Jobs Report

This past week saw the release of the jobs report for the month of July, which means that just three more reports will be issued before Election Day. The July jobs report had information for both political parties to try and capitalize on -- 163,000 jobs were added, but the unemployment rate ticked up 0.1 ...

I always pay close attention to the monthly unemployment statistics. I'm not an analyst. Or an economist. But I've been unemployed for 2½ years, scraping by on freelance work. I like to dig a little deeper into the numbers to get a better feel for what's really going on -- and what that might mean for ...

The long slow, slog that is improvement in the labor market continued in July, the Labor Department reported Friday. For many job seekers, that means the difficulty that many have experienced in landing a new position remains. As the Labor Department reported, employers added 163,000 jobs last month -- far ...

For desperate job seekers, June's employment report from the Labor Department contained little -- if any -- good news. The U.S. economy added far fewer jobs than analysts expected, just 80,000, compared to the 90,000 forecast, and the unemployment rate remained at 8.2 percent, or 12.7 million people. ...

By Christopher S. Rugaber WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. employers added only 80,000 jobs in June, a third straight month of weak hiring that shows the economy is struggling three years after the recession ended. The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.2 percent. ...

By Christopher S. Rugaber WASHINGTON (AP) -- The faltering U.S. job market has prompted economists to take a much dimmer view of the country's growth prospects. That's a shift from just a few weeks ago, when many were upgrading their forecasts. Friday's surprisingly bleak jobs report for May followed a ...

By Paul Wiseman WASHINGTON -- Businesses added only 115,000 jobs in April, another weak month of job creation, but the unemployment rate came down to 8.1 percent from 8.2 percent. Previous months' payroll numbers were revised upward. The Labor Department said 154,000 jobs were added in March, versus the ...

By Christopher S. Rugaber WASHINGTON -- The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell last week by the most in more than three months. The figure was a hopeful sign one day before the government releases the April jobs report. The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly unemployment aid ...

By Christopher S. Rugaber WASHINGTON -- U.S. manufacturing grew last month at the fastest pace in 10 months, suggesting that the economy is healthier than recent data had indicated. New orders, production and a measure of hiring all rose. The April survey from the Institute for Supply Management was a ...

The April jobs report due this Friday could be one of the more significant pieces of economic data released so far this year. Solid numbers could revive optimism for a strong recovery in 2012. More bad news could have a devastating domino effect across the economic landscape. Also due next week are monthly ...

By Christopher S. Rugaber WASHINGTON -- The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits fell to a four-year low last week, as layoffs slow and the job market strengthens. Weekly applications dropped 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 357,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's the fewest since ...

By Ken Thomas WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is highlighting companies that have returned jobs to the U.S. and he says that's one more way of putting people back to work. The White House plans a forum Wednesday, called "Insourcing American Jobs," that will bring together business leaders who shifted ...

By Christopher S. Rugaber WASHINGTON -- The American economy added 80,000 jobs in October, and job growth in the two previous months was much stronger than first thought, an encouraging sign as the nation searches for a way out of the jobs crisis. The unemployment rate dropped to 9 percent from 9.1 percent, ...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The number of people seeking unemployment benefits likely fell for third straight week, a hopeful sign for the struggling job market. Economists forecast that weekly applications dipped last week to a seasonally adjusted 400,000 from 402,000 in the previous week, according to a survey by ...

By Christopher S. Rugaber WASHINGTON (AP) -- Fewer people applied for unemployment benefits last week, a hopeful sign that the job market might be picking up. The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly applications dropped 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 397,000, the lowest level in five weeks. It's ...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The economy added 103,000 jobs in September, a burst of hiring that followed a sluggish summer. The figure at least temporarily calms fears of a new recession that have hung over Wall Street and the nation for weeks. ...

At least along some measures, the economy is back to its pre-recesssion state. According to a new survey by CareerBuilder, 42 percent of workers report that they usually or always live paycheck to paycheck, falling 1 percent from last year in a return to 2007 levels. The picture is less pretty for women, ...

By DANIEL WAGNER WASHINGTON (AP) -- The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell last week below 400,000 for the first time in four months, a sign that the job market is improving slowly after a recent slump. Applications for unemployment aid dropped by 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 395,000, the ...

Sometimes all you need is a different way of looking at things for the light bulb to go off, an "aha" moment gained by viewing a puzzle from a new angle. Last week's July jobs report showed 117,000 workers were added to U.S. payrolls, eliciting applause from economists and politicians alike, along with a ...

By Christopher S. Rugaber WASHINGTON -- U.S. workers were less productive in the spring for the second quarter in a row, a trend that doesn't bode well for future hiring. The Labor Department says productivity dropped 0.3 percent in the April-June quarter, following a decline of 0.6 percent in the first ...