labor market

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College Students 'Cover Their Bases' With 2 Majors

Fears about job market, unemployment rate push students to seek extra credentials

(Newser) - As uncertainty about the job market grows, more US college students are hedging their bets by double-majoring. Nearly 1 in 3 students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, for example, now pursue two majors, a trend that has surged 25% over the past decade, according to the National Center for Education...

October Layoffs the Worst Since 2003

More than 150K add to the year's recession-like unemployment numbers

(Newser) - Layoffs in the US have reached recession-level numbers, reports the Washington Post , which cites new data from the private firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas to back that up:
  • So far this year, employers have announced 1.1 million job cuts, a figure in line with the Great Recession of 2008-09,
...

ADP Gives Us a Sense of What Happened in October

Private employers added jobs for first time since July

(Newser) - With the October jobs report all but certain to not materialize on Friday due to the shutdown, a meaningful outside data point: Payroll processor ADP on Wednesday said America's private sector added 42,000 jobs in October, besting expectations of 22,000 fresh jobs and an improvement from September'...

Companies' Reports Are No More Reassuring on Jobs

Data replacing BLS information point to fewer hires and rising unemployment claims

(Newser) - With official labor statistics absent during the federal shutdown, Wall Street is sifting through alternative sources —and the signals aren't rosy. Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and private equity giant Carlyle Group all see a cooling US job market, with rising unemployment and fewer positions being added....

With No Jobs Report, Investors Turn to a 'Mosaic' of Sources

They're tracking everything from private surveys to scrap metal prices

(Newser) - With the government's official jobs data on pause, economists and investors are turning to a patchwork of private reports and creative alternatives to track the pulse of America's job market.
  • Payroll giant ADP is one substitute, tapping data from 26 million workers for its employment snapshots, the
...

It May Be This Week's Big Jobs Report, and It's Dour

ADP's September numbers show the private sector shed 32K jobs

(Newser) - With Friday's highly anticipated jobs report likely scuttled by the government shutdown, private-sector numbers released Wednesday are getting extra scrutiny. They aren't rosy: The US private sector shed 32,000 jobs in September, marking the third monthly decline in four months and raising fresh concerns about the...

Americans Are Growing Less Sure They Can Land New Work

New survey from Federal Reserve Bank of New York isn't a hugely optimistic one

(Newser) - Americans' belief in their ability to land a new job has hit a record low, according to a new survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In August, respondents put their "perceived probability" of finding work after a job loss at just 44.9%—down 5....

In a 4-Year First, Job Seekers Outnumber Openings

Analysts say there is a 'loosening demand for workers' as labor market shifts

(Newser) - For the first time since 2021, there are more Americans looking for work than there are jobs to fill, according to the latest Labor Department data. July saw job openings drop to 7.2 million—a heftier decrease than expected—while the number of jobseekers ticked up to 7....

Low-Wage Workers No Longer Getting Big Raises

A pandemic trend appears to have run its course

(Newser) - The surge in wage gains for America's lowest-paid workers that defined the pandemic era appears to be running out of steam, reports the Wall Street Journal . The story uses stats from the latest jobs report to illustrate the trend:
  • Average earnings for leisure and hospitality workers—among the
...

Typical Job Hunt Now Tops 10 Weeks
Job Hunts Are Taking Longer
Aug 3, 2025 1:00 PM CDT

Job Hunts Are Taking Longer

Unemployed often are forced to consider lesser positions or retirement

(Newser) - As job openings dry up and companies pull back on hiring, unemployed Americans are facing the longest waits for work in years. New federal data show that more than 1.8 million people have been out of work for at least 27 weeks, the longest period outside the coronavirus...

Rarely Has a Jobs Report Changed the Narrative So Much

Weak numbers and big revisions suggest idea of labor market's resiliency is a 'mirage'

(Newser) - The monthly jobs report from the Labor Department is often a ho-hum affair, but that was decidedly not the case with the one that came out Friday . "It's rare that a single report drastically shifts our understanding of the economy's health, but that's what happened Friday...

In Jobs Market, 'The Vibes Have Gotten Worse'

New York Fed survey shows churn in labor market with 1 in 4 respondents seeking new job

(Newser) - More Americans are looking for a new job and expecting to lose the one they have, according to the New York Federal Reserve's July consumer poll , released Monday. The survey, which has been polling roughly 1,000 Americans about work every four months since 2014, found 28.4% of...

Jobs Market Is Cooling, but With Few Layoffs

Companies are posting fewer openings, not cutting jobs

(Newser) - The nation's employers added a solid 187,000 jobs in August in a sign of a still-resilient labor market despite the high interest rates the Federal Reserve has imposed. The job growth marked an increase from July's revised gain of 157,000 but still pointed to a moderating...

Economist: The 'Great Resignation' Is Over

New trend finds that workers are staying put amid a cooling labor market, losing some of their leverage

(Newser) - The "great resignation" has ended, and with it some of the power that workers have lately leveraged over employers. The share of monthly job departures relative to total employment fell to 2.4% in April from 2.5% in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. That's...

Labor Shortage Means This Group Is in Demand for Summer Jobs

Teens are in the driver's seat, with the ability to hold out for jobs with higher wages

(Newser) - Teens have long been vital to filling out the summertime staffs of restaurants, ice cream stands, amusement parks, and camps. Now, thanks to one of the tightest labor markets in decades, they have even more sway, with an array of jobs to choose from at ever higher wages, per the...

Amazon Ups Ante in Hiring, to Full Tuition

In a new hiring incentive, four-year degrees will be covered

(Newser) - Amazon's chief financial officer said this summer that to keep staffing up during the pandemic, "We're spending a lot of money on signing and incentives." The cost of staying hired up will be going up, after Amazon announced Thursday that it will pay the full cost...

Jobs Go Begging at Chinese Factories

Many migrant employees want something different or are just staying home

(Newser) - Like workers in the US, much of China's labor force is reconsidering its options, leaving factories across the country with openings. There are parallels to the situation in the US, with many workers shifting to higher-paying jobs, often in the service industry, and many migrants deciding to just stay...

Walmart to Pick Up Cost of Tuition for Employees

Workers in the program stay longer and are promoted more often, company says

(Newser) - Walmart is stepping up its effort to help employees wanting to earn college degrees by fully covering the cost of tuition and books. The company announced a nearly $1 billion five-year investment on Tuesday, the Washington Post reports, with employees able to pick from 10 academic partners like the University...

With Jobless Numbers, 'Recovery Appears to Be Underway'

But debate continues between GOP, Dems on whether to extend unemployment stimulus relief

(Newser) - America has started its economic recovery process, reopening businesses in phases across the nation, and the labor market numbers are beginning to reflect that. Per a Thursday release from the Department of Labor, the number of people drawing unemployment benefits for the week ending May 30 fell to 20.9...

Turns Out We Weren't Adding 200K Jobs a Month

Department of Labor revises job gains figures, with 501K fewer than previously estimated

(Newser) - It's not uncommon for the Department of Labor to revise job growth numbers. It actually does so annually, when, instead of using the surveys that help form those initial estimates, it reviews unemployment insurance records in each state to come up with more accurate figures. What is uncommon is...

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