More Bad News in June Jobs Report

In recent months, analysts have been pointing to a supposedly improved job situation for workers. Voluntary minimum wage increases at companies like Walmart allegedly pointed to an upward movement in wages due to increased competition. Workers purportedly were feeling more secure in their jobs and more willing to explore new possibilities. Despite a first quarter slide in economic growth, the economy was apparently poised to bounce back. The proverbial ‘rosy scenario’ was finally appearing on the horizon. Much of this optimism, however, was surprising news to the middle class, and today’s jobs report showed why. The headline — 220,000 new jobs and the

There Is Less to the Employment Numbers Than Meets the Eye

Today’s headlines trumpet the gain of 280,000 jobs in May and the additional 32,000 jobs in the previous two months.  This good news, however, masks the disappointing numbers that come hand in hand. Even with today’s increases, the average monthly job creation in 2015 is only 217,000, which is far lower than the nearly 260,000 last year. That said, job creation remains sluggish at best. Additionally, the labor force participation rate of 62.9 percent remains at the average it was last year. In fact, it is still over 3 percent lower than it was at the beginning of the financial

Another Jobs Report, Another Disappointment

The headlines today don’t tell the whole story. While 223,000 new jobs in April sound like a positive development for our economy, the cold, harsh reality is that millions of Americans are still struggling to find work—and those who are lucky enough to be working are facing stagnant wages amidst rising prices. It is disingenuous to say that the unemployment rate is truly 5.4 percent. That number fails to account for those who have given up looking for work—a cohort that is now higher than it has ever been before. When you add those people to the equation, the unemployment

Steve Wynn: “Real inflation is much higher than they say it is”

The front page of the Drudge Report today links to an article reporting on an interview businessman Steve Wynn, founder and CEO of Wynn Resorts, gave to a local PBS station in Nevada.  In it, Wynn offers a more cogent and coherent analysis of the miserable state of the economy and its impact on working families than we have heard from any of the Republican presidential candidates to date. Here’s an excerpt: Well, the idea that America is in the midst of a great recovery is pure fiction. It’s a lie. It’s a jobless recovery,” Wynn said. “Because recoveries are