SC Unemployment Rate Climbs To 8.7 Percent

South Carolina’s unemployment rate climbed from an adjusted 8.6 percent in December to 8.7 percent in January, according to statistics released this week by the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce (SCDEW).
SCDEW did not release a labor participation rate, although the Palmetto State has been hovering at historic lows on that front for several months.
December’s [...]

US Jobless Rate Edges Down …

… BUT SO DOES THE NATION’S LABOR FORCE
The American economy created an estimated 146,000 jobs in November, according to government statistics.  As a result the nation’s jobless rate to decline from 7.9 to 7.7 percent.   The nation’s underemployment rate – a broader, more accurate measure of joblessness – also declined, from 14.6 to 14.4 [...]

U.S. Unemployment Rate Falls

… BUT QUESTIONS ABOUND AS TO LATEST ROUND OF GOVERNMENT DATA 
Fresh off of a disastrous performance in the first of three presidential debates, U.S. President Barack Obama got some good news – or at least the appearance of good news – when his Department of Labor (USDOL) announced updated employment data this week.
According to the [...]

U.S. Jobs Report: Hiring Slows, People Giving Up Hope

RATE SLIPS TO 8.1 PERCENT DUE TO SHRINKING WORK FORCE
The U.S. economy added 96,000 jobs during the month of August – well below what analysts were predicting and far short of July’s 163,000 number (which itself was revised downward to 141,000).  In order for employment to keep up with population growth, at least 130,000 jobs [...]

SC Unemployment Rate Ticks Up

RATE CLIMBS TO 9.1 PERCENT
After several months on the decline, South Carolina’s unemployment rate climbed to 9.1 percent in May – although some of that increase was due to more people looking for work.
The Palmetto State’s labor force – which shrunk by 6,000 jobs in April – grew modestly to 2,153,265 workers last month, according to [...]

Job Growth Slows Again

The American economy created only 115,000 jobs in April, the second consecutive month in which job growth has declined. The nation’s unemployment rate did tick down – from 8.2 to 8.1 percent – but that decline was due to people giving up their search for gainful employment.
How many people? More than 340,000 exited the job [...]

More On “The Recovery”

Americans for Limited Government chairman Howard Rich wrote an excellent column earlier this week that addressed America’s lingering – and looming – employment problem.
Rich’s piece focused on a frightening surge in long-term joblessness, as well as the precipitous decline in the size of the nation’s labor force, concluding that “most Americans aren’t experiencing the economic [...]

US Jobless Rate Edges Down

Seasonal gains drove the American economy to create 200,000 jobs in December, causing the nation’s unemployment rate to edge down to 8.5 percent from a revised 8.7 percent in November.
Meanwhile the nation’s underemployment rate – a broader, more accurate measure of joblessness – also ticked down from 15.6 to 15.2 percent.
While those numbers represent good [...]

Obama: The Blame Shift Continues

On vacation in Martha’s Vineyard, U.S. President Barack Obama used a taped radio address to cast the blame for America’s chronically-high unemployment rate on the ever-unpopular U.S. Congress.
Specifically, Obama blasted Republicans in Congress for refusing to extend payroll tax relief and pass a new infrastructure bill – as if these modest measures (one of which [...]

US Manufacturing Slips

America’s manufacturing sector ground to a near halt during the month of July, a key industry report revealed on Monday.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM)’s index of national factory activity dropped from 55.3 in June to 50.9 last month – a decline that vastly exceeded the modest drop projected by economists. Any number below 50 [...]

SC Unemployment Rate Climbs Again

For the second consecutive month, the jobless rate in South Carolina is in double digits … and climbing.
According to data released on Friday by Gov. Nikki Haley’s Department of Employment and Workforce (SCDEW), South Carolina’s unemployment rate jumped from 10 percent in May to 10.5 percent in June. The state’s underemployment rate – a broader, [...]

Surprising Jobs Report

The U.S. private sector added 300,000 jobs in December – a figured that tripled November’s totals (as well as economists’ expectations).
This preliminary employment data – released by ADP Employer Services – comes two days before the U.S. Labor Department releases its official figures for December.
Analysts are expecting the Labor Department report (which includes public and [...]