Tag Archives: Jobs

Lincoln, Nebraska recorded a best-in-the-nation 3.4 percent unemployment rate in December as unemployment rates dropped in 290 of the 372 metropolitan areas in the county, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Wednesday.

Following S&P's calculation of a 0.1 percent decrease in prices in November, analysis on home price data remained positive.

Consumer confidence took another dive in January as Americans saw their paychecks shrink, The Conference Board reported Tuesday. The research firm's Consumer Confidence Index--based on a survey conducted by Nielsen--fell to 58.6 in January, down from 66.7 at the end of 2012. Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board, said the drop stems from consumers' "paycheck shock" after seeing how the payroll tax increase has affected their bank accounts.

While some analysts have been speculating over when the economy will return to its "normal" state, Fannie Mae says slow growth is the "new normal."

First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell to another five-year low for the week ending January 19, dropping 5,000 to 330,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected claims to increase to 360,000 from the prior week. The previous week's report was unchanged at 365,000, which had been the lowest level since January 2008.

A strengthening private sector should give the economy a boost in the second half of 2013 after a slow start, according to Bloomberg BNA's annual Economic Outlook. The forecast--a consensus projection from economists at 21 leading financial, consulting, and academic organizations across the country--calls for a temporary slowdown in economic growth in the first half of the year as the country feels the impacts of the payroll tax hike and other major shifts in federal fiscal policy.

Consumer spending continued its backslide in December, according to professional services firm Deloitte. Deloitte's Consumer Spending Index--which is made up of components measuring consumer tax burden, initial unemployment claims, real wages, and real home prices--slipped to 3.81 in December from November's reading of 3.96. The decline continues a downward trend that started in November after nearly a year of steady gains. Most of the drop in spending stems from an increase in unemployment claims following superstorm Sandy.

Unemployment rates fell in 22 states in December but rose in 16, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday in its monthly Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) release. In November, unemployment rates dropped in 45 states. The unemployment rate based on the sum of the regional reports computed to 7.7 percent, slightly below the 7.8 percent national rate reported January 4.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance plunged 37,000 for the week ending January 12 to 335,000, the lowest level since January 2008, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected claims to drop to 368,000 from the prior week.

The number of construction job openings dropped 6,000 in November, and there were 11.5 available workers for each open construction job, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey.