Free Republic

Tax reform may not be generating the drumbeat of positive headlines that it once was, but the progress and successes it has created continue to pile up.  Walgreens has affirmed a $100 million investment in raising employees' wages thanks to the GOP-passed law, as McDonald's unveils new education benefits, also to the tune of nine figures, for its workers.  Meanwhile, House Speaker Paul Ryan is touting the decision of a smaller Maryland-based company that he visited last fall to offer tax reform bonuses of up to $1,000.  More than four million US workers have received such bonuses from their employers...

People living with disabilities, serious illness and the frailty of old age are bracing to lose caregivers due to changes in federal immigration policy. About 59,000 Haitians live in the U.S. under Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a humanitarian program that gave them permission to work and live here after the January 2010 earthquake devastated their country. Many work in health care, often in grueling, low-wage jobs as nursing assistants or home health aides. Now these workers’ days are numbered: The Trump administration decided to end TPS for Haitians. In Boston, the city with the third-highest Haitian population, the decision has...

The new tariffs announced by President Donald Trump have generated intense controversy. With the debate ongoing, it might be useful to examine how other countries have dealt with similar policy debates in the past. New Zealand now ranks third in The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom and is one of the champions of economic freedom around the world. But it wasn’t always so. In the mid-1980s, New Zealand was facing an economic crisis, with its domestic market and international trade both heavily regulated. Unemployment had reached 11 percent, and inflation was a sky-high 15 percent. In response, the government...

Four recent news stories caused me to think about the current political environment, and how we increasingly reframe news to fit our ideological understanding of the world. It seems that more and more, information means something totally different to people depending on their outlook – to the point that people with differing political positions can appear to be living in alternate realities. Consider how some might react to these four unrelated, recent events: 1. The Daily Caller reported on March 15 that 2 million Americans got off food stamps in President Trump’s first year. Citing a recent assessment by the...

Barring a recession, it appears the US is running out of people. We aren't. The chart is misleading. The Wall Street Journal asks Is America Running Out of Unemployed People to Fill Jobs? For every job opening in America, there’s now barely more than one unemployed person available to take it. In mid-2015, there were 2.3 million more unemployed people than open jobs. By January, the gap had narrowed to 372,000. Pool of Potential Workers There is a huge pool of workers as shown by the following Advisor Perspectives chart on the Labor Force Participation Rate. In every age group...

The U.S. isn’t just politically divided -- it’s also economically divided. New research says the two go hand-in-glove together. There are the haves and the have-nots. Increasingly, the red states, which tend to vote Republican, are trailing far behind the blue states, which tend to vote Democrat, according to a recently published study. Worse still, the divide is getting wider. This economic chasm helps explain president Trump’s rise to power, and why he could hold on to it longer than his detractors think possible. “Generally, red states or the red areas of the country are lagging blue areas for employment...

February job gains came in at a whopping 313,000 new jobs, so much that NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt acknowledged it “blows away economists’ expectations.” The Wall Street Journal said expectations were at only 205,000. Unemployment also remained at the 17-year-low of 4.1 percent. But only one network gave the good news any serious attention. February job gains came in at a whopping 313,000 new jobs, so much that NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt acknowledged it “blows away economists’ expectations.” The Wall Street Journal said expectations were at only 205,000. Unemployment also remained at the 17-year-low of 4.1...

Employment up! Unemployment down! (Unexpectedly.) Payrolls rose 313,000 in February, compared with the 205,000 median estimate in a survey of economists, and the two prior months were revised higher by 54,000, Labor Department figures showed Friday. Women and minorities hardest hit! Black, Hispanic unemployment hit historic lows: Just 6.9 percent of black adults were unemployed in February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the second-lowest such ratio since the agency has been keeping track.Hispanic workers, too, are currently enjoying historically low rates of unemployment. At 4.9 percent in February, Hispanic unemployment is just a tenth of a percentage point...

The unemployment rate for black Americans fell back down to an historic low in February, after spiking up in January. Just 6.9 percent of black adults were unemployed in February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the second-lowest such ratio since the agency has been keeping track. The low mark was set in December, at 6.8 percent. Then, the rate spiked to 7.7 percent, but that increase proved short-lived. President Trump has touted the fact that black unemployment has dipped so low on his watch, including during his State of the Union address. When the black jobless rate hit...

The U.S. economy did more than give jobs to 313,000 in February — it brought nearly three times that amount off the sidelines, where more than 95 million Americans still sit. Inside the glittering nonfarm payrolls report the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Friday were some even more inspiring numbers. Skilled labor positions surged with big increases in construction and manufacturing, which has seen its best three-month period since 1984. On a bigger-picture level, there was even more. The labor force surged by 806,000, the biggest move since September 2003, and now sits just below 162 million. That's due to...

