Eye On Housing
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Employment Situation report for August today. Nonfarm payroll employment extended its troublingly lackluster streak adding a meager 96 thousand jobs, down from a revised 141 thousand last month. The private sector added 103 thousand while the government sector shed another 7 thousand. Figures for the prior two months were revised downward by… Read More ›
Tag Archive for ‘labor market’
The Employment Situation for July – Mixed
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Employment Situation report for July. The top line numbers show total nonfarm payrolls increased by 163 thousand, with private payrolls adding 172 thousand and government subtracting 9 thousand. Revisions to the prior two months lowered employment by 6 thousand for those months. The unemployment rate ticked up a tenth to 8.3 percent,… Read More ›
Mixed Readings on Consumer Confidence in July
The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) and the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey reported consumer confidence moving in opposite directions this month. The CCI indicated a modest gain while the University of Michigan survey showed a slight decrease in consumer confidence versus last month. While the month-to-month changes for each index have not been entirely consistent with one… Read More ›
The Employment Situation for May – More Bad News
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Employment Situation report for May. Total nonfarm payrolls increased by 69 thousand in May with private payrolls adding 82 thousand and government taking away 13 thousand. The March and April estimates were revised downward by 49 thousand for those months, and the unemployment rate ticked up a tenth to 8.2 percent, based… Read More ›
The Employment Situation for April – More Disappointing
Last month’s employment report included a preliminary estimate of total non-farm payroll growth of 120 thousand in March – disappointing. Today’s report includes a preliminary estimate of 115 thousand added jobs in April – more disappointing. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Employment Situation report for April today. Payrolls increased by 115 thousand in April, the February and… Read More ›
The Employment Situation for March – Disappointing
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Employment Situation report for March today. Payrolls increased by 120 thousand in March, an unexpected deceleration after strong gains in January and February that averaged 258 thousand. Some of the slowdown could be payback for a warm weather surge that boosted January and February. Even with the deceleration the first quarter average… Read More ›
Consumer Confidence Rises in February
The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) and the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey showed an improvement in consumer confidence during February 2012. Although certain components within each survey showed some conflicting results, specifically a slight decline in the U of Michigan’s current conditions index, both sources reveal overall consumer confidence has trended appreciably higher since the third quarter… Read More ›