Jobs growth is a lagging indicator of economic activity, so the June report confirms that the US economy has been in a deep rut (Marshall Auerback calls it a ‘fully-fledged New York City style pot hole’). Yes, the US economy is growing; but sub-2% really ‘feels’ like stagnation, if not recession for many. As always, […]

Mark Thoma remembers that in the last Congressional elections, Republicans campaigned on how the Democrats were bringing uncertainty to the economy. “Does anyone think that uncertainty has been reduced since Republicans gained a majority in the House of Representatives?”

The employment was bad news as payroll employment only rose by 18,000 as compared to the last months disappointing rise of 25,000. Government employment fell 39,000 versus 48,000 inMay. Private payrolls expanded only 57,000 that was even weaker than the prior months 73,000. Over the last two months payroll employment was essentially unchanged. Moreover, the […]

Op ed by Nancy Ortiz Scott Hochberg’s article Making E-Verify Mandatory: The Perfect Storm for Crippling the Social Security Administration and Jeopardizing the Social Safety Net discusses issues regarding the e-Verify system and a move in Congress to make it mandatory for everyone hired for a job in the US. He points out that eVerify […]

In addition to the controversy over the ARRP position on Social Security, there are other issues affecting retirement that surface via immigration legislation. Scott Hochberg has given Angry Bear permission to post his article from this weekend from Huffington Post. (hat tip coberly) Making E-Verify Mandatory: The Perfect Storm for Crippling the Social Security Administration […]

by Mike Kimel Presidents, Tax Burdens, and the Subsequent Economic Growth Over the years, I’ve posted variations of the graph below a few times: Figure 1 The graph shows the change in the tax burden (i.e., current federal receipts / GDP) from the year before an administration took office to its second year in office […]

I’ll make this quick, since I’m going to get in trouble for writing on a national holiday. But the pace of annual jobs growth is too slow to generate strong wage and salary income. Much empirical research has been dedicated to the estimation of consumption functions, generally finding that labor income is the primary driver […]

by Beverly Mann I Beg to Differ (in Part), Mr. Will A few days ago I posted a post on my blog that responds to George Will’s claim in his weekend Washington Post column that the auto bailout was a privatization of profits but a socialization of losses. The full post, which is at Annarborist, […]

I suggest these questions, but this is not a question about ideal jobs in imagination but real jobs that are attainable. I think all of us have some notion of what elements constitute a ‘good’ job in the broad perspective (policy and macro), and given human nature varies according to personal goals, age, and circumstance. […]