Free Republic

U.S. businesses were much less likely to boost pay in the third quarter than in previous months, even as hiring remained healthy, a sign that wage gains may remain weak in the coming months.A quarterly survey by the National Association for Business Economics found that only 24 percent of companies increased wages and salaries in the July-September quarter. That’s down from 43 percent in the April-June quarter and the first drop after three straight increases. Yet the firms still added jobs at a healthy pace, which usually pushes wages higher as employers compete for workers. A measure of hiring in...

California's unemployment rate fell slightly in August to 10.6 percent, down from 10.7 percent. The numbers, reported by the Employment Development Department on Friday, show an improvement over the state's 11.9 percent unemployment rate from a year ago. California added 12,000 non-farm payroll jobs in August. The state has added nearly 300,000 new jobs over the past year with job growth in 12 of the past 13 months. The sectors that grew in August include construction, manufacturing, financial activities and hospitality. The biggest gains were seen in the educational and health services sector, which added 8,900 jobs. The industries that...

If there is one state in the union President Obama might think is secure for him in next year's election, it would be Michigan. After all, he led the tax-payer assisted bankruptcy reorganizations of General Motors and Chrysler, and turned Michigan from a complete economic basket-case to one of the top job creators in the country. But Michigan is anything but in the bag for Obama. Two years after GM and Chrysler emerged from the federal sponsored bankruptcy--resulting in GM, Ford and Chrysler making the most profit they have in a decade or more--even Michiganders are split right down the...

An unofficial gauge of human misery in the United States rose last month to a 28-year high as Americans struggled with rising inflation and high unemployment. The misery index — which is simply the sum of the country’s inflation and unemployment rates — rose to 13.0, pushed up by higher price data the government reported on Wednesday. The data underscores the extent that Americans continue to suffer even two years after a deep recession ended, with a weak economic recovery imperiling President Barack Obama’s hopes of winning reelection next year.

The U.S. debt ceiling crisis had an unnecessary negative impact on the economy, President Barack Obama said on Wednesday, while a congressional impasse over aviation could cost the government $1 billion in lost revenues. Obama signed legislation into law on Tuesday that would raise the U.S. debt ceiling and cut spending, averting a default hours before a deadline. "The economy is still weakened, partly because of some things we couldn't control like the Japanese earthquake and the situation in Europe as well as the Arab Spring and its effect on oil prices," Obama told reporters at the White House at...