The World Street Journal reports that U.S. economic growth accelerated last quarter, easing fears of a near-term slowdown but doing little to change the trajectory of a long but weak expansion.
Gross domestic product, a broad measure of goods and services produced across the economy, expanded at an inflation- and seasonally adjusted 2.9% annual rate in the third quarter, the Commerce Department said Friday. That was stronger growth than the second quarter’s pace of 1.4%. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected growth at a 2.5% pace for the July-to-September period.
Last quarter’s growth rate was the fastest recorded in two years.
The third-quarter acceleration largely reflected increased exports and a buildup of inventories, while consumer spending increased at a slower rate.
More non-farm jobs created in the month of December amounting to 292,000 jobs, according to a newly released report from The Bureau of Labor Statistics, and according to the report, the unemployment rate remains at 5%.
And the positive economic growth continues, regardless of what the Republicans say.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that nonfarm payrolls grew 271,000 for the month, a sharp jump from weak August and September numbers. The headline unemployment rate declined to 5.0 percent, declining even as the civilian labor force increased by 313,000.
A broader measure of unemployment that includes those who have stopped looking as well as those working part time for economic reasons declined to 9.8 percent, the first time it’s been below 10 percent since May 2008.
Perhaps more important than the headline number was the growth in average hourly earnings, which jumped 9 cents, representing a monthly gain of 0.6 percent and an annualized increase of 2.5 percent. The average work week remained at 34.5 hours.
When asked about the upcoming firings and layoffs, the denial was expected. But according to this report, company wide layoffs will happen next week.
Jack Dorsey was named permanent CEO of Twitter on Monday, and a big reason he got the job was that as a co-founder, Dorsey isn’t afraid to make the tough, necessary decisions. He isn’t wasting much time.
Twitter is planning company-wide layoffs next week, according to multiple sources. It’s unclear how much of the staff will be culled, but insiders say it will likely affect most, if not all, departments.
The downsizing comes at the same time Twitter is restructuring its engineering organization to make it leaner and more efficient, these sources say. It’s likely that many of those impacted by the layoffs will be engineers, which make up about half the staff.
Newly released reports state that the labor market added 223,000 jobs last month, making this the lowest the unemployment rate has been in 7 years.
The unemployment rate fell to 5.3 percent, the lowest mark in seven years, but the decline reflected a wave of Americans who either retired or abandoned their job hunts.
The latest jobs data from the Department of Labor comes amid a spike in global economic volatility, the result of high-wire negotiations between a near-bankrupt Greece and its European creditors. Though the United States faces little risk from the chaos across the Atlantic, its own economy is fighting through a soft spot after an encouraging period of growth in 2014.
Thursday’s numbers point “to an economic recovery that is good, but not good enough,” Bill Spriggs, a chief economist at the AFL-CIO, wrote in an e-mail.
First-time filings for unemployment insurance fell by 34,000 to 262,000 in the week ended April 25, the lowest since April 15, 2000, a Labor Department report showed Thursday in Washington. The figure was smaller than the lowest projection in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
With job openings at a 14-year high and prospects for stronger growth after the first-quarter setback, companies are intent on maintaining headcounts. The level of firings is consistent the Federal Reserve’s view of sustained progress in the job market.
“Claims have been quite steady, remaining below this key level of 300,000,” Thomas Costerg, an economist at Standard Chartered Bank in New York, said before the report. “The U.S. labor market is in good shape and has been quite resilient.”
The median forecast of 50 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for 290,000, with estimates ranging from 275,000 to 300,000. Claims in the prior week were revised to 296,000 from an initially reported 295,000.
No wonder the jokers in the Republican party are now trying to take credit for the economic growth in this country. Who wouldn’t want to be in charge of an economy with a 5.6 unemployment rate?
The U.S. capped its best year for hiring in 15 years with a healthy job gain in December and the unemployment rate falling to a six-year low. The data adds to signs of strength that contrast with sputtering global growth.
The Labor Department says employers added 252,000 jobs last month and 50,000 more in October and November combined than previously estimated. The unemployment rate dropped to 5.6 percent from 5.8 percent and is at the lowest level since June 2008.
In his weekly address, President Obama took some time to praise the rebound of the American economy, something the president hasn’t done in a long time although evidence of economic prosperity is evident.
The steps we took nearly six years ago to rescue our economy and rebuild it on a new foundation helped make 2014 the strongest year for job growth since the 1990s. Over the past 57 months, our businesses have created nearly 11 million new jobs. And in a hopeful sign for middle-class families, wages are on the rise again.
Our investments in American manufacturing have helped fuel its best stretch of job growth since the ‘90s. America is now the number one producer of oil and gas, saving drivers about 70 cents a gallon at the pump over last Christmas. The auto industry we rescued is on track for its strongest year since 2005. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, about 10 million Americans have gained health insurance in the past year alone. And since I took office, we have cut our deficits by about two-thirds.
