Following Ohio’s shocking unemployment rate increase of 2,565 percent, one economist says the COVID-19 coronavirus’ economic impact will be “long lasting” and provides a list of recommendations.
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DeWine May Cut State Budgets by Up to 20 Percent, But Public Sector Cannot Match Loss of Private Sector’s 188K Lost Jobs
Even as Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine orders state departments to cut up to 20 percent of their budgets and implement a hiring freeze, state workers are not feeling the coronavirus economic burn like the private sector.
Read the full storyOhio Hit Harder with Unemployment Than Other States
Ohio was hit harder with unemployment filings than other states during the immediate aftermath of the coronavirus.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday that 3.28 million claims were filed in the week that ended March 21. That marked an increase of more than 3 million claims over the week prior, when 282,000 claims were filed, The Ohio Star reported.
Ohio’s claims totaled 187,784, the Cincinnati Enquirer said, up from 7,046 the previous week.
Read the full story2019 Was the Slowest Year for New Jobs in Ohio in a Decade, Economist Says
An economic expert says Ohio’s latest unemployment data show 2019 was the slowest year for new jobs in a decade — and the state lagged behind the nation in creating new jobs.
Read the full storyDeWine, Timken Hit Public Speaking Tour to Tout Positive News But Ignore Gun Control, High Unemployment, and Refugees
The classic Wizard of Oz quote “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain” could apply to the attitude of the top leaders of the Ohio Republican Party.
Gov. Mike DeWine and Ohio Republican Party Chairwoman Jane Timken have taken to the roads to proclaim how wonderful the economy is and talk about government spending plans for children’s programs. Noticeably absent are comments about red flag laws, refugees and primary endorsements that the two have drawn heat on lately.
Read the full storyDecember Jobs Report: 145,000 Jobs Added, Unemployment at 3.5 Percent
The U.S. economy added 145,000 jobs in December, while the unemployment rate remained at 3.5%, according to Department of Labor data released Friday.
Read the full storyNovember Jobs Report: 266,000 Jobs Added, Unemployment at 3.5 Percent
The U.S. economy added 266,000 jobs in November, while the unemployment rate dropped to 3.5%, according to Department of Labor data released Friday.
Read the full storyOctober Jobs Report: 128,000 Jobs Added, Unemployment at 3.6 Percent
The U.S. economy added 128,000 jobs in October, while the unemployment rate rose to 3.6%, according to Department of Labor data released Friday.
Read the full storyCommentary: With a 50-Year Low Unemployment Rate, the Recession Clocks Need to be Reset Until After 2020
The U.S. economy got another dose of amazing news on Oct. 4 when the national unemployment rate dropped to a 50-year low of 3.5 percent.
Read the full storySeptember Jobs Report: 136,000 Jobs Added, Unemployment Declines to 3.5 Percent
The U.S. economy added 136,000 jobs in September, while the unemployment rate declined to 3.5%, according to the Department of Labor data released Friday.
Read the full storyCommentary: Record Low Black Unemployment Rate Makes the 2019 Trump Economy the Most Equitable Ever
In 2016, when President Donald Trump was campaigning to black Americans, the appeal he made was a simple one, “What have you got to lose?”
