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RJ & Makay

Our view of news, events and human capital trends in the financial services industry.

labor force

Unemployment ticks down to 9.1% amid modest job increases

Posted by RJ and Makay on Aug 05, 2011

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117,000 non-farm jobs were added to the U.S. economy in June, and the unemployment rate ticked down one percentage point to 9.1%, the Labor Department reported. The positive report brought some calm to a jittery market that saw a 512 point decline in the Dow Jones the day before. Employers hired more people than economists had expected but the gain was not at levels needed for a sustained jobs recovery.

Unemployment drops sharply, but not for the right reasons

Posted by RJ and Makay on Jan 07, 2011

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December's sharp decline in unemployment to 9.4% from 9.8% seems like a very nice surprise — until you learn what was behind it.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the decline was due in part to the fact that 260,000 Americans dropped out of the workforce, typically because they were discouraged about not being able to find a job. If you're no longer considered part of the workforce, you won't be counted as unemployed despite being out of work.