US employers went on a hiring binge last month, adding 313,000 jobs, the most since July 2016, and drawing hundreds of thousands of people into the job market. The Labor Department says wage gains, meanwhile, fell from the previous month to 2.6 percent year-over-year growth. Strong hourly wage growth had spooked markets in February because it raised the specter of inflation. But January's figure was revised one-tenth of a point lower to 2.8 percent. The influx of new workers kept the unemployment rate unchanged at 4.1 percent.

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) is trying to prove that liberal arts majors are gainfully employed but they're not doing so all that clearly. For one thing, they call the report "The State of the Humanities 2018: Graduates in the Workforce and Beyond." What exactly is beyond the workforce other than unemployment and retirement? "While their unemployment rate has declined since the Great Recession, humanities graduates had a level of unemployment in 2015 that was modestly higher than the rate for the bachelor’s-holding population as a whole," the report proclaims. "The 4.3% unemployment rate among terminal bachelor’s...

New applications for unemployment benefits dropped 7,000 to 222,000 in the second full week of February, the Department of Labor reported Thursday, the second-lowest mark of the recovery and a good sign for the economy. Forecasters had expected new jobless claims to remain steady at an ultra-low 230,000. Lower claims are good news because they mean fewer people are getting laid off. Thursday's mark is the lowest since the early 1970s, setting aside the week of January 13, when claims touched as low as 216,000. The report should raise expectations for a very strong jobs report for the month of...

A recent article in The Guardian dons the foreboding title "Robots will destroy our jobs — and we're not ready for it." The article claims, "For every job created by robotic automation, several more will be eliminated entirely. ... This disruption will have a devastating impact on our workforce." According to an article in MIT Technology Review, business researchers Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee believe that rapid technological change has been destroying jobs faster than it is creating them, contributing to the stagnation of median income and the growth of inequality in the United States. If technology is destroying jobs...

The numbers: Initial U.S. jobless claims fell by 9,000 to 221,000 in the seven days ended Feb 3. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch forecast a 235,000 reading.The more stable monthly average of claims declined by 10,000 to 224,500, the government said Thursday. That’s the lowest level since March 1973.The number of people already collecting unemployment benefits, known as continuing claims, dropped by 33,000 to 1.92 million.What happened: Missouri, California and New York saw big declines in unadjusted jobless claims, but in most states there was little change.

A Michigan dog owner was surprised to find out that the state approved his German shepherd for weekly unemployment benefits. The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency sent a letter to lawyer Michael Haddock saying that a Michael Ryder was approved to receive $360 a week in unemployment, reports ABC News. The only problem is that Ryder is Haddock’s German shepherd. The letter claimed that Michael Ryder worked at a restaurant chain in Detroit, Michigan. “I’m not sure what he’s going to do with the money,” Haddock said.

Our strong economy continues to grow, as 200,000 new jobs were added in January 2018. Since Election Day 2016, American job creators have added 2,553,000 new jobs. The unemployment rate remains at a 17-year low of 4.1%. Job growth in construction was strong in January, with 36,000 new jobs created. January saw the third consecutive monthly rise in the wage growth rate, with a 2.9% 12-month increase in average hourly earnings. December 2017 wage growth rate was revised up to 2.7%; November 2017 was 2.5%. This may be the start of a welcome trend in wage gains, and marks the...

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, pointing to a tightening labor market and strengthening economy at the start of the year. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 230,000 for the week ended Jan. 27, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Data for the prior week was revised to show 2,000 fewer claims received than previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to 238,000 in the latest week. The Labor Department said claims for Maine were estimated last week. It also said claims-taking procedures in Puerto...

Even as Democrats continue to obstruct and play politics, I have never stopped fighting for the people, and I have no intention of changing course. I promised Jan. 20, 2017, would be remembered as a new day for all Americans – the day the people became the rulers of this nation once again. For the past 365 days, that promise has been my guide. We are putting America first, making real change in Washington, and creating opportunities for all of our people. From coast to coast, there is a renewed spirit. Our country is roaring back more quickly than anyone...

If you're a Republican Trump supporter, the last few months have offered little in the way of positive polling news.  The last few days, however, have offered several glimmers of hope, all of which are linked to the robust economy.  We've been covering the drumbeat of upbeat economic news -- from low unemployment, to widespread optimism, to strong growth, to a booming stock market.  Here's a new piece of the larger puzzle, via the Washington Examiner: New applications for unemployment insurance benefits plunged by 41,000 to 220,000 in the second week of 2018, the Labor Department reported Thursday, the lowest level...