The U.S. unemployment rate reports from July show good and bad news. Unemployment has been at 9.5 percent for a when. More jobs are lost than was expected by experts. 131,000 jobs were lost in July although there were 71,000 added to the economy. 36,000 jobs were added by manufacturing although that was the lowest addition this year. productivity has increased because individuals were working more hours and were making more money. But increasing productivity is an additional factor holding back hiring.
Unemployment rate won’t move either way
Companies in the U.S. added workers in July for a seventh straight month. The number of jobs being gained each month is 100,000 despite the fact that that isn’t enough to balance the amount being lost each month which is more than that, reports the Wall Street Journal. June reports showed a downward pull. 221,000 jobs a month were reported to be lost in June, which is 125,000 more than before. 31,000 private sector jobs were created in June. The Dow Jones Newswires were expecting a 60,000 job loss in July, which really ended up being 131,000.
Work is good for individuals who have it
There were some good things within the July jobs report. The average workweek went up from 0.1 hours a week to 34.2 hours, reports Daily Finance. Hourly earnings are up to $ 22.59 per hour, which is a 4 cent increase. U.S. productivity continues to increase at a robust rate — 3 percent within the last 12 months and 4 percent in the first quarter of 2010. Productivity being up means companies are doing better with their earnings. Money sitting around is fairly normal right about now for companies. High productivity and more efficient business models are good for stock prices, but that means many companies don’t feel they have to hire more workers.
Unemployment troubles discussed by Fed
The jobs report could determine what the Federal Reserve does next to influence the unemployment rate. Reserve deposit rates might drop passed the 0.25 percent rate as a possible solution, reports Bloomberg in an interview with Fed chairman Ben Bernanke. Another choice may be to help hold down borrowing costs by getting more assets although the Fed already has a $ 2.3 trillion balance sheet.
Numerous Americans hurt by unemployment
Public opinions are on both ends of the good and bad news spectrum. More than seven in 10 Americans say the U.S. economy is still mired in recession, according to a Bloomberg National Poll. Seven out of ten individuals also answered the government should be working on unemployment before anything else. But more than half are skeptical of the stimulus program and wary of more spending.
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Wall Street Journal
online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703309704575412990024153682.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Daily Finance
dailyfinance.com/story/careers/july-jobs-report-unemployment-remains-high/19583596/
Bloomberg
bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-06/company-payrolls-rose-by-71-000-in-july-u-s-jobless-rate-9-5-.html
