Jobs and Unemployment

The stagnant subminimum wage means that customer tips pay the lion’s share of hourly wages to tipped workers.

The March jobs report was stronger than expected — but remember, it is based on data from mid-March amid pre-tariff uncertainties influencing the economy.

The strong job growth reported for March indicates the labor market is still solid, but there are some grounds for concern.

The Trump administration’s economic and political upheavals have yet to show up in a big way in the labor market data. March may be a turning point.

I almost always enjoy Harry Enten’s analyses on CNN. He is usually thoughtful and on target. But he took a big swing and a miss in a piece on the “fed up” consumer.

New data on wage gains contradicts the prevailing media narratives about the Biden economy. Would better reporting have changed the outcome of the election?

Ezra Klein offers some ideas about why Democrats are not reaching voters who don’t closely follow politics. But does his argument make any sense?

The overall job growth number for February is encouraging, but there are many causes for concern — including the rise in unemployment and the large jump in involuntary part-time employment.

The upcoming report will likely not include the fallout from the DOGE firing sprees, but we could still see a major shift in the labor market.

The January 2025 jobs report shows that the economy added 143,000 jobs in January — slightly less than most analysts had expected. But the overall pictures, writes Dean Baker, remains solid.