Tag: Jobs
Rick Perry Says Government’s Employment Figures Are ‘Massaged’
It’s been massaged, it’s been doctored.
— Rick Perry, telling a gathering of the Republican Jewish Coalition that they shouldn’t trust the official unemployment rate coming out of Washington, Huffington Post reports.
Unemployment, Economy Numbers Better Than Expected
204,000
Number of jobs added to the U.S. economy in October, while the unemployment rate rose to 7.3%, the Wall Street Journal reports. Combined with yesterday’s report that third-quarter GDP grew 2.8%, October economic data “have been surprisingly strong, especially considering many economists thought the 16-day partial government shutdown would skew the numbers.”
Job Growth Slows Dramatically — Due to Sequester?
88,000
Number of jobs the U.S. economy generated last month, the smallest gain in 10 months, adding to fresh evidence that the pace of hiring has slowed, the Wall Street Journal reports. The unemployment rate fell to 7.6% because of an unanticipated high number of people dropping out of the job market.
Republicans Kill Bill That Would End Tax Advantages for Shipping U.S. Jobs Overseas
Republicans in Congress prove once again that they are in power to push the interests of their corporate sponsors and billionaire benefactors, not their unemployed, about-to-be-foreclosed-upon constituents:
Senate Republicans on Thursday killed a measure backed by President Barack Obama that would encourage companies to bring overseas jobs back to the United States.
The measure being pressed by Obama’s Democratic allies is rich with political symbolism, but whether it would have had much practical impact on decisions by companies to “outsource” jobs to lower-wage countries is open to question.
Democrats brought the measure to the Senate floor in concert with political attacks on Mitt Romney, whose private equity firm, Bain Capital, promoted the practice of outsourcing jobs to countries like China and India.
The bill would forbid companies from deducting the expenses of moving workers or operations overseas from the U.S., and would offer a 20 percent credit for the costs of shifting workers back home.
Senate Republicans Block Jobs Bill Meant to Prevent Layoffs of Teachers, Fireman and Police
“For the second time in two weeks,” [Pres. Obama wrote last night], “every single Republican in the United States Senate has chosen to obstruct a bill that would create jobs and get our economy going again. That’s unacceptable.”
Republicans were joined by three Democratic senators in refusing to pass the president’s request for $35 billion in immediate support to communities where teachers, police, and firefighters are facing layoffs because of tight local finances.
The president demanded in his response, “Those Americans deserve an explanation as to why they don’t deserve those jobs – and every American deserves an explanation as to why Republicans refuse to step up to the plate and do what’s necessary to create jobs and grow the economy right now.”