Meanwhile, around the world, America is leading. We’re leading the coalition to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL. We’re leading the global fight to combat the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. We’re leading global efforts to address climate change, including last month’s joint announcement with China. We’re turning a new page in our relationship with the Cuban people.
(AP) — U.S. employers added a whopping 321,000 jobs in November, the biggest burst of hiring in nearly three years and the latest sign that the United States is outperforming other economies throughout the developed world.
The Labor Department also said Friday that 44,000 more jobs were added in September and October combined than the government had previously estimated. Job gains have averaged 241,000 a month this year, putting 2014 on track to be the strongest year for hiring since 1999.
The unemployment rate remained at a six-year low of 5.8 percent last month.
The robust job gains come after the economy expanded from April through September at its fastest pace in 11 years. The additional jobs should support steady growth in coming months.
Bob Deitrick: ”President Reagan has long been considered the best modern economic President. So we compared his performance dealing with the oil-induced recession of the 1980s with that of President Obama and his performance during this ‘Great Recession.’
“As this unemployment chart shows, President Obama’s job creation kept unemployment from peaking at as high a level as President Reagan, and promoted people into the workforce faster than President Reagan.
“President Obama has achieved a 6.1% unemployment rate in his sixth year, fully one year faster than President Reagan did. At this point in his presidency, President Reagan was still struggling with 7.1% unemployment, and he did not reach into the mid-low 6% range for another full year. So, despite today’s number, the Obama administration has still done considerably better at job creating and reducing unemployment than did the Reagan administration.
“We forecast unemployment will fall to around 5.4% by summer, 2015. A rate President Reagan was unable to achieve during his two terms.”
……..
There are a lot of reasons voters elect a candidate. Jobs and the economy are just one category of factors. But, for those who place a high priority on jobs, economic performance and the markets the data clearly demonstrates which presidential administration has performed best. And shows a very clear trend one can expect to continue into 2015.
Economically, President Obama’s administration has outperformed President Reagan’s in all commonly watched categories. Simultaneously the current administration has reduced the deficit, which skyrocketed under Reagan. Additionally, Obama has reduced federal employment, which grew under Reagan (especially when including military personnel,) and truly delivered a “smaller government.” Additionally, the current administration has kept inflation low, even during extreme international upheaval, failure of foreign economies (Greece) and a dramatic slowdown in the European economy.
Watch Republicans find a way to somehow say this is bad for the economy.
In September, the economy added another 248,000 jobs, lowering the unemployment rate to 5.9 percent according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and creating even more headaches for Republicans.
BLU stated that the number of unemployed persons decreased by 329,000 to 9.3 million. The White House noted that America’s businesses extended the longest streak of private-sector job gains on record. The data underscore that six years after the Great Recession—thanks to the hard work of the American people and in part to the policies the President has pursued—our economy has bounced back more strongly than most others around the world.
She worked three jobs at three different Dunkin Donuts in New Jersey, trying to survive and pay her $550 a month rent. According to her landlady, Maria’s rent payments were often late.
Working three jobs meant Maria was hardly ever home. She took naps in her car between shifts and at 6am on August 25th, after finishing up one of her shifts, Maria got into her car heading to her next job. She had another shift at another location and during a brief conversation with her boyfriend that morning, Maria told him she was going to pull over for a nap.
She pulled into the parking lot of a Wawa convenience store and reclined her seat. It was the last moments of her life. Maria was found dead in her car, foaming from the mouth.
Maria’s story is detailed in a report by the New York Times, and according to the report, Maria always slept in her car with the engine running. Her biggest fear, the report says, was waking up and realizing that she had no gas left after sleeping with the engine running. So she bought a container, filled it with gas and stored it in her car.
Her boyfriend cautioned her about storing gas in her car, but waking up and realizing that she had no gas was something she had to avoid. No gas meant she couldn’t get to work and not working a shift at one of her three jobs was out if the question.
Surveillance cameras at the Wawa convenience store picked up the images of the 32-year-old woman, dressed in her Dunkin Donuts uniform and driving her 2001 Kia Sportage, pulling into the parking lot at 6:27am.
A Wawa employee, on his way to work, noticed Ms. Fernandes about an hour later. She was lying motionless in her S.U.V., which was parked behind the store, police records show. He said he thought she was sleeping and went inside.
When he finished his shift around 3:30 p.m., the Wawa employee noticed that Ms. Fernandes was still there. This time, though, she was foaming at the mouth. His manager called 911.
Emergency responders found the gas can open and overturned in the cargo hold and the S.U.V. filled with fumes, in what police said appeared to have been an accident. As commuters streamed by her counter in Newark, Ms. Fernandes was pronounced dead at 5:56 p.m. She was still in her uniform.
Maria’s story is unfortunate, but not exclusive. Republicans who are trying to end Obamacare and other social programs designed to help the poor, and those trying to fight any raise in the minimum wage, are all contributors to stories like Maria’s.
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