“Labor economics” on The Daily Caller

America’s job machine is stuck in neutral. And that’s a worrying sign (more)

The unemployment rate across 39 states and the District fell in June, but this is far from good news. Instead, it reflects renewed pessimism about the economy as employers put the brakes on hiring and people stopped looking for work. (more)

The unemployment rate across 39 states and the District fell in June, but this is far from good news. Instead, it reflects renewed pessimism about the economy as employers put the brakes on hiring and people stopped looking for work. (more)

Hundreds of thousands of Americans have enrolled in federally financed training programs in recent years, only to remain out of work. That has intensified skepticism about training as a cure for unemployment. (more)

While the American economy staggers out of recession, a new report shows that there’s at least one boomtown where people are raking in the dough and living large: Washington, D.C. (more)

The limitations imposed by the role of the states in the U.S. unemployment insurance system are the reason why a majority of workers are not protected and why even insured workers receive inadequate protection. Steven Attewell writes: “Our reconstruction of the unemployment insurance system should start from three basic principles. First, unemployment is a national problem for our single, national economy, and requires a nation-wide system to respond to it. Second, in order to protect the entire workforce from the sudden shock of wage loss and the economy from the sudden shock of consumer spending collapse, all workers need to be inside the system, contributing and protected. Third, unemployment benefits should be set at a sufficient level to keep individuals and families from falling into poverty and should be automatically extended in periods of economic decline in job losses, when normal expectations that people can find new jobs no longer apply.” (more)

BEDFORD, Ohio — Factory owners have been adding jobs slowly but steadily since the beginning of the year, giving a lift to the fragile economic recovery. And because they laid off so many workers — more than two million since the end of 2007 — manufacturers now have a vast pool of people to choose from. (more)

WASHINGTON — A wave of census layoffs cut the nation’s payrolls in June for the first time in six months, while private employers added a modest number of jobs. The unemployment rate fell to 9.5 percent, its lowest level in almost a year. (more)

(AP)  For the third time in as many weeks, Senate Republicans on Wednesday successfully filibustered a bill to continue providing unemployment checks to millions of people. (more)

Should business owners pay for others to sit on their couch? The current unemployment insurance policy not only serves its primary goal of providing a safety net between jobs, it also allows some people to sit on the couch while they refuse work. (more)

June 30 (Bloomberg) — More than half of U.S. workers were either unemployed or experienced reductions in hours or wages since the recession began in December 2007, according to a private report. (more)

Employment probably fell in June for the first time this year, reflecting a drop in federal census workers, economists forecast before a report this week. (more)

State and local governments, traditionally among the biggest seasonal employers, are knee-deep in budget woes, and the stimulus money that helped cushion some government job programs last summer is running out. Private employers are also reluctant to hire until the economy shows more solid signs of recovery. (more)

Some conservatives say people who are out of work shouldn’t be able to collect jobless benefits for almost two years. Liberals, meanwhile, want Congress to pay for a New Deal-style program in which the federal government would send money to states and localities, which would then directly hire people. (more)

The Golden State has borrowed $8.8 billion so far to cover jobless benefits during a recession where the national unemployment rate crested above 10 percent. It is not alone. More than 30 states have had to take out similar, albeit smaller, federal loans to keep their unemployment benefit systems afloat. (more)

California’s unemployment rate reached a new high in March, hitting 12.6%, bolstering fears that joblessness will remain a persistent problem for the foreseeable future. The state’s unemployment rate in February was 12.5%. (more)