For $ome rea$on they keep forgetting the total number of unemployed.
Related: Boston Globe Bu$ine$$ $hell Game
It is REALLY OFFEN$IVE today:
"The high-end store became a Boston institution, surviving 86 years in a retail industry in which three decades is considered an extraordinary lifetime. But all things must eventually come to an end."
And it has for the longtime and late owner, Murray Pearlstein.
"US holiday sales grew at their fastest pace in almost a decade, lifted by a strengthening economy and consumers spreading out their purchases over a longer season, according to ShopperTrak. Holiday spending over November and December jumped 4.6 percent versus the same period of last year, beating ShopperTrak’s prediction of 3.8 percent, the research firm said Friday in a report. That was the best performance since 2005, before the last recession, when sales gained 5.2 percent. Retailers are relying less on major sales events such as Black Friday and coaxing consumers into buying gifts more steadily over a two-month stretch. Shoppers also had more money to spend this season, thanks to lower gas prices and an improving job market."
That must explain this:
"US consumers increased their borrowing in November, as stronger demand for auto and student loans offset a drop in credit card debt, the Federal Reserve said. The latest figures suggest that an improving economy and strong employment gains over the past year may be making consumers more comfortable with ramping up their borrowing, but because of the severity of the recession, consumers had been more hesitant about adding to debt. But economists say that a stronger labor market may be setting the stage for increases in borrowing as consumers grow more confident about the future."
Now about that job market:
"Unemployment rate falls to 5.6%; 252,000 jobs added in Dec.; 2014 is best for job growth since 1999" by Christopher S. Rugaber, Associated Press January 09, 2015
WASHINGTON — A healthy month of hiring in December capped the best year for US job growth since 1999, demonstrating that employers are more confident than they’ve been since the Great Recession began.
Nearly 3 million jobs were added in 2014, and continued solid hiring is expected to propel the economy this year to its fastest growth in a decade. The gains are putting further distance between the strengthening American economy and struggling nations overseas.
OMG!!!!! How $lick!
‘‘Last year was a truly breakout year for the labor market,’’ said James Marple, an economist at TD Securities. ‘‘Businesses are increasingly looking to hire.’’
They sure do labor at shoveling $hit.
Friday’s report from the Labor Department showed more jobs than the government had previously estimated.
That means the Labor Department is lying again.
The government’s report did point to some weaknesses, notably in Americans’ paychecks, which have barely kept ahead of inflation during the 5½-year recovery. In December, average hourly pay actually fell.
Oh, if that isn't pouring $alt in the wound!
And yet you spent more on Xmas, yup!
‘‘The continued listless performance of hourly earnings is an ongoing frustration,’’ said Richard Moody, an economist at Regions Financial.
Ongoing frustration for who? Not Wall Street, the 1%, or this guy!
And one reason the unemployment rate fell last month had nothing to do with more hiring: Many of the jobless gave up looking for work and so were no longer counted as unemployed.
I thought it mattered, and keep it in mind for later!
Still, the unemployment rate is now near the 5.2 percent to 5.5 percent range that the Federal Reserve considers consistent with a healthy economy — one reason the Fed has been expected to raise interest rates from record lows by midyear.
Yet in December, hiring was widespread across most industries.
One industry where hiring slowed in December was retailing, which cut back after having staffed up in November for the holiday shopping season.
Wouldn't those numbers be reflected in JANUARY?! AFTER the HOLIDAY SHOPPING SEASON? Are they saying stores were already cutting staff before Christmas was over? But the holiday season was great because everyone spaced out their shopping (even as Penney's and Macy's close stores)!
Overall, American businesses have been largely shrugging off economic weakness overseas and continuing to hire at solid rates. The US economy’s steady improvement is especially striking compared with the weakness in much of the world.
Not when you consider this is nothing but propaganda pre$$.
Europe is barely growing, and its unemployment rate is nearly double the US level. Japan, the world’s third-largest economy, is in recession. Russia’s economy is cratering as oil prices plummet. China is straining to manage a slowdown. Brazil and others in Latin America are struggling.
Fears about significantly cheaper oil spooked investors earlier this week before financial markets recovered. But most economists remain optimistic that lower energy prices will benefit US consumers and many businesses.
Though 2014 job growth was the best since 1999, other measures were less encouraging. Hourly pay during the past two months has now risen just a penny.
That is your CHUMP-CHANGE CRUMB, Amurkn slave!!
As hiring ramps up and the unemployment rate falls, those pressures should, at least in theory, compel employers to raise pay to attract workers. But that trend has yet to emerge.
In theory, huh?
Despite weak pay growth, strong hiring is still providing much-needed relief to the unemployed. During 2014, the unemployment rate fell 1.1 percentage points, similar to 2013’s decline of 1.2 points. But there was a crucial difference: Last year’s drop occurred even though the number of Americans either working or looking for work rose by more than 1 million.
That’s a welcome change from 2013, when the unemployment rate’s decline was fueled by an exodus of about 500,000 workers. Those people gave up on their job hunts and were no longer counted as unemployed.
What did I enlarge above regarding the numbers from last month, readers?
And this pos is acting as if he never wrote it!!!
--more--"
I really don't what else to say, other than at least the bonuses are still coming.
