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Universal HIGH INCOME via checks issued by the Federal government is the best way to deal with unemployment caused by AI. AI/robotics will produce goods & services far in excess of the increase in the money supply, so there will not be inflation.

The so-called experts didn’t just miss the mark on March jobs numbers; they got steamrolled by reality. Economists predicted a weak 59,000 jobs. The actual number came in at a stunning 178,000. Talk about getting it completely wrong. And it’s the latest reminder that the same crowd that spent months warning about economic doom under President Donald Trump still doesn’t understand what’s actually happening on the ground. Even CNN couldn’t deny that this was huge. Unemployment dipped again, falling from 4.4% to 4.3%. Even more telling, the rate dropped across multiple groups, including women, black Americans, Asians, Hispanics, and veterans....

Too old to be hired, too young to retire: 11 ways to survive the midlife reinvention years (Article can only be linked to, per FR rules.)

Artificial intelligence adoption could lead to significant job struggles for entry-level workers as companies boost productivity, according to ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott. McDermott told “Squawk on the Street” on Friday that unemployment for new college graduates “could easily go into the mid-30s in the next couple of years.” Across industries, businesses are slashing costs and cutting jobs with the help of new AI tools. Last month, Block announced plans to cut nearly half its workforce as AI automates more work. Meanwhile, software firm Atlassian, which has seen its stock dive 54% this year on AI disruption fears, said this week...

Canada sheds 83,900 jobs in February, after January decline Jobless rate up to 6.7% led by losses in full-time jobs Average hourly wage of permanent employees grows 4.2% Analysts predicted 10,000 job gains, jobless rate 6.6% SNIP

Amid everything else going on right now, there is also a big economic data release happening later this week — the jobs report. This week, there have been some privately-analyzed reports released. While not as thorough as the federal data, they can give some clues as to how the labor market is doing. The payroll processor ADP, for example, reported that private sector hiring jumped in February, adding 63,000 jobs. Pay was also up 4.5%, year over year.Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at the consulting firm RSM, said that jobs data is really important.“The unemployment rate, average hours worked, average hourly...

After much talk of an economic slowdown, February brought reassuring headlines. The official unemployment rate had fallen as another 130,000 jobs were added to the US economy, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is good news, but it is not the whole story. The official unemployment rate counts only people actively looking for work – it does not capture those who would like a job but have stopped searching. The official unemployment rate is so narrow that it hides long-term changes in the economy. In fact, things are far worse than the official figures suggest. This matters for...

The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, consistent with a stabilizing labor market. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 23,000 to a seasonally adjusted 206,0000 for the week ended February 14, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 225,000 claims for the latest week. Last week's drop marked a signficant decline in claims since they jumped to 232,000 at the end of January. The number of people filing new claims fell to 206,000 in the most recent week. Minutes of the Federal Reserve's January 27-28...

California officials blasted the Trump administration’s plans to launch a full-sale investigation into unemployment fraud as ”purely political” — and blamed lost money on the feds. The US Department of Labor intends to send a “strike team” to dig into COVID-19 pandemic-era fraud involving California’s Employment Development Department, The Post exclusively reported Wednesday. California is believed to have lost as much as tens of billions of dollars in fraudulent unemployment payouts. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said the Biden administration “turned a blind eye” to stolen money and vowed to fully examine the scope of theft that occurred early in the...

California officials who turned a blind eye to unemployment scams — potentially worth tens of billions of dollars during the pandemic — will now be put directly under the microscope of the federal government. The US Department of Labor is set to send a letter to the state’s Employment Development Department announcing a “strike team” will soon be touching down in the Golden State to root out theft and abuse, The California Post has learned. The investigation will be similar to efforts currently underway in Minnesota. “Financial issues and potential fraud in California’s unemployment insurance program will be fully examined,”...

"Amazon fired 16,000 employees last week. At first glance, the terminations appeared standard. Online retail demand fluctuates with the seasons, and orders always decrease following the holidays. Factor in a few extra weeks of busyness due to post-Christmas returns, and late January makes sense as a time for layoffs. The gift-giving rush is over, so warehouses no longer need as many people. That is not a defense of a multi-trillion-dollar company pulling the plug on $15-per-hour workers, but if you’re a shrewd capitalist, the justification checks out. But there’s more to the story. It turns out the 16,000 fired Amazonians,...

