Tag Archives: Payrolls

The number of construction job openings dropped 6,000 and there were 11.5 available workers for open construction job, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey report.

It may not have been a fiscal cliff, but how about a fiscal mudslide? The deal reached by Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and forced down the throats of House Republicans (without involving their leader, Speaker John Boehner) wound up to be a glorified version of kicking the can down the road--a short road, as the next ""crisis"" comes in just two months, when the nation runs up against the debt ceiling. Too many words have already been written about the crises manufactured by setting arbitrary deadlines.

The nation’s unemployment rate remained at 7.8 percent in December as payrolls increased 155,000, slightly ahead of consensus forecasts, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Economists had forecast payrolls would grow by 150,000, slightly higher than the 146,000 increase in payrolls originally reported for November, and that the unemployment rate would remain at November's 7.7 percent.

First time claims for unemployment insurance dropped 12,000 to 350,000 for the week ended December 22, the third lowest level of the year, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected claims to increase to 365,000. The previous week’s report was revised upward to 362,000 from the originally reported 361,000.

Home prices fell in October for the first time since March, according to the monthly Case-Shiller Home Price Index. Both the 10-city index and the 20-city index decreased 0.1 percent from September to 158.77 and 146.08 respectively. The value of the 10 city index fell 0.10 and of the 20-city index dropped 0.09. The 10-city index for October was 3.4 percent higher than it was in October 2011 and the 20-city index showed a 4.3 percent year-year gain.

Personal income jumped 0.6 percent in November--twice what economists forecast--improving $85.8 billion, while spending rose a hefty 0.4 percent, the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The growth in spending matched economists’ forecasts.

First time claims for unemployment insurance increased 17,000 to 361,000 for the week ended December 15, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected claims to increase to 359,000. The previous week’s report was revised upward to 344,000 from the originally reported 343,000, an unexpected sharp drop of 27,000 initial filings.

Despite recent improvements in the unemployment rate and housing, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Wednesday voted to continue its program of purchasing $40 million a month of mortgage backed securities and to maintain the target Fed Funds rate at 0 to 0.25 percent. The FOMC vote was 11-1 with only Richmond Fed President Jeffery M. Lacker dissenting.

Superstorm Sandy blew a hole not in the nation's labor market, but in economists' crystal balls as the economy added 146,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent--the lowest level since December 2008, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)reported Friday. Economists had forecast payroll growth of 93,000, down from 171,000 as originally reported for October, and an increase in the unemployment rate from 7.9 percent to 8.0 percent. While the drop in the unemployment rate was a positive sign, it was driven largely by a drop in the labor force.

Continuing to show the recovery from superstorm Sandy, first-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 25,000 to 370,000 for the week ending December 1, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected 380,000 initial claims filings. The previous week's report was revised upward to 395,000 from the originally reported 393,000.