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Labor & Economic News Blog

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

As College Graduates Cluster, Some Cities Are Left Behind ...

As College Graduates Cluster, Some Cities Are Left Behind ...
As cities like this one try to reinvent themselves after losing large swaths of their manufacturing sectors, they are discovering that one of the most critical ingredients for a successful transformation — college graduates — is in perilously short supply.

 

States Continue to Feel Recession’s Impact

States Continue to Feel Recession’s Impact
Budget estimates for the upcoming fiscal year continue to show that states face a long and uncertain recovery. For fiscal year 2013, which begins July 1, 30 states have addressed or have projected shortfalls totaling $54 billion.

 

No Evidence That Incentive Pay for Teacher Teams Improves Student Outcomes: Results from a Randomized Trial

No Evidence That Incentive Pay for Teacher Teams Improves Student Outcomes: Results from a Randomized Trial 
Analysis of an incentive program that paid teachers bonuses based on their students' growth in achievement in mathematics, English language arts, science, and social studies showed no effect on student test scores in any of the subject areas.

 

No Easy Fix for Social Security

No Easy Fix for Social Security
Three much-discussed ways to curb Social Security payouts may be inadequate—and come at a high human cost.Reducing benefit payouts is one way to solve Social Security’s current shortfall. Three measures to accomplish this are to raise the full retirement age, encourage people to postpone retirement, or curtail benefits. Unfortunately, none of these methods are good solutions.

 

Finding a job a scary proposition for class of '12

Finding a job a scary proposition for class of '12
 ‎It's a time when hope collides with economic reality, when the relief of that last class and the thrill of holding that diploma give way to the next big step — finding a job. For the class of 2012, the optimism of graduation is clouded by the uncertain aftermath of the worst economic slide since the Depression.

 

Helping veterans find work in a tight job market

Helping veterans find work in a tight job market 
Veterans' confidence in being able to find a job is dropping, the study ... They are finding it tough to compete for scarce jobs against peers who ...

 

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Taking the summer off? If only.

Taking the summer off? If only.
Washington Post
Amid the tough economy, teachers take second jobs or get extra training to help make ends meet.

 

Age Disparities in Unemployment and Reemployment During the Great Recession and Recovery

Age Disparities in Unemployment and Reemployment During the Great Recession and Recovery
As unemployment surged during the Great Recession and subsequent recovery, older workers were less likely than their younger counterparts to lose their jobs. However, unemployed workers in their fifties were about a fifth less likely than those age 25 to 34 to become reemployed between 2008 and 2011, and they experienced steep wage losses. Median hourly earnings for reemployed workers age 51 to 61 were 21 percent lower on the new job than the prelayoff job, compared with only 7 percent for those age 25 to 34. These declines may reflect lost productivity or employer reluctance to hire older workers.

 

Work Hours in Retail: Room for Improvement

Françoise Carré and Chris Tilly emphasize the relationship between the low level of regularly scheduled work hours and low job quality in a new Upjohn Institute Policy Paper (and more detailed Working Paper). Focusing on U.S. workers in the retail sector, they compare hours and institutional environments with those in Canada and Mexico and show that institutional constraints lead retailers in the United States and Canada to reduce hours and expand part-time jobs, whereas in Mexico they lead to lengthening hours.

 

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

The College Degree: What's it Worth?

The College Degree: What's it Worth?
The issue of costs and rising student debt have have touched off a national debate about the cost and value of a college education. See the results of our surveys on what the public thinks of investing in a college education.

 

High Unemployment: Cyclical or Structural?

High Unemployment: Cyclical or Structural?

 

Emerging Economies in Global Trade

Emerging Economies in Global Trade
Gordon Hanson examines how international trade has changed as low- and middle-income countries have been integrated into the global economy. He finds that the share of developing economies in global exports has more than doubled between 1994 and 2008, led by the emergence of China and India: they both demand a great deal of imported raw materials, which they use to build cities and factories. Comparative advantage also has reemerged as a driver of global commerce because growing low- and middle-income nations are making specialization according to comparative advantage more important for the global composition of trade.

 

Asian Americans continued to suffer the most from long-term unemployment in 2011

Asian Americans continued to suffer the most from long-term unemployment in 2011
Last year marked the second year in a row that Asian Americans had the largest share of unemployed workers who were unemployed long term.

 

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Working Late, by Choice or Not

Working Late, by Choice or Not
A record 7.2 million Americans 65 or older are working, either to supplement their retirement savings — in some cases diminished by the financial crisis — or to remain active.

 

Economic Mobility of the States: Interactive

Economic Mobility of the States: Interactive
Pew  Economic Mobility Project
Welcome to Economic Mobility of the States. This interactive tool captures the findings of the first analysis of Americans' economic mobility—their ability to move ...

 

Friday, May 04, 2012

Labor Market Policy Research Reports, April 30 – May 4, 2012

Labor Market Policy Research Reports, April 30 – May 4, 2012
The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR)  week's roundup of labor-market policy research reports:

 

Economix - The New York Times

Economix - The New York Times
The New York Times Economix blog interprets the economy and helps us understand our world. Employment numbers, opinions and analysis.

 

The Jobs Report and the U.S. Economy

The Jobs Report and the U.S. Economy
The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its monthly jobs report today. What do the new numbers mean for the unemployed and for the future of the economy?

 

Wednesday, May 02, 2012

A Very Uneven Road: US Labor Markets in the Past 30 Years

A Very Uneven Road: US Labor Markets in the Past 30 Years  
(Urban Institute Occasional Paper)
In this paper we use data from the Current Population Survey to summarize labor market trends in the U.S. over the past 30 years. First we focus on secular trends over the four years (and three cycles) that constitute labor market peaks during this period: 1979, 1989, 2000, and 2007. Then we consider peak-to-trough changes in employment outcomes for each of the four recessions that have occurred in this period, including the Great Recession. Overall we find great unevenness in labor market performance across cycles and across demographic groups. Inequality has widened dramatically and important structural changes have occurred.

 

Retirement,Slipping Farther and Farther Away

Retirement,Slipping Farther and Farther Away 
Over the last decade and a half, Americans’ expected retirement age has slowly risen to 67 from 60, according to a new Gallup survey.

 

Report Points To Weaker Growth In Jobs

Report Points To Weaker Growth In Jobs
A private survey shows U.S. businesses sharply reduced hiring in April, a troubling sign two days before the government reports on monthly job growth. Payroll provider ADP says that businesses added 119,000 jobs last month, far lower than a revised total of 201,000 jobs in March.

 

The Gay and Transgender Wage Gap

The Gay and Transgender Wage Gap: Many Workers Receive Less Pay Due to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Discrimination. Center for American Progress, April 16, 2012 http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2012/04/lgbt_wage_gap.html