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First-time jobless claims fell 13,000 to 239,000 last week, the Department of Labor reported Wednesday, more than the 9,000 drop economists expected. With Wednesday's numbers, claims have continued to hover at extremely low levels, despite the fall disruption of the hurricanes that slammed the southeastern U.S. Claims collections in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are still being affected by the storms, the agency said. Low jobless claims are a good sign for the economy. If fewer people are applying for benefits at state agencies, it suggests that layoffs are relatively rare, and job creation high. "Claims remain low, even...

Unemployment rates fell to record lows in Alabama, Hawaii and Texas last month, and dropped in nine other U.S. states. […] Steady hiring has driven down unemployment in most states in the past year. Nationwide, the rate fell to 4.1 percent in October, a 17-year low. That is down from 4.8 percent a year earlier. […] The biggest October gain was in Florida, which added 125,300 jobs as it recovered nearly all the jobs that it had lost in September due to Hurricane Irma. Texas added 71,500, which also reflected a bounce-back from Hurricane Harvey. And California gained 31,700. The...

U.S. companies added the most workers in seven months in October as hiring rebounded from an 11-month low set in September stemming from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Wednesday. The ADP National Employment Report said private employers hired 235,000 workers last month, exceeding a median forecast of 200,000 among economists polled by Reuters. Domestic private payrolls in September were revised down to an increase of 110,000 from the previous 135,000. The report is jointly developed with Moody’s Analytics. “This labor market is tight and is destined to be tighter,” Mark Zandi, Moody’s Analytics...

.....OMB later cited internal data to the Washington Examiner that said the top 20 percent of people to pay income taxes account for 94.8 percent of those taxes in 2016. That appears to be a jump from just a few years ago. In 2015, the Wall Street Journal reported that the top 20 percent of income earners paid 84 percent of income taxes.

After crossing the 23,000 line this week, the Dow is up nearly 5,000 points, or about 27 percent, since Election Day. It wouldn’t be there under a President Hillary Clinton or a Jeb Bush. No: Much of the credit has to go to the uncompromisingly pro-business President Trump — the antithesis of what the nation had seen the prior eight years. Nor is it just the stock market: Consumer confidence and economic optimism are up. And the Labor Department reports that claims for unemployment just dropped by 22,000 to 222,000 — the fewest since March 1973. And while, as Charles...

WASHINGTON – The number of Americans filing applications for new unemployment benefits fell to the lowest level in 44 years, reflecting power outages in storm-ravaged Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands that have disrupted the application process. Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs across the U.S., fell by 22,000 to a seasonally adjusted 222,000 in the week ended Oct. 14, the Labor Department said Thursday. The sharp drop obscures underlying trends in the labor market. Many applying for unemployment benefits in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, which were recently devastated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, must...

Initial jobless claims, a way to measure layoffs, sank by 22,000 to 222,000 in the week ended Oct. 14. That’s the lowest figure since March 1973 and well below the 244,000 MarketWatch forecast. The more stable monthly average of claims declined by 9,500 to 248,250, though it remains somewhat elevated because of the recent hurricanes.

Washington, D.C. - Recently released unemployment statistics showing black unemployment at a 17-year low are being applauded by members of the Project 21 black leadership network as a triumph of the "commonsense" policies and economic confidence brought about by the Trump Administration. Horace Cooper"Commonsense measures to reduce regulation are a major step in improving American economic conditions," said Project 21 Co-Chairman Horace Cooper, a former leadership aide on Capitol Hill. "Once Congress steps up to reduce taxes and repeal Obamacare, the markets and the economy will skyrocket — taking such good fortunes to black America and the rest of the...

The unemployment rate for African-Americans fell to a 17-year low in September, and the rates for all other major racial and ethnic groups also dropped.

Have a tattoo? If the answer is “yes,” it’s more likely you’re unemployed or completely out of the labor force. On average, your income is lower. You’re more probably a smoker, use illegal drugs, engage in risky sexual behavior, have been a victim of crime, and have been incarcerated for committing crime yourself.

