Sunday, August 28, 2011

Before the Evil Black Economist the blog name was...

I was looking for a spreadsheet and found these old list of possible Blog names. They are kind of interesting.

Possible Blog Names

Black Econ
Black Economics
Black Economics 101
Introduction to Black Economics
The evil black economist
Economics for Black People
Black Money
Dollar Bill Y’All
All about the Paper
The root of all evil
Money, Money, Money
Black Crunch bar
Economically Challenged
Black Millionaires
Black Manna

Friday, August 19, 2011

Bad jobs report in July is good news

July Bureau of Labor Statistics unemployment data reported that 117,000 non farm payroll jobs were added to the economy. Black unemployment is 15.9%; National rate 9.1%

The July unemployment report was some good news when everyone was expecting bad news. You can hear the Whitehouse going "Whew!" Total private employment increased by 154,000 jobs but the number was offset by -37,000 drop in government employment. The other big story was the continuing fall in employment population ratio (58.1%) and the labor force participation rate (63.9%). Both are at record lows. People are leaving the labor market in huge numbers.

The national unemployment rate slid down to 9.1% and the Black unemployment rate dropped to 15.9%. Economists had predicted 100,000 new jobs and the actual number was higher. However, it is below the rate of population growth.

Private non farm payroll increased +154,000. Employment increased in business services by +34,000 while healthcare went up by +37,000. Manufacturing added 24,000(durable +23K, non durable 1K). Construction gained 8K. The biggest drop was in local government jobs which fell by -37,000 primarily due to the public workers strike in Wisconsin.

Black unemployment down slightly

Black unemployment was reported at 15.9%, roughly twice the rate for Whites and 50% more than Hispanics. It was 15.3% in Feb. 2011. About 2.80 million Black people remained unemployed in July, 2011 about the same number as June. The Black labor force participation rate tumbled again to 60.4%. In February 2010, it was 62.7. The number of Blacks holding jobs shrank by -69,000. An additional -151,000 Blacks dropped out of the labor force in June. And finally, the employment / population ratio for Blacks shrank to 50.8%. It would be astounding if less that half of the Black people in the US were employed.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Employment to Population Ratio: People are dropping out of the labor force




The July unemployment report was no news. Which is good news because a bad report would have really hit the market and the Obama administration really hard. I have to believe the president get some sort of briefing before the numbers are released.

However, there is one interesting story: the big drop in the number of people in the labor force and employed since the recession began. Both measures have be hit hard.

The drop in the employment to total poluation ratio and the labor force to population ratio has been dramatic. People are dropping out of the labor force left and right.



You can see the employment ratio is four percentage points lower since the recession started. And the civilian labor force has drop by 2%.

I have not been on vacation, I been working overtime.

Sorry, I have not posting in a while. I have started a new job and I am lowest person in the pecking order. So, while I have not been on vacation, other people have, and I have to cover for them. Two have returned, so I am free to write again.

Thanks

Chris

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Breaking news: S&P lowers credit rating !!! Yawn.

Yawn. Zzzzzz. Such none news just confuses people. Does anyone really see the US not paying their debts. Institutions, people(rich people with lots of cash), and other governments are begging for US debt. The real story is the market rate on 30 year T-Bill currently 3.82%. The figure is low by historic standards and falling. Like I said yawn.

Editors Note: In a further blow to it's credibility, S&P has admitted a calculation error in the downgrade. First, the mortgage and banking crisis and now this. Clearly another case where the private sector cannot regulate itself.

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