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unemployment rate

Article Index

Unemployment Rate Lowest Since 2008, Bolsters Stock Futures Today

By , Behavioral Trading Specialist, Money Morning -

Stock futures today

Good morning! Stock futures today, May 8, 2015, popped after the unemployment rate for April came out this morning and touched on a record level.

Top stocks to watch today include AAPL, YHOO, and BABA. Our pre-market movers are MSFT, YELP, and MCD.

Get a roundup of today's biggest stories, including the numbers behind the April jobs report, and the top stocks to keep your eye on today, here...

Gallup CEO Just Outted Government's False Unemployment Rate

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning • @TaraKateClarke -

Unemployment rate

The government's official unemployment rate is "a Big Lie," according to Jim Clifton, the CEO of 80-year old analytics firm Gallup. In a Feb. 3 op-ed, Clifton slammed the White House, Wall Street, and the media for celebrating about how unemployment is "down" to 5.7%.

Of course, here at Money Morning, we've called the "official" unemployment numbers cooked all along.

It's a good thing that Clifton is onboard with us - the more the merrier.

We want Americans to know there's a reason why they haven't "felt the recovery." Check out this breakdown...

Stock Market Today Will Move on This Good-but-Bad Jobs News

By , Behavioral Trading Specialist, Money Morning -

Stock market today

Stock market today, February 6, 2015: U.S. stock futures for Friday, Feb. 6, showed a 7-point increase from yesterday's close. The Dow Jones added 212 points Thursday on rising oil prices and news that Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) will purchase Hospira Inc. (NYSE: HSP) for $17 billion, or $90 per share.

This morning, investors will look past gloomy European economic data and focus on earnings reports and the U.S. jobs report.

The good news: at 8:30 a.m., the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced the U.S. created approximately 257,000 jobs, handily topping consensus expectations of 234,000. The bad news: the unemployment rate in January unexpectedly climbed from 5.6% to 5.7%.

Here's what else you should know about the stock market today - including your "Money Morning Tip of the Day" - to make it a profitable Friday...

The Scary Wage Growth Story in the December Jobs Report

By , Contributing Writer, Money Morning -

December jobs report

The December jobs report released today (Friday) by the U.S. Department of Labor highlights what’s missing in the job market’s recovery: wage growth.

According to the report, the United States added 252,000 jobs last month, ahead of consensus estimates of 240,000. That was enough to push the unemployment rate down to 5.6%.

But those impressive numbers were not enough to distract from the bigger story of falling wages…

U.S. Labor Department Jobs Report: Big Gains in June, but Still Lagging Behind

By , Contributing Writer, Money Morning -

U.S. Labor Department jobs report

Optimism surrounded Thursday's release of the June U.S. Labor Department Jobs Report, but although the numbers were better than expected, we still have plenty to worry about, and the economy is still in trouble.

Employers added 288,000 jobs in June. The unemployment rate dipped to 6.1% from 6.3%, the lowest level since September 2008.

Despite some encouraging figures in the jobs report, it is still peppered with troubling data - like these dismal numbers...

Dow Jones Futures Up After Record Finish; Plus FB, AMZN, GM and These Top Stories

By , Behavioral Trading Specialist, Money Morning -

Dow Jones futures

Stock market today, July 3, 2014: Dow Jones futures edged higher this morning (Thursday) by 0.1%, following a DJI record finish on Wednesday. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures also signaled gains, up 0.12% and 0.24% respectively.
This morning, the Labor Department announced that the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 6.1%, as the economy added another 288,000 jobs, crushing street estimates of 215,000.

Here's what you should know is going on in the stock market today to make your Thursday profitable:

The Four Most Rigged Economic Indicators

By , Behavioral Trading Specialist, Money Morning -

On August 2, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will report the official unemployment rate. But this number doesn't tell the accurate story of the jobs picture here in the United States.

That's usually the case with government-produced economic indicators. Whatever the government figure will say, it will not truly reflect reality. Simply put, it's a rigged number.

