The Labor Department said today that the economy added 165,000 jobs in April. With this kind of moderate-but-not-stellar growth in payrolls, is the Federal Reserve on track to meet its own forecast for its first interest-rate increase? A simple calculation...
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Photograph by Spencer Platt/Getty Images
A worker is viewed through protective sheeting on the Brooklyn Bridge on April 30, 2013 in New York City.
Zero-Interest Fed: How Long?
Photograph by Spencer Platt/Getty Images
A worker is viewed through protective sheeting on the Brooklyn Bridge on April 30, 2013 in New York City.
Divided Views of U.S. Economy Remain with Jobs Report: BGov
With the employment report today beating expectations – at 165,000 new jobs, above the widely expected 140,000 gain – the U.S. economy continues to chug along at a steady, though unexciting pace. The unemployment rate ticked down by 0.1 percent...
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Photograph by Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Job seekers wait in line to meet with employers at the 25th Annual CUNY big Apple Job and Internship Fair at the Jacob Javits Convention Center on April 26, 2013 in New York City.
Consumer Confidence Up — Not in Jobs
Consumer confidence in the U.S. improved in April, reaching a five-month high, a report from the Conference Board showed today. Chalk up a good portion of the elation to gains in wealth from improving property values and stock portfolios. In...
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Photograph by Eddie Seal/Bloomberg
Job seekers wait for the opening of an employment fair sponsored by Job News in partnership with USOilWorker.com and The Texas Veterans Commission at the Norris Conference Center in San Antonio, Texas, on March 19, 2013.
Bloomberg by the Numbers: 63.3%
That’s the U.S. labor force participation rate for March, the lowest since May 1979, according to the Labor Department. The rate represents the proportion of the population that’s in the civilian labor force, which includes those who are employed and...
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Photograph by Jin Lee/Bloomberg
Job seekers wait in a line to see recruiters at a job fair organized by United Career Fairs in New York, on Feb. 19, 2013.
Economists Mark Down Payroll Forecasts as Data Disappoint
The last few bits of data ahead of April 6 figures from the Labor Department are in, and the results were disappointing. The data are prompting some economists to cut payroll forecasts. Among the ingredients analysts toss into concocting their...
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Photograph by Eddie Seal/Bloomberg
A welder works inside a mud tank for a new oil and gas drilling rig at the Orion Drilling Co. manufacturing and fabrication facility in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Texas: Even Employment Gains Bigger
God Bless Texas… and North Dakota, and Utah. Texas led all the states in February with an 80,600 increase in net hiring, the biggest gain since the U.S. Labor Department started keeping records in 1982, figures released on March 29...
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Photograph by Paul Sancya/AP Photo
Job seekers at a job fair in Southfield, Michigan.
White House Warns of ‘Self-Inflicted’ Wounds for a Recovering Economy
The White House is taking today’s employment report as a sign that the economy is healing from “the wounds inflicted” by the worst downturn since the Great Depression, while warning Congress against creating any “self-inflicted wounds.” Such as the looming...
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Photograph by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
A "now hiring" sign at a Chase bank branch in San Rafael, California.
Unemployment 8% Mid-January: Gallup
When it comes to work, there are indicators and then there are indicators. The Labor Department won’t report on the state of the U.S. job market this month until the first Friday in February. Gallup, which conducts its own survey...
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Photograph by Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Contractors at a construction site in Lorton, Virginia.
Bloomberg by the Numbers: 25
That’s the percentage of Americans who say it’s a good time to find a quality job, according to Gallup. That’s the highest share measured by Gallup on that question since March 2008, before a credit crisis took hold that drove...
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Photograph by Eddie Seal/Bloomberg
Construction continues at TPCO America Corp.'s pipe finishing mill facility in Gregory, Texas.
Builders Hang Help-Wanted Signs as Construction Rebounds
Newspaper editors can retire the old “Hard Times for Hard Hats” headline. U.S. construction employment is poised to bounce back after being flat for almost three years. Builders have the most openings and are breaking ground for more homes than at any...
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Contributors
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Al Hunt
is a columnist for Bloomberg View and host of the weekly show "Political Capital with Al Hunt" on Bloomberg TV. -
Mark Silva
is deputy managing editor for government news in Washington and editor of Political Capital. He has covered the White House and national politics. -
Emma Fidel
is political editor for Bloomberg.com in Washington. She previously covered financial regulation as a Bloomberg intern. -
Don Frederick
edits political and government coverage for Bloomberg News. He previously worked for more than a decade at the Los Angeles Times' Washington bureau. -
Gregory Giroux
analyzes elections, financing of congressional and presidential elections, political advertising and demographics in Bloomberg's Washington Bureau. -
Julie Bykowicz
covers the influence of money and lobbying in Washington, and covered the state legislature and city crime for the Baltimore Sun for 10 years. -
Jonathan Salant
covers campaign finance and lobbying in Washington. He was president of the National Press Club and started in Washington in 1987. -
Richard Rubin
covers federal tax policy. He worked at Congressional Quarterly and The Charlotte Observer before joining Bloomberg News in 2010. -
Julie Hirschfeld Davis
is a senior political reporter for the Washington Bureau. She covered the 2012 campaign for Bloomberg News and previously covered the White House for the Baltimore Sun. -
Lisa Lerer
covers the White House and covered the 2012 campaign for Bloomberg News. She covered Congress, lobbying and the 2008 campaign for Politico. -
John McCormick
is a national political reporter looking forward to the 2016 presidential campaign, which will be the fifth he's covered. He's also reported for The Des Moines Register and Chicago Tribune. -
Julianna Goldman
covers the White House for Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Television. -
Hans Nichols
covers the White House for Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Television. -
Margaret Talev
covers the White House for Bloomberg News and covered the White House for McClatchy Newspapers. She has covered California and Florida politics. -
Cary O'Reilly
is Editor at Large at Bloomberg First Word and is Washington Daybook columnist for Bloomberg Government and Bloomberg News.
