Today's unemployment report from the Labor Department is disappointing to millions of Americans who are looking for jobs. It shows that the U.S. economy created only 113,000 jobs - well below most economists' expectations.
Feb 07, 2014
While bad weather may be blamed, these weak numbers show that the economy and job creation continue to be crippled by the impact of conservative austerity policies. Federal and state spending have been cut over a series of 'deficit reduction' and sequestration agreements forced on the country by right-wing legislators who care more about their rigid ideology than about healthy investment and growth.
Today's report shows the unemployment rate, now at 6.6 percent, has barely budged. And the number of long-term unemployed - people who have been unable to find work over 27 weeks - remains at historically high levels at 3.6 million. Republican senators who just Thursday cravenly blocked a vote to extend long-term unemployment benefits must come back to the table and pass legislation that will help these people and stimulate the economy.
In poll after poll, Americans place the need for more jobs as their number one priority. But it is now clear - from recent reports from the Congressional Budget Office and other experts - that conservative government policy is killing jobs and growth. Unless new policies are instituted to spur more robust job creation, the U.S. economy will take a very long time to get back to good employment levels.
Reports from the Hamilton Project and the Economic Policy Institute have shown that even if the economy adds an average of 208,000 jobs per month, it will take until September 2018 to close the jobs gap, defined as the number of jobs needed to return to pre-recession employment levels while also absorbing the people who enter the labor force each month.
The lesson from this disappointing jobs numbers: Congress should stop imposing job-killing austerity and take steps to invest in job creation. The Senate should pass an extension of unemployment insurance for the long-term unemployed, and the House should quickly pass it and send it to the president.
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Roger Hickey
Roger Hickey is Co-Director of the Campaign for America's Future. He was a leader of the campaign to stop the privatization of Social Security, and he is a founder and member of the steering committee of Health Care for America Now. In the late 1980s he and Jeff Faux created the Economic Policy Institute.
While bad weather may be blamed, these weak numbers show that the economy and job creation continue to be crippled by the impact of conservative austerity policies. Federal and state spending have been cut over a series of 'deficit reduction' and sequestration agreements forced on the country by right-wing legislators who care more about their rigid ideology than about healthy investment and growth.
Today's report shows the unemployment rate, now at 6.6 percent, has barely budged. And the number of long-term unemployed - people who have been unable to find work over 27 weeks - remains at historically high levels at 3.6 million. Republican senators who just Thursday cravenly blocked a vote to extend long-term unemployment benefits must come back to the table and pass legislation that will help these people and stimulate the economy.
In poll after poll, Americans place the need for more jobs as their number one priority. But it is now clear - from recent reports from the Congressional Budget Office and other experts - that conservative government policy is killing jobs and growth. Unless new policies are instituted to spur more robust job creation, the U.S. economy will take a very long time to get back to good employment levels.
Reports from the Hamilton Project and the Economic Policy Institute have shown that even if the economy adds an average of 208,000 jobs per month, it will take until September 2018 to close the jobs gap, defined as the number of jobs needed to return to pre-recession employment levels while also absorbing the people who enter the labor force each month.
The lesson from this disappointing jobs numbers: Congress should stop imposing job-killing austerity and take steps to invest in job creation. The Senate should pass an extension of unemployment insurance for the long-term unemployed, and the House should quickly pass it and send it to the president.
Roger Hickey
Roger Hickey is Co-Director of the Campaign for America's Future. He was a leader of the campaign to stop the privatization of Social Security, and he is a founder and member of the steering committee of Health Care for America Now. In the late 1980s he and Jeff Faux created the Economic Policy Institute.
While bad weather may be blamed, these weak numbers show that the economy and job creation continue to be crippled by the impact of conservative austerity policies. Federal and state spending have been cut over a series of 'deficit reduction' and sequestration agreements forced on the country by right-wing legislators who care more about their rigid ideology than about healthy investment and growth.
Today's report shows the unemployment rate, now at 6.6 percent, has barely budged. And the number of long-term unemployed - people who have been unable to find work over 27 weeks - remains at historically high levels at 3.6 million. Republican senators who just Thursday cravenly blocked a vote to extend long-term unemployment benefits must come back to the table and pass legislation that will help these people and stimulate the economy.
In poll after poll, Americans place the need for more jobs as their number one priority. But it is now clear - from recent reports from the Congressional Budget Office and other experts - that conservative government policy is killing jobs and growth. Unless new policies are instituted to spur more robust job creation, the U.S. economy will take a very long time to get back to good employment levels.
Reports from the Hamilton Project and the Economic Policy Institute have shown that even if the economy adds an average of 208,000 jobs per month, it will take until September 2018 to close the jobs gap, defined as the number of jobs needed to return to pre-recession employment levels while also absorbing the people who enter the labor force each month.
The lesson from this disappointing jobs numbers: Congress should stop imposing job-killing austerity and take steps to invest in job creation. The Senate should pass an extension of unemployment insurance for the long-term unemployed, and the House should quickly pass it and send it to the president.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.