By FRANK STRICKER In July, the official Bureau of Labor Statistics unemployment rate fell to 3.5%. It has not been that low since the first months of 2020 before the pandemic began. But unemployment rates were still quite high for African Americans (6%), teens (11.5%), and especially for black teens (20.3%). 1. Why Aren’t Even… Read More Recession Yet? The Jobs Report for July, 2022
By FRANK STRICKER The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ job and unemployment report for the month of June is pretty positive. The official unemployment rate, derived from a sample of households, stayed low: 3.6% for the fourth month in a row. The rates for Asian-Americans and Hispanics were also quite low at 3.3% and 4.3%. But… Read More June Jobs: Pretty Good, But Wait…
By FRANK STRICKER The Employment Situation for February included pretty good numbers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that job totals were up significantly–678,000 for non-farm businesses and government organizations. The official unemployment rate dropped two-tenths of a percent to 3.8%. These numbers suggest that January’s fairly good… Read More How Good Was the February 2022 Jobs Report?
By FRANK STRICKER The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) job report offered some surprises, especially in light of dire predictions about the Omicron crisis. At first glance the impact seemed slight. The official unemployment rate of 4% was up just a tenth of a point. And job totals from the survey of business and… Read More Good News? The Jobs Reports for January, 2022
Photo Credit: Stefani Reynolds for The New York Times This letter appeared in The New York Times on January 27. To the Editor: Re “How Did Democrats Let This Happen?,” by Bishop Reginald T. Jackson (Opinion guest essay, Jan. 17): Bishop Reginald T. Jackson calls out Democrats and especially President Biden for failure to lead… Read More Uniting for Voting Rights (Letter to the Editor, NY Times, 1/27/22)
