Articles About Layoffs

American companies added 244,000 jobs to the economy in April, the fastest pace in five years.  In an ironic twist, however, the unemployment rate climbed to nine percent, according to the Department of Labor.  The unemployment rate fell to 8.8 percent in March after dropping continuously since November’s rate of 9.8 percent rate. Economists had […]

ADP, a leading payroll services company, is reporting that private companies added 114,000 jobs in July. Many analysts had projected an increase in hiring from June, but it is not likely that the unemployment rate will decline even if job growth rose sharply.  ADP’s forecasts are frequently used to measure how the labor economy is […]

Two significant threats to the economy are receding, although the recovery still has a long way to go. One of the threats was the specter of deflation – which has not occurred since the 1930s – now belied by the 0.3 percent inflation rate reported for August, and driven primarily by rising food and energy […]

Two short words are being heard in offices that have been absent for some time.  The words are:  “I quit.”   In the last three months, more Americans have quit their jobs than were laid off, a sharp contrast with the last few years that points to a gradually thawing jobs market. Although some of […]

Worker productivity increased 3.8 percent in 2009, the best record since 2002. Writing in the Washington Post, Neil Irwin notes, “That means high-level gains in productivity – which in the long run is the key to a higher standard of living but in the short run contributes to sky-high unemployment.  So long as employers can […]

Consumer confidence fell to an all-time low in December, despite the fact it was in the midst of the annual Christmas-shopping frenzy.  The reasons for this new low include deepening job insecurity, fast-deteriorating housing markets, and declining asset values. According to the Conference Board, the Consumer Confidence Index fell to 38 in December, compared with the […]

Layoffs and the promise of more to come, falling home prices and shrinking investment portfolios have created the highest level of consumer pessimism on record, says the Conference Board.  According to an online AP report, consumer confidence sank to just 38 in October, a significant drop from the rather rosy 61.4 reported in September. The Conference […]