Northwest Indiana Discussion

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis cheered a slight decline in the youth (16-24) unemployment rate, saying that it was a sign that the job market was improving for America’s young people.

“As young Americans all across the country prepare to head into a new school year, I’m excited to say that many more will take with them lessons learned through summer jobs,” Solis said Wednesday in a press release.

“It’s no secret that the effects of the 2007 recession had a significant impact on job prospects for youth, but today’s report showed positive signs that job prospects for young people picked up pace in 2012,” she said.

Solis’ statement marked the release of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ annual youth unemployment report. Solis said that the report showed positive signs for young job seekers, noting that the youth unemployment rate had fallen to 17.1 percent over the past two years.

New Polling Number On Jobs Is An
Absolute Nightmare For Obama
Business Insider, by Brett LoGiurato

One number stands out from this CBS News poll that, like so many others, shows a dead heat between President Obama and Mitt Romney — a really low number of those polled believe in Obama's ability to create jobs with his current policy proposals.

The poll finds that just 35 percent of respondents believe that Obama has a "clear plan for creating jobs." On the other hand, 58 percent of respondents think he does not have a clear plan.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/barack-o ... z24z5iqg3x

What you should be concerned about is the JOLTS chart that shows little to know separation of jobs and limited new job listings.

edge?

In response to the less than impressive August jobs report this morning, Alan B. Krueger, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers reminded Americans that the economy was still on its way to recovery.

“I say every month when the news comes in it’s important to take a step back, take today’s report in the context of other information that’s coming in,” he said. “We see a pattern that the economy is continuing to heal from the very deep recession that struck at the end of 2007 and really came to a boil in 2008.”

Payrolls rose less than projected in August and the unemployment rate declined as more Americans left the labor force, indicating the U.S. labor market is stagnating.

The economy added 96,000 workers last month following a revised 141,000 rise in July that was smaller than initially estimated, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The median estimate of 92 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a gain of 130,000. Unemployment unexpectedly fell to 8.1 percent, and hourly earnings were unchanged.

Employers may be reluctant to expand headcounts as they face a global economic slowdown and the so-called fiscal cliff of automatic tax increases and government spending cuts. The damage inflicted by the lack of progress on jobs is the reason Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke last week said the central bank may need to do more.

The jobless rate fell from 8.3 percent as 368,000 Americans left the labor force. Unemployment was forecast to hold at 8.3 percent, according to the survey median. Estimates in the Bloomberg survey ranged from 8.1 percent to 8.4 percent.

“I say every month when the news comes in it’s important to take a step back, take today’s report in the context of other information that’s coming in,” he said. “We see a pattern that the economy is continuing to heal from the very deep recession that struck at the end of 2007 and really came to a boil in 2008.”