Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Jobs as the Measure of Economic Success, and Rick Perry’s Texas

by Linda Beale Jobs as the Measure of Economic Success, and Rick Perry’s Texas We have had a warped sense of how to measure economic success in this country at least since George W. Bush started talking about the “ownership” society.  Of course, we should have guessed that moniker was problematic from the start, since […]

Topical thread…What is a good job?

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. […]

On the Job Market

by Mike Kimel On the Job Market Recently, my employer went through a merger. As part of the process, my position disappeared. I turned down a different position that was offered, the result being that at the end of the month I will no longer be with my current employer. Yes, I am aware of […]

The hourless recovery

There was an interesting blog post over at the Macroblog (Atlanta Fed) regarding productivity. John Robertson and Pedro Silos highlight the contributions to GDP growth from various factors, including productivity and employment. One of their findings: As this chart shows, relatively high labor productivity growth during a recession is not a phenomenon isolated to the […]

Five Million Jobs?

guest post by Sandwichman Five Million Jobs? “It is remarkable, in view of the virtual unanimity of opinion among economists as to the general shape of the relationship between hours and output, that the effect of hours shortening has received so little attention in published projections. It is often completely ignored even in their description.” […]

Job Automation, Purchasing Power and Consumer Spending

by Martin Ford Job Automation, Purchasing Power and Consumer Spending I’ve had several recent posts here arguing that automation technology is likely to depress wages and lead to significant structural unemployment in the coming years. One of the most common criticisms of my argument is that I am “not thinking like an economist” and that […]

The jobs of tomorrow…?

Rdan For the sake of argument, jobs in our future over the next few years or so appear to be in the health care industry and education. Jobs needing less education than a BA are among the fastest growing. Where are tomorrow’s jobs going to come from? The question is more urgent than ever, with […]

Weekend charts: the destruction of the "goods-producing" payroll

Rebecca The BLS establishment survey (nonfarm payroll) reports that the accumulated job loss since December 2007 is 5.02% (almost 7 million jobs), blowing the total job loss of the previous “biggie” recessions, the 73-75 and 81-82 recessions, out of the water by 2.5% and 2%, respectively. There’s no question that it has been bad, with […]