ATLANTA (AP) — A third Georgia lawmaker has been accused of lying to collect federal unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal prosecutors announced Friday they were charging state Rep. Dexter Sharper, a Valdosta Democrat, with making false statements to collect $13,825 in unemployment benefits. It’s the latest example of a growing wave of charges against Georgia lawmakers that U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg warned of in December. Prosecutors allege Sharper, who represents a South Georgia district, indicated in his application for benefits that he was employed only by his party rental business but hadn’t worked there since March 13, 2020....

2026 is shaping up to be the year when artificial intelligence starts to feel like less of a novelty and more like a part of your day-to-day. For job seekers and professionals, the conversation around AI is moving away from “Will this change my job?” toward a more practical question: “How will I work alongside AI?” Here are some AI predictions for 2026 and what they could mean for job seekers and professionals. AI Becomes Embedded, Not OptionalIn 2026, AI won’t be something companies “try out.” It will be baked into everyday workflows, especially in white-collar industries. In consulting, AI...

The second Georgia state House member accused of fabricating claims to collect federal unemployment benefits during the pandemic has announced her retirement. Karen Bennett of Stone Mountain, located roughly 20 miles from Atlanta, is facing one count of making false statements to collect $13,940 as of Monday. During an initial court appearance, Bennett opted to waive indictment and was released on $10,000 bail after pleading not guilty to the charge. In federal court, the decision to waive indictment often precedes a guilty plea. On Thursday, Bennett, a Democrat, resigned from the position she has held since 2012 representing portions of...

Data this week showed that the American economy is growing at its fastest pace in two years — and yet polling shows the mood on Main Street is grim. It’s almost hard to believe we’re talking about the same economy. But the metrics offer another reminder that two seemingly diverging trends can simultaneously be true. An economy that’s growing rapidly doesn’t necessarily mean everyone is feeling it. Yes, gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the US economy, heated up this summer to a sizzling annualized pace of 4.3%, far outpacing economists’ expectations. But the booming GDP did not...

America’s “deaths of despair” - fatalities from drug overdoses, alcohol abuse, and suicide - have climbed for more than two decades, reaching levels unseen in modern times. The long-run trend is stark. After mid-century stability, the curve bends sharply upward after 2000, driven first by drugs and later joined by alcohol and suicide. The data, drawn from the Senate Joint Economic Committee’s “Long-Term Trends in Deaths of Despair” report shown below, are clear. The deeper question is why. COVID made a bad situation worse. Lockdowns and restrictions stripped away social contact, church gatherings, family support, and purpose. Economic uncertainty due...

ODESSA, Texas (AP) — The gunman in a spate of violence after a routine traffic stop in West Texas had just been fired from his job and called both police and the FBI before the shooting began, authorities said Monday. Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke said 36-year-old Seth Aaron Ator had been fired Saturday from Journey Oilfield Services. He said both Ator and the company called 911 after the firing but that Ator was gone by the time police showed up. FBI special agent Christopher Combs says Ator’s statements on the phone were “rambling.” Authorities said Ator killed seven people...

The U.S. economy added jobs in November as economic uncertainty continued to dampen activity in the labor market. The Labor Department on Tuesday reported that employers added 64,000 jobs in November, a figure that was above the 50,000 estimate of economists polled by LSEG. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.6% for November, which was higher than the 4.4% rate expected by economists. The 4.6% unemployment rate is the highest since September 2021. Job gains in the two prior months in which the employment report was released were both revised lower. Employment in August was revised down by 22,000 from...

A new labor market analysis from Massachusetts Institute of Technology suggests that artificial intelligence is no longer a future threat to jobs. It is already capable of performing tasks tied to 11.7 percent of total U.S. wages. That represents as much as $1.2 trillion in economic exposure across major sectors including finance, health care, logistics and professional services. The findings come from a newly developed labor simulation system known as the Iceberg Index. The project was built jointly by MIT and Oak Ridge National Laboratory and models how today’s AI tools interact with the real American workforce at a granular,...

Charlotte, N.C., is making headlines this week because dozens of construction sites have gone silent. ICE swept through the region, and the labor force evaporated almost instantly. A major American city discovered, in real time, that its building boom was being held together by workers who couldn’t legally be there. Watching that footage hit me hard, because I’ve seen it before — not on the evening news, but in the slow collapse of my own childhood community. I grew up forty miles north of Louisville, Ky., in a one-stoplight town held together by tobacco, construction, and the kinds of gritty...