Young people are worried about losing their jobs and paying their bills, but they’re still holding out hope that conditions will improve. Some 60% of 18- to 29-year-olds said they were worried about paying their bills and meeting other obligations in this economy as fear of job loss still looms large, a new poll by Harvard’s Institute of Politics shows. Nearly half, 46%, said they’re concerned about…  Read More →

The Federal Reserve pumped more than $1 trillion dollars into the economy at a lightning pace, but it plans to take it out glacially, a senior Fed official said in a speech Monday. Brian Sack, who runs the markets group at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, laid out more detail on the Fed’s plans to reduce its massive holdings of mortgage backed securities and Treasurys in a speech to the National Association of…  Read More →

Strong levels of productivity are calling into question the U.S. economy’s ability to generate jobs, a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco warns. The paper, released Monday, follows Friday’s release of the January non-farm payrolls report. The U.S. lost 36,000 jobs and maintained its unemployment rate at 9.7% in the first month of the year. Financial markets greeted the data as a positive, largely because the month’s... 

Christina Romer , one of U.S. President Barack Obama’s top economic advisers, Friday said she won’t be taking up a job at the Federal Reserve and will be staying on at the White House. “I love my current job and I’m not going anywhere,” White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Romer said during a visit at the Wall Street Journal offices Friday. After Vice Chairman Donald Kohn this week said he would step down... 

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D., Mass.) suggested on Friday he might kill the financial regulatory overhaul moving through Congress if efforts to create new consumer financial protection powers aren’t tough enough on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital With Al Hunt .” Mr. Hunt asked Mr. Frank if he might “kill the whole thing and start over again” if…  Read More →

The labor market for young college graduates improved last month, but for youths in general the job market still looks bleak. The unemployment rate for college graduates between 20 and 24-years-old fell to 8.5% in February from 9.3% a month earlier as those with more education continue to fare better in a tough labor market than those with less. People in the same age group with only a high school diploma also experienced a drop in their unemployment... 

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.) went to the Senate floor Friday to try and give a status report on the bill he’s working on to overhaul financial market rules. He painted a mixed picture of the status, saying he was “optimistic” but also using the word “fragile.” He described in slightly more detail than usual one of the central issues they are struggling with — how do you protect consumers in a way... 

The education sector has been a rare bright spot in the labor market, but as cities face mounting budget pressures the pain spread to their school systems last month, the government’s payroll tally showed Friday. Teachers employed by local governments are feeling the jobs pinch. (AFP/Getty Images) The education sector as a whole added a net 11,000 jobs in February, but local governments shed 24,100 positions from public education. The only... 

Economists and others weigh in on the smaller-than-expected decline in jobs and sideways move in the unemployment rate . The U.S. labor market dodged a big fat snowball in February, managing to lose only 36,000 jobs despite a string of major snowstorms that blanketed the nation. When combined with an upward revision of 35,000 jobs to earlier months, the interpretation is not bad at all. –Eric Lascelles, TD Securities The “not at work... 

Last month’s blizzards clouded the February employment report, making it impossible to know how much payrolls would’ve changed without the snow that blanketed much of the country and shut down businesses. But several components likely would’ve been influenced by the weather. Among them: Payrolls: A decline of 36,000 payroll jobs is encouraging considering some analysts expected losses above 100,000 due to weather. A decline that... 

Scientists are puzzled why new H1N1 swine flu cases dwindled this winter , with regular seasonal flu hardly appearing at all. Fewer jobs mean less flu. (Associated Press) Perhaps the economy has something to do with it – with unemployment high, fewer people are sniffling around the water cooler. In fact, research from Emory University economists Sara Markowitz , Erik Nesson and Joshua Robinson finds that changes in the labor market significantly... 

Pouring government stimulus funds into clean technology may be a great way to boost the economy’s potential. But it isn’t the best way to create jobs, according to the consultants at McKinsey & Co. The McKinsey Global Institute , the firm’s research arm, has produced a new tome of advice for governments as they become more deeply involved in markets and the economy. One message: Policy makers can have a bigger immediate impact... 

The retirement of Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Don Kohn has the Obama administration searching for economists to fill one or more of the three openings of the seven-member Fed board. Among the possibilities for the vice chairman slot are a couple of alumni of the Greenspan Fed board: Janet Yellen , who has been president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco since 2004, and Laurence Meyer , a …  Read More →

Many large retailers reported their February sales numbers this week, with most of them coming out the morning of Thursday, March 4. Following an announcement last May , Wal-Mart and its units no longer publish monthly sales figures. Updates to come as more retailers report sales. (Last updated March 4, 2010) Sort the chart below by company name, category, change in total or same-store sales, and total sales. Also, see January’s chart.... 

The Monster Employment Index surged in February, with increases across a range of geographies and job categories, suggesting that employers are starting to emerge from a long hibernation. The Index, compiled by online job service Monster.com, grew to 124 from 114, the highest reading since December 2008 and the largest month-over-month increase since the company compiled began the index in 2003. The Monster Index is compiled from jobs posted on...