Read the full storyJune Jobs Report: 224,000 Jobs Added, Unemployment At 3.7 Percent
by Mary Margaret Olohan The U.S. economy added 224,000 jobs in June, while the unemployment rate slightly increased to 3.7 percent, according to Department of Labor data released Friday. 224,000 jobs were added in June, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report, about double the number economists predicted. The number of adults working or looking for work remained steady at 6 million, according to the Labor Department. The Labor Department reports that employment growth has averaged 172,000 per month thus far this year, compared to 223,000 a month in 2018. Economists predicted the economy would add 165,000 jobs and the unemployment rate would remain at about 3.6 percent, according to The Wall Street Journal. The June figures come on the heels of May’s job report that revealed unemployment steadily showing the lowest numbers in 50 years. The U.S. economy added 75,000 jobs in May, while the unemployment rate remained at 3.6 percent. Economists had predicted 180,000 jobs would be added and that wage growth would rise to about 3.2 percent. Job growth has come back strong after February when just 33,000 jobs were added. The unemployment rate has held steady between 4 percent and 3.7 percent for more…
Read the full storyHiring Rebounds as US Employers Add a Solid 196,000 Jobs
Hiring in the United States rebounded in March as U.S. employers added a solid 196,000 jobs, up sharply from February’s scant gain and evidence that many businesses still want to hire despite signs that the economy is slowing. The unemployment rate remained at 3.8 percent, near the lowest level in almost 50 years, the Labor Department reported Friday. Wage growth slowed a bit in March, with average hourly pay increasing 3.2 percent from a year earlier. That was down from February’s year-over-year gain of 3.4 percent, which was the best in a decade. The employment figures reported Friday by the government suggest that February’s anemic job growth — revised to 33,000, from an initial 20,000 — was merely a temporary blip and that businesses are confident the economy remains on a firm footing. Even with the current expansion nearly 10 years old, the U.S. economy is demonstrating its resilience. At the same time, the economy is facing several challenges, from cautious consumers to slower growth in business investment to a U.S.-China trade war that is contributing to a weakening global economy. Stock futures rallied after Friday’s jobs data was released at 8:30 a.m. and bond prices rose as well, with…
Read the full storyUS Adds Just 20K Jobs; Unemployment Dips
Hiring tumbled in February, with U.S. employers adding just 20,000 jobs, the smallest monthly gain in nearly a year and a half. The slowdown in hiring, though, might have been depressed by harsh winter weather and the partial shutdown of the government. Last month’s weak gain came after employers had added a blockbuster 311,000 jobs in January, the most in nearly a year. Over the past three months, job growth has averaged a solid 186,000, enough to lower the unemployment rate over time. And despite the tepid pace of hiring in February, the government’s monthly jobs report Friday included some positive signs: Average hourly pay last month rose 3.4 percent from a year earlier _ the sharpest year-over-year increase in a decade. The unemployment rate also fell to 3.8 percent, near the lowest level in five decades, from 4 percent in January. Unseasonably cold weather, which affects such industries as construction and restaurants, afflicted some areas of the country in February. And the 35-day government shutdown that ended in late January likely affected the calculation of job growth. Still, the hiring pullback comes amid signs that growth is slowing because of a weaker global economy, a trade war between the…
Read the full storyOhio Jobs Report: A Strong Year Ends on a Dismal Note
While 2018 was, overall, steady for job growth, the year ended on a sour note for the Buckeye State. The Ohio jobs report for December 2018 has been released and it appears to have been a disappointing month. While unemployment remained at an unchanged 4.6 percent from November to December, the number of unemployed increased by over 2,000. This is in contrast to an overall gain of more than 16,000 jobs in 2018. Some business sectors were hit harder than others. The private sector lost 500 jobs and, surprisingly, 4,300 jobs were lust in the retail market during the Christmas season. While the aggregate numbers still represent an improvement, they’re frustrating for many as the U.S. unemployment rate was 3.9 percent during that same time period. The disappointing numbers also pointed to a greater issue. Andrew J. Kidd, Ph.D., an economist with The Buckeye Institute’s Economic Research Center noted: Of continuing concern is Ohio’s labor force. The unemployment rate only fell slightly this year from 4.9 percent to 4.6 percent, while the labor force actually shrunk. This comes after United Van Lines released their annual report, which found more Ohioans had moved out of the state than moved into the state. If…
