Tag Archives: Unemployment

When Congress voted to normalize trade relations with China at the beginning of this century, U.S. manufacturers braced for a stream of cheap goods to begin flowing into U.S. ports. Instead, they got a flood. Imports from China nearly tripled from 1999 to 2005, and American factories, with their higher wages and stricter safety standards, couldn’t compete. The “China shock,” …

U.S. employers accelerated hiring in March, a surprising show of strength that analysts warned might be the high-water mark for the labor market as the Trump administration’s economic policies began to play out. Employers added 228,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department reported on Friday, a figure that was far more than expected and was up from a revised total …

When Starbucks announced last month that it was laying off more than 1,000 corporate employees, it highlighted a disturbing trend for white-collar workers: Over the past few years, they have seen a steeper rise in unemployment than other groups, and slower wage growth. It also added fuel to a debate that has preoccupied economists for much of that time: Are …

It might be a moment of hush before chaos ensues, or it may be business as usual. U.S. employers added 151,000 jobs in February, the first full month under the new Trump administration, the Labor Department reported on Friday. The gain extended a streak of job growth to 50 months. The unemployment rate ticked up slightly, to 4.1 percent, from …

For about a year now, the labor market has existed in a state of eerie calm: Not many people were losing their jobs or quitting, but not many of those seeking work were getting job offers. The mass layoffs now underway across the federal government, along with its employees who are voluntarily heading for the exits, could disrupt that uneasy …

The Labor Department’s latest monthly report on hiring and unemployment will include revisions for previous months. The revised figures should provide a more accurate picture of the U.S. job market, but they could also sow confusion. The monthly job figures are based on two surveys, one of employers and one of households. Those surveys are generally reliable, but they aren’t …

A Labor Department report on Friday is expected to show another solid month of job growth to start 2025, despite routine but larger-than-usual annual revisions. The median estimate among economists surveyed by Bloomberg pegs growth at 175,000 jobs in January, which would be in line with the average over the preceding quarter — although the numbers from month to month …

The Labor Department’s latest monthly report on hiring and unemployment will include revisions for previous months that should give a more accurate picture of the U.S. job market — but that could also sow confusion. When the data is released on Friday, one major measure of employment will be revised up. Another will be revised down. Some historical numbers will …

Employers stuck the landing in 2024, finishing the year with a bounce of hiring after a quarter filled with disruption. The economy added 256,000 jobs in December, seasonally adjusted, the Labor Department reported on Friday. It was a better-than-expected number amid a labor market that has been slowly cooling for two years. The unemployment rate edged down to 4.1 percent. …

For a time, not too long ago, it was the central question animating economic forecasts and bets laid by investors in financial markets: Will the U.S. economy avoid a recession? Now, for many in the business world, that question feels almost passé, part of an earlier, more fretful era of narratives. After a superlative run of hovering below 4 percent …