When it comes to cheating the numbers, nobody does it better than Uncle Sam.

U.S. investors rely on accurate government data in order to make investment decisions in various sectors of the economy.

But what if these figures reflected negative headlines on a near-constant basis? It wouldn't instill much confidence. And it certainly would cost a lot of people in Washington their jobs.

That's why Uncle Sam plays games with the numbers and presents a far rosier picture of the world to low-information voters and investors. But we're paying attention here at Money Morning, and that's why we're holding a spotlight on the fuzzy math in Washington.

Counting down, here are the four most rigged government statistics in America today:

To continue reading, please click here...

Today's May Jobs Report: When Bad News is Good News

By , Contributing Writer, Money Morning -

When bad news is good news for stock markets you know just how convoluted the current economic environment is.

According to the May jobs report out today (Friday), the U.S. unemployment rate ticked up to 7.6% in May from 7.5% in April, the first increase since the start of 2013. And, markets rallied on the news. The Dow Jones soared more than 200 points by mid-day.

Some will say the May jobs report was good news - thousands of out-of-work people returned to the work force, and the 175,000 jobs added beat expectations.

The reality is we're just treading water. And the labor force participation rate is still at 30-year lows.

But the real good news is the jobs report means more U.S. Federal Reserve support, which will fuel markets already hitting record highs.  

To continue reading, please click here...

April Employment Report Begins to Show the Signs of the "Obamacare Effect"

By , Contributing Writer, Money Morning -

Economists breathed a sigh of relief when the Labor Department reported a better than expected April employment report on Friday, but the details show cracks still remain.

Many of the job gains proved to be in lower paying fields and the average number of hours worked dipped.

In fact, April's report revealed the average workweek for private sector employees declined 0.2 hour to 34.4 hours.

The data also suggests The Affordable Health Care Act, aka Obamacare, is already having an impact on hiring since job growth has slowed most significantly among businesses with 50-499 employees.

This could be the reason why...

To continue reading, please click here...

Unemployment Down, But February Jobs Report Not All Rosy

By , Money Morning -

Friday's jobs report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is a mixed bag.

The report had some positive news, as the unemployment rate fell to 7.7%, the lowest rate since December 2008.

While the preliminary numbers for February show that 236,000 new jobs were created, exceeding analyst estimates by a wide margin, the figure for January was revised down from 157,000 to 119,000. However, the December number was revised up from 196,000 to 219,000. So for the three months of December 2012-February 2013, the economy has added a total of 574,000 jobs, well above expectations.

But despite the increase in the number of jobs, the main reason for the decline in the unemployment rate is that fewer people are participating in the labor market.

The participation rate fell by 0.1 percentage points to 63.5% in February as 130,000 people dropped out of the labor force. The employment-population ratio remained flat at 58.6%.

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January 2013 Jobs Report: 4 Reasons Unemployment Will Stay High

By , Contributing Writer, Money Morning -

The U.S. Labor Department released the January 2013 jobs report Friday, showing the unemployment rate inched upward from 7.8% to 7.9%.

Employers added 157,000 jobs in January, short estimates of 168,000, which would have kept the unemployment rate stable.

The jobs report included some good news: Revisions to last year's data, customary in January, show the U.S. added 335,000 more jobs than initially reported in 2012, bringing the monthly average for jobs gained to 181,000 from the 153,000 initially reported.

Employment gains for November and December were revised higher by a total of 127,000.

Contributing most to January payroll increases were the retail, construction and healthcare sectors. The government continued to shed workers, a trend that began four years ago.

But the employment outlook remains bleak. Joblessness has proved persistent, with the unemployment rate stuck above an unhealthy 7% for more than four years.

"The good news is that January's employment gains, coupled with large revisions to the prior months, may translate into more consumer spending power. The bad news is that unemployment remains stubbornly high," said Kathy Bostjanic, director of macroeconomics analysis at the Conference Board.

To continue reading, please click here...