Read the full storySurge in US Job Creation, Fed Reassurance Boosts Stocks
A surge in U.S. job creation and some reassuring words from the head of the U.S. central bank sent U.S. stocks soaring Friday. The Labor Department reported a net gain of 312,000 jobs in December, far more than economists predicted. The unemployment rate, however, rose slightly, to 3.9 percent. Many analysts said the rising unemployment rate was probably good news because rising wages prompted many jobless people to start looking for work. People are not counted as officially unemployed unless they have searched for work in the past four weeks. In December, the labor force expanded by a healthy 419,000 people as wages rose 3.2 percent over the past year. PNC Bank Chief Economist Gus Faucher said the data meant worries about a possible recession were probably “overblown.” Worried investors have sent stocks mostly downward in recent months in a series of drastic gains and losses driven in part by concern that the U.S. central bank might raise interest rates too quickly and choke off growth. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Friday that Fed officials were “listening carefully” to markets that were weighing the impact of “concerns on global growth and trade negotiations.” Dec Mullarkey of Sun Life Investment…
Read the full storyTennessee Adds 45,000 Jobs Over Past Year
Tennessee’s unemployment rates remain low and the state added 45,000 jobs the past year, the National Federation of Independent Business said. According to the March 2018 numbers from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, 82 of the state’s 95 counties saw lower unemployment rates that month than they did in February, NFIB said. The lowest rate, 2.5 percent, was in Williamson County; the highest, 5.8 percent, was in Houston and Bledsoe counties, although that rate was a decrease for both counties from the prior month. Between April 2017 and April 2018, Tennessee added approximately 45,000 new jobs, with the biggest swells occurring in the leisure/hospitality, professional/business services, and education/health services sectors. “It doesn’t seem that long ago that several Tennessee counties had unemployment rates in the high teens, so the continuing trend of low unemployment rates across the state is wonderful news,” NFIB/TN State Director Jim Brown said. The good news continued in April as well. In mid-May, Gov. Bill Haslam and Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips announced that the statewide unemployment rate in April was 3.4 percent, representing the third consecutive month this number had held steady. April 2018 marked one year since…
Read the full storyPhil Bredesen’s Dismal Record on Jobs
Democrat US Senate candidate Phil Bredesen is using a new ad in an attempt to muddy the water around his dismal performance on jobs as Tennessee Governor and Republicans are determined to not let him get away with the deception. Phil Bredesen is out with another ad for his campaign for Senate ,touting the jobs he helped bring to the state during his tenure as governor — and Republicans are already criticizing it. The spot begins airing statewide on Thursday, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee was quick to attack, saying the unemployment rate increased from 5.1 percent to 9.5 percent under Bredesen’s tenure. “Phil Bredesen’s got a lot of nerve claiming he knows how to create jobs when the opposite happened under his watch,” said NRSC Spokesman Michael McAdams. “Whether it’s saving their tax cuts or spurring job creation, Tennessee voters know they can’t trust Phil Bredesen to protect their economic interests.” In reality, the number of Tennesseans on unemployment nearly doubled under Bredesen’s stewardship and that’s only part of the story. He’s “now said emphatically that he would have voted against the tax cuts that have been creating jobs across the country even before the cuts were implemented,” per…
Read the full storyTennessee Unemployment Rate Hits Record Low
Tennessee’s unemployment rate for June of 3.6 percent was the lowest in the state’s recorded history. Gov. Bill Haslam and Burns Phillips, commissioner for the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development, shared the news last week. The previous low was 3.7 percent in March 2000. The state has not had an unemployment rate below 4 percent since it was 3.9 percent in February 2001. “Today more than ever, businesses have a choice of where to grow or expand, and because of the policies this administration has put in place working with the General Assembly, we’re seeing the job growth that comes when businesses choose Tennessee,” Haslam said in a news release. Phillips credited Haslam for making high quality jobs a priority, noting that seven years ago more than 10 percent of Tennesseans were out of work. The national unemployment rate for June was 4.4 percent, a slight increase from 4.3 percent in May. The national rate has seen 10-year lows in recent months. The unemployment rate has been dropping steadily over the past few years after rising sharply during the recession.
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