* The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week. * The data was impacted by hurricanes Harvey and Irma. * Initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined 14,000. The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, but the data was impacted by hurricanes Harvey and Irma, making it difficult to get a clear pulse of the labor market. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 284,000 for the week ended Sept. 9, the Labor Department said on Thursday. A Labor Department official said hurricanes Harvey and Irma...

The retail landscape looks like it's about to get rougher for everyone — especially those on the lowest rung of the ladder. Retail is the largest employer in the US, employing an estimated 4.6 million people in full- or part-time jobs. But estimates also say that the sector has shed more than 89,000 jobs in general merchandise stores alone between last October and May of this year. At last count, over 6,375 stores have been announced for across the country this year. It's this shedding of jobs that's about to create what retail-industry consultant Doug Stephens is calling a "retail...

Reflections on Labor in America, on Labor Day Weekend... The Friday that began Labor Day weekend, 2017, brought with it a disappointing jobs report. While the economy is still growing, and the stock market is booming, the most personal statistic of all – whether a person is employed or not – is the most frustrating one to watch. We should begin the discussion by considering the flaws of these statistics. Unemployment and jobs are tricky things to measure, because a part time job isn’t the same as a full time job, one person’s home business isn’t the same as another...

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week, pointing to sustained labor market strength that should continue to support the economy. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 236,000 for the week ended Aug. 26, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Data for the prior week was revised to show 1,000 more applications received than previously reported. Claims have now been below 300,000, a threshold associated with a robust labor market, for 130 consecutive weeks. That is the longest such stretch since 1970, when the labor market was smaller. A...

Trump and the Republicans need to tout the jobs report better. Even ABC radio, which carries Rush Limbaugh and many other top conservative hosts was complaining that weak wage growth was dragging down the economy. NPR said wages were very weak, "this late into an economic recovery." This is shockingly untrue. In the first quarter of the year, real weekly earnings grew two 1982 inflation-adjusted dollars; that's about six real dollars. That's as much as real wages grew during the entire Obama administration. Wage growth then doubled THAT in the second quarter. And while we don't yet know the July...

Democratic Party economists warehoused in academia between elections have spent decades denying that minimum wage increases cause unemployment. Unfortunately, they do. "At the Great Recession's bottom, African-American teens had an unemployment rate of nearly 50 percent while the rate for all teens was 27.1 percent," a column on the BET website notes. "In the weak post-Recession, many teens compete for jobs against down-sized adults with college degrees." "And economists William Even from Miami University and David Macpherson from Trinity University report that when a state, or the federal government, increases the minimum wage, Black teens are more likely to be...

Employment Situation Summary Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until USDL-17-1070 8:30 a.m. (EDT) Friday, August 4, 2017 Technical information: Household data: (202) 691-6378 * cpsinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/cps Establishment data (202) 691-6555 * cesinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/ces Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- JULY 2017 Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 209,000 in July, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 4.3 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment increased in food services and drinking places, professional and business services, and health care. Household Survey Data Both the unemployment rate, at...

Last month, President Trump signed an executive order to boost apprenticeship programs in the United States. These are training programs, offered in a variety of formats, usually by businesses, to convey skills to individuals for specific vocations. It's a great idea, but like all great ideas, the key is in execution. Currently, 505,000 people have apprenticeships through 2,100 programs registered with the government. President Trump has committed to a lofty goal of creating 5 million apprenticeships over the next five years. Truth is, I get nervous whenever I hear about any government initiative that claims to provide what our...

As a savvy reader, you already know that technological change is why the jobs in manufacturing are drifting away from Youngstown, Ohio. You know that most of the drift goes to other American cities, such as Houston or Chattanooga. You know that Appalachian jobs in coal mining are not coming back, because new techniques have permanently cheapened natural gas. You know that the Trump administration's scapegoat, foreign competition, bears little responsibility for any of this. And when foreign encroachment does happen, you know it's good, not bad, for most Americans. Still, many reasonable people fret. Isn't technological unemployment a real...

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 222,000 in June, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 4.4 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.