Labor Market

Our economy is currently in the middle of its longest economic expansion ever.  Sometimes it’s tough to imagine the Great Recession ended over a decade ago or that the first recession of this century started over 18 years ago.  During both downturns, output was in steep decline and firms were hemorrhaging jobs by the hundreds of thousands each week (e.g., in March 2009, the net

Each month the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) puts out their Employment Situation report.  Regular reader’s saw the Atlas note on it yesterday morning.  This report covers two surveys: households and payrolls.  Our nation’s unemployment rate is derived from the household survey.  Each month the BLS lobs a call to 60,000 homes or so and asks those willing to ans

Atlas' Monday note covered the most recent employment report.  If you did not have a chance to see it or want to reference it, click here.  One of the more positive developments to come out of the report was an increase in average hourly earnings.  This is an important statistic because it sug

America’s labor market remained strong during November 2017 according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  After adding 244,000 in October (downwardly revised from 268,000), employers increased payrolls by 228,000 in the penultimate month of the year.  Our nation’s unemployment rate held steady at 4.1 percent, tied the lowest level since December 2000. 

America’s economy added many jobs in October 2017 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Employers filled 261,000 new jobs to start the final quarter of the year.  Additionally, the dismal tally reported a month earlier (minus 33,000) was upwardly revised to positive 18,000 net new jobs, and another 39,000 jobs were added to the August tally.  This revision restores

Gaps are often associated with inefficiencies.  Take the possible space between your front door and sill for instance; it lets cold air in during the winter, not an efficient method of insulating.  Similar breaks in continuity between tiles and tubs allow water to seep into parts of a structure not designed for moisture.  When they occur in everyday scenarios, it is best to appro

America’s current economic expansion, which started in June 2009, has been perplexing.  Our nation’s expansion has been described by some as a “New Normal” after old economic relationships have proven less reliable than before.  For instance, our economy’s pace of growth since the end of the Great Recession has been sluggish even though the Feder