Jobs and Labor Policy

Private-sector job creation initially recovered from the recession at a normal rate, leading to predictions last year of a “Recovery Summer.” Since April 2010, however, net private-sector job creation has stalled. Within two months of the passage of Obamacare, the job market stopped improving. This suggests that businesses are not… Read more

Supporters of raising the minimum wage argue it will raise the earnings of low-income workers. Labor unions are among the most prominent of these supporters, a fact that makes little intuitive sense, because very few union members work for the minimum wage. Unions, however, are not just being altruistic when they push to raise… Read more

The catchphrase "jobless recovery" enjoys permanent status in daily media reports about the economy, despite the fact that an unprecedented number of Americans were employed last quarter, not to mention the low rate of unemployment. Skeptics attribute lower unemployment to growing ranks of "discouraged workers" leaving the labor force, but that scenario doesn't fit the… Read more

Many people believe that Americans are overworked, but new research shows that Americans are spending less time at work and more time at leisure than ever before. That research's key conclusions: Since the mid-1960s, the amount of time that the typical American spends working fell by almost eight hours per week, while the time… Read more

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in January, the economy added 243,000 jobs—108,000 more than the consensus forecast of 135,000. As a result, the unemployment rate fell from 8.5 percent to 8.3 percent, the lowest level since February 2009. For the last three months, job creation has averaged 201,000… Read more

Last week, President Obama said he would soon propose a set of policies that would eliminate tax breaks for businesses that move jobs overseas and reward businesses that bring jobs to the U.S. as part of his new “insourcing” agenda. If the President proposes more of… Read more

What Is Official Time? Official time is the practice of federal employees doing work for government unions while they are on the clock for their government jobs. … Read more

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) warns that a tax on certain financial transactions could “diminish the importance of the United States as a major financial market” and that, in the short run, “imposing the transaction tax would probably reduce output and employment.”[1] While these effects would be “mitigated”… Read more

In December, the labor market continued its improvement by adding 200,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate fell again to 8.5 percent, the lowest level since February 2009. The annual year-end revisions to the unemployment rate confirm the gradual but significant improvement in the labor market since the end of summer.… Read more

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the number of jobs grew in November by 120,000 and that the unemployment rate fell to 8.6 percent, the lowest level since March 2009. The sharp drop in the unemployment rate was a result of solid job growth in the household survey and… Read more

Unemployment remains stuck at 9 percent because of low job creation, not higher job losses. In fact, job losses hit a record low in March 2011. Fewer entrepreneurs are starting new companies, and fewer business owners are expanding existing enterprises. Reduced job creation entirely explains the economy’s high… Read more

Do regulations kill jobs? Not according to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D–NV). In a floor speech November 15, Reid argued that the idea that regulations cost jobs was a “myth,” claiming that according to the Labor Department, “only a tiny fraction of layoffs have anything at all to do… Read more