The jobless rate in the U.S. fell to a four-year low of 7.6 percent in March for the wrong reasons. Instead of an increase in the number of those finding work, 290,000 people dropped from the ranks of the unemployed....
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Photograph by Michael Dwyer/AP Photo
A job seeker speaks with a State Department employee about job opportunities with the federal government during a job fair in Boston.
Discouraged Workers, Retirees Not to Blame for Jobless Rate Drop
Photograph by Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Job seekers speak to representatives of employers at a job fair at the Jewish Community Center in Manhattan on March 6, 2013 in New York City.
Slow Job Growth: Political Season Open
In the midst of more robust — albeit less than dazzling — winter job gains, the addition of 88,000 in March arrives as a sobering reminder of how tough the slog is for a recovering American economy. What else does...
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Photograph by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
People are reflected in the side of a Cigarette boat as they look at boats on display at The Miami International Boat Show.
Consumers: No Hint of Job-Market Slump
The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index was at minus 34.1 in the week ended March 31, up less than a half point from the prior week as measures of the state of the economy and buying climate improved. What’s been the...
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Photograph by Jin Lee/Bloomberg
A job seeker waits to speak to a recruiter at a job fair organized by United Career Fairs in New York on Feb. 19, 2013.
Weak Job Market Not From Polarization: New York Fed
Job polarization is not the main reason the labor-market recovery has been weak, according to research by economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York issued today. The inference is the central bank can keep pumping money into financial...
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Photograph by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
A "now hiring" sign is posted in the window of a Chase bank branch on Jan. 4, 2013 in San Rafael, California.
Bloomberg by the Numbers: 50
That’s how many months it’s been since the unemployment rate was lower than February’s 7.7 percent. Last month’s jobless rate was the lowest since December 2008, when the unemployment rate was 7.3 percent and rising amid a deep recession. The...
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Photograph by Ty Wright/Bloomberg
Employees install furniture and wiring in pontoon boats in Elkhart, Indiana.
Washington Daybook: 7.7 Percent
HBO has “Game of Thrones.” In Washington, it’s a game of numbers. Employers added 236,000 workers to payrolls in February after 157,000 a month earlier, showing progress in the labor market that could help President Barack Obama’s approval numbers. The...
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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...
Read more »Tech Helps Give West Best U.S. Job Growth
Gary Schlossberg, an economist at Wells Fargo in San Francisco, doesn’t have to look far to see how the innovation and entrepreneurship in California are helping the West lead the nation’s job growth. “Tech certainly is a driver,” Schlossberg said...
Read more »Pentagon Readies Furloughs
Senator Lindsey Graham created a stir when he quoted Defense Secretary Leon Panetta as telling him he’d have to send 800,000 “layoff notices” that would amount to “shooting the Defense Department in the head.” Panetta “is worried to death that...
Read more »Hiring on Hold as Businesses Watch Talks in Washington
U.S. business activity is showing continued strength ahead of the threat of the so-called fiscal cliff, but uncertainty over the outcome of Washington’s budget talks may be keeping companies from adding to their payrolls. The MNI Chicago Report’s business barometer...
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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.
