WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added a solid 128,000 jobs in October, a figure that was held down by a now-settled strike against General Motors that caused tens of thousands of workers to be temporarily counted as unemployed. The unemployment rate ticked up from 3.5% to 3.6%, still near a five-decade...
Powell Sees Cooler US Hiring in Possible Hint of Rate Cuts
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Tuesday that U.S. job growth since early last year was not as robust as thought, a hint that the Fed may be ready to keep cutting interest rates to support the economy. Powell also said the Fed will soon announce plans to buy Treasurys,...
US Worker Annual Compensation Slows Slightly Through June
WASHINGTON — The annual wages and benefits for U.S. workers rose in the second quarter at a slightly slower pace than the first, suggesting that the lowest unemployment levels in a half century have not triggered rapid gains in worker compensation. The Labor Department reported Wednesday that pay and benefits...
US Unemployment Rate Is Lowest Since 1969 at 3.7%
WASHINGTON — The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 3.7 percent in September — the lowest level since December 1969 — signaling how the longest streak of hiring on record has put millions of Americans back to work. Employers added just 134,000 jobs last month, the fewest in a year, the...
Are You Getting a Raise? US Wages Climb Fastest Since 2009.
WASHINGTON — The pace of hiring in the United States quickened in August, and wages grew at their fastest pace in nine years — evidence that employers remain confident despite the Trump administration's ongoing conflicts with its trading partners. The economy added a strong 201,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate...
Why Your Paycheck Isn't Keeping Pace With Inflation
The Republican Party trumpeted the $1,000 bonuses that some of America's largest companies said they were giving rank-and-file employees following the passage of the GOP tax cuts. The party's public relations effort made for good headlines. But the reality was a different story. People working for Walmart, Lowe's and Home...
Survey of Economists: US Sales and Hiring Likely to Grow
DETROIT (AP) — Most U.S. business economists expect corporate sales to grow over the next three months and hiring and pay to rise with them. But a majority of the economists surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics say the corporate tax cuts that the Trump administration pushed through...
US Adds 213,000 Jobs But Unemployment Rate Inches Up
WASHINGTON — U.S. employers kept up a brisk hiring pace in June by adding 213,000 jobs, a sign of confidence in the economy despite the start of a potentially punishing trade war with China. The job growth wasn't enough to keep the unemployment rate from rising from 3.8 percent to...
Why Unions & Democrats Are Scared to Death of the Janus Case
Last week the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The case is little different from Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association on which the Court split 4-4 after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia two terms ago. At issue is whether...
Three Things Trump Said. Here Are the Realities. Good & Bad.
Opinion From The Conversation Editor’s note: President Donald Trump, in his first State of the Union address, took credit for a growing economy, urged Congress to invest more in infrastructure and defense and promoted an immigration plan that ties citizenship for Dreamers to border security and an end to family-based...