Testimony before The Joint Economic Committee United States Congress February… 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
Abstract: America needs jobs. A government committed to free enterprise, limited government, and individual freedom, and not to more borrowing and spending, can properly help. To help unleash the private sector to invest and create jobs, Congress should promptly take five specific actions: enact… 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
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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
Abstract: With a high unemployment rate and a struggling economy, passing legislation that discourages job creation would seem counterintuitive. And yet, by pushing for the Fair Empolyment Opportunity Act (FEOA) this is precisely what President Obama and some Members of Congress propose. The FEOA… Read more
Abstract: While layoffs increased during this recession, they are not the primary cause of the nearly 10 percent unemployment rate. The main factor driving the unemployment rate so high during this recession was, and continues to… Read more
NO: LABOR UNIONS ADD TO COSTS AND DISCOURAGE PRODUCTIVITY Would you want to work for a company that treats all workers exactly the same, no matter how hard they work? What about one that promotes only on the basis of seniority and not merit? Few Americans want a job with an employer… Read more
Abstract: Salaries and benefits—for identical jobs—are 30 percent to 40 percent higher in the federal government than in the private sector. Claims that this dramatic discrepancy in compensation is warranted because of government workers’ high skills are unjustified, as this study shows. Equally unjustified… Read more
Testimony of Paul Kersey Bradley Visiting Fellow Before the House of Representatives; Small Business Committee; Subcommittee on Workforce, Empowerment, and Government Programs Regarding The Economic Effects of the Minimum Wage Ladies and gentlemen, it is understandable to want to… Read more
Abstract: Attempts by Members of Congress to save U.S. manufacturing jobs by restricting international trade, particularly with China, are misguided and futile. Technological improvements, not international trade, are reducing U.S. manufacturing employment by automating many rote tasks. During the past decade, manufacturing employment has… Read more
Contents Introduction Chapter 1: Vague Definition of a Serious Health Condition Chapter 2: FMLA Leave Used to Excuse Tardiness Chapter 3: FMLA Used to Avoid Undesirable… Read more
Who Works the Minimum Wage? The 1.6 million paid-hourly workers who earn minimum wages can be broken down into two broad groups.1 Over half (53 percent) are teenagers or young adults under the age of 23. More than half (54 percent) of these young workers live in families with incomes two or… Read more
President Obama’s health care law requires employers to offer health benefits to full-time employees. This employer mandate will price many unskilled workers out of full-time employment. After paying the new health premiums, the minimum wage, payroll taxes, and unemployment insurance taxes, hiring a full-time worker will… Read more
Union contracts frequently require employees to pay union dues or lose their jobs. This forces workers to support the union financially even if the union contract harms them or they oppose the union’s agenda. Several states, including New Hampshire and Indiana, are considering right-to-work laws, which protect workers from being… Read more
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the U.S. economy created 80,000 total jobs in October, and the unemployment rate had a slight decline to 9 percent. The private sector added 104,000 jobs, while government jobs fell by 24,000. The labor market is adding jobs and holding steady but not… Read more
The Obama Administration and the nation have cause to breathe a sign of relief as today's monthly jobs report shows...… Read more
Today, Senators Jim DeMint (R–SC) and Mike Lee (R–UT) introduced legislation that would move the United States a giant...… Read more
At this State of the Union address, President Obama proudly stated that “American oil production is the highest it’s...… Read more
Leading up to his third State of the Union (SOTU) address tonight, President Obama appears once again less interested in...… Read more
“If you build it, they will come,” an ominous voice called out to Kevin Costner’s character, Ray Kinsella, in the...… Read more
President Obama will deliver his third State of the Union address on Tuesday night. According to a preview video...… Read more
In President Obama’s statement denying TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline, he said, “The rushed and arbitrary deadline...… Read more
The Obama Administration, encouraged by environmental groups, has blocked yet another affordable energy project—the...… Read more
Yesterday in Walt Disney World, the land "where dreams come true," President Barack Obama appeared before Cinderella's...… Read more
President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness released its third report January 17 entitled “Road Map to...… Read more
Director, Center for Data Analysis
Senior Research Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Studies and International Energy Policy, The Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies
Director, Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies
Norman B. Ture Senior Fellow in the Economics of Fiscal Policy
Assistant Director, Center for Data Analysis and Research Fellow
Senior Research Fellow in Retirement Security and Financial Institutions
Research Fellow in Energy Economics and Climate Change
Policy Analyst
Research Fellow, Nuclear Energy Policy
Senior Policy Analyst in Labor Economics