Articles About Department Of Labor

Rising gas prices and the dearth of jobs are negatively impacting consumer confidence and bringing the first hint of inflation in a long time.   The Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed an increase of 0.5 percent in December, primarily a result of skyrocketing gas costs, according to the Department of Labor.  The AAA reports that the […]

With the U.S. unemployment rate rising to 9.8 percent in November,  the Department of Labor is concerned that economic recovery isn’t progressing as quickly as it would prefer.  For the 19th consecutive month, unemployment has stayed above nine percent — the longest streak on record, beating out previous highs in the 1980s.   Despite optimistic predictions […]

Two significant threats to the economy are receding, although the recovery still has a long way to go. One of the threats was the specter of deflation – which has not occurred since the 1930s – now belied by the 0.3 percent inflation rate reported for August, and driven primarily by rising food and energy […]

March brought some long-awaited upbeat economic news, with the index of leading economic indicators rising 1.4 percent.  According to MarketWatch, the milestone represents 12 consecutive monthly gains and outperformed February’s 0.4 percent increase. Ken Goldstein, a Conference Board economist, said that “Improvement in employment and income will be the key factors in whether consumers push […]

The jobs that economists, commercial real estate owners and others in the know have been expecting  seem to be on the horizon.  New data from the Department of Labor show a 64,000 net new payroll increase for November, although the numbers fell again in December, January and February.  More information will be available when Labor […]

The rate of mortgage delinquencies – borrowers who are one payment late – fell slightly between the 3rd and 4th quarters of 2009 from 9.64 percent to 9.47 percent.  According to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), a fourth quarter decline is unusual — even when there is no recession — because winter and the holidays typically […]