mean trouble is looming?

According to numbers from the Labor Department, employers added 288,000 jobs last month, soaring above economists' consensus forecast of 211,000 new jobs. Meanwhile, payroll additions for April and May were revised up to 304,000 and 224,000, respectively, bringing gains in those months up 29,000 higher than previously reported.

The U.S. economy added 175,000 jobs in February, beating expectations after two weak months but still failing to impress, according to a report from the Labor Department. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg anticipated a consensus forecast of 150,000 new jobs. The unemployment rate edged up to 6.7 percent from January’s five-year low of 6.6 percent.

Some 204,000 Americans found work in October, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday morning. Yet with the number of public employees counted as unemployed or temporarily laid off as a result of the federal government shutdown last month, the national unemployment rate rose to 7.3 percent, up from 7.2 percent in September. Job gains for both August and September were revised upward, adding a combined 60,000 more to the workforce.

Continuing the drop in first time claims for unemployment insurance, initial filings fell 5,000 for the week ended September 21 to 305,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists had expected the number of claims to jump up to 330,000, from the 309,000 originally reported for the week ended September 14.

Following a sharp drop in first time claims for unemployment insurance a week earlier, initial filings rose 15,000 for the week ended September 14 to 309,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists had expected the number of claims to jump 49,000 to 341,000, from the 292,000 originally reported for the week ended September 7.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance for the week ending September 7 plunged 31,000 to 292,000, the lowest level since March 2006, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected the number of claims to edge up to 330,000 from the 323,000 originally reported for the week ending August 31. The number of filings for that week was unchanged.

While August's employment situation report was less than robust (with a staggering reduction in July's revised payrolls), it wasn't the first set of data to suggest trouble on the horizon for the housing recovery. The Case-Shiller home price index for June--the most recent--showed continuing, albeit slower, house price gains, pushing affordable homeownership still further from low paid workers. That is, until the numbers change again.

The nation's economy added 169,000 jobs in August as the unemployment rate fell to 7.3 percent, the lowest level since December 2008, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Economists had forecast payrolls would grow by 180,000 and the unemployment rate would remain at July's 7.4 percent. Payroll growth for July, originally reported at 162,000 was revised down 58,000 to 104,000. June payroll growth was also revised downward from 188,000 to 172,000.

The Department of Labor reported an estimated 323,000 initial claims for unemployment insurance for the week ending August 31, a drop of 9,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 332,000.