Jobless Rate At 7-Year Low; Wages Flat

[Purveyor]

WASHINGTON — U.S. unemployment fell to a seven-year low of 5.3 percent and employers hired at a solid pace in June, but other gauges of the job market drew a bleaker picture: A wave of people stopped looking for work, and paychecks failed to budge.

The figures released Thursday capture the persistently uneven nature of the recovery from the Great Recession.

The job market “remains consistent with a two-steps-forward, one-step-back expansion the U.S. economy finds itself in,” said Scott Andersen, chief economist at Bank of the West.

The economy gained 223,000 jobs last month, and unemployment edged down from 5.5 percent in May, the Labor Department reported.

That is the lowest jobless rate since April 2008, when it was 5 percent. It eventually soared to 10 percent in late 2009 after the recession had done its worst.

more...

http://www.yakimaherald.com/news/jobless-rate-at--year-low-wages-flat/article_b4a76502-2148-11e5-9b63-1fe8bfd5da41.html

[davidpdx]

1. Wages are a big problem

If employers pay more, employees have more to spend and/or save.

[Latrecia Bennett]

2. Raise it

That's why I believe minimum wage should be $15.00 per hour.

[B Calm]

3. Common sense should tell them by raising wages it would

create more consumers/more spending and that's good for business. The stupid right-wingers we have today running businesses, have no common sense!

Majority of younger workers today have been brought up to believe that labor unions are bad and should be feared, it's a crying shame! Workers need to unite now and stop sitting around on their ass being too afraid to do anything!

[hobbit709]

4. Wages flat, price of everything is up

[Sancho]

5. The good economic news continues - and DU seems to ignore it.

Of course, as the employment picture improves, salaries will start going up. At least, that how it usually works.

Inflation is very low - and if you were around during the days of 15% mortgages you know that can be a big problem too!! The Fed is still keeping rates down for now. (http://www.freddiemac.com/pmms/pmms30.htm)

Obama's plans are working despite the opposition from repubs!! Unfortunately, we didn't GOTV, so Congress won't do anything to regulate banks, invest in research, build the US infrastructure, or support unions. The President can do it alone!


Here's another link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/03/business/economy/jobs-report-hiring-unemployment-june.html?_r=0