Category Archives: Unemployment and employment statistics

Fed chair says he will not resign even if pressured by Trump as interest rate cut

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Trump has been a persistent critic of the Fed, which lowered rates for the second time in a row as inflation continues to ease

US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said he would not resign if he received any pressure from Donald Trump’s new administration to step down as the central bank lowered interest rates by a quarter-point Tuesday afternoon.

Trump has been a persistent critic of the Fed and its independence, calling its officials “boneheads” in his last administration and arguing that he should have a role in setting interest rates.

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UN report: 80% of Gaza inhabitants relied on international aid before war

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Unctad outlines conditions last year, with unemployment rate of 45% one of highest in world

Israel’s blockade hollowed out Gaza’s economy and left 80% of its inhabitants dependent on international aid even before the current crisis erupted, the UN has said.

In a report outlining conditions in the Palestinian territory last year, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) said two-thirds of Gaza’s population was living in poverty, while its unemployment rate of 45% was one of the highest in the world.

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UK pay growth hits record 7.3%, despite calls for wage restraint from Bailey and Hunt – business live

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Basic pay rises at joint-fastest rate on record, protecting workers from soaring inflation but adding to pressure on Bank of England

Bloomberg agrees that the Bank of England will not be pleased by today’s jobs report, saying:

UK wage growth held at a level that Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said is fueling inflation, maintaining pressure for higher interest rates.

Average weekly earnings excluding bonuses held at 7.3% in the three months through May after figures for the period through April were revised up, the Office for National Statistics said Tuesday.

“These figures are another dismal reflection of the Tories’ mismanagement of the economy over the last thirteen years.

“Britain is the only G7 country with a lower employment rate than before the pandemic and real wages have fallen yet again – just as more and more families feel the devastating impact of the Tory mortgage bombshell.

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Sickness drags down UK economy as job vacancies go unfilled

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Rishi Sunak wants growth, but ONS figures show rising levels of inactivity because of ill-health

Unwelcome though it is for a government facing strikes by doctors and nurses in the months ahead, the message from the latest labour market figures is clear: Britain is already the sick man of Europe.

More than 2.5 million people who are economically inactive cite long-term sickness as the reason why they are not looking for a job – and the number is rising sharply.

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UK wages fall at fastest rate since 2014 as cost-of-living squeeze bites

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Unemployment rate falls below pre-Covid level but rising prices and energy bills hitswages

Unemployment in the UK has fallen below pre-Covid levels, but high inflation amid Britain’s cost of living crisis means average wages fell at the fastest rate since 2014.

The Office for National Statistics said the unemployment rate fell to 3.9% in the three months to January, dropping below the 4% rate in February 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the UK.

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UK living standards face squeeze despite strong jobs market

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Analysis: Higher prices, taxes and energy costs will bring gloom despite low level of unemployment

Demand for workers is strong as the economy emerges from two years of pandemic-induced disruption. The supply of workers has been reduced by an increase in long-term sickness affecting mainly the over 50 age group.

As a result, there is enough upward pressure on pay to persuade the Bank of England to continue raising interest rates, but the big squeeze on living standards has begun.

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US has officially entered first recession since 2009

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National Bureau of Economic Research says economic growth in the US peaked in February and has since entered its first downturn since 2007 to 2009

The United States is officially in a recession, ending the longest economic expansion in US history, the committee that calls downturns announced on Monday.

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) said that economic growth in the US peaked in February and has since entered its first downturn since 2007 to 2009.

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20m Americans lost their jobs in April in worst month since Great Depression

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Unemployment rate rose to 14.7% from just 4.4% in March as the coronavirus pandemic shuttered the global economy

More than 20 million people in the US lost their jobs in April and the unemployment rate more than trebled as the coronavirus pandemic shuttered the world’s largest economy, triggering a financial crisis unseen since the Great Depression.

The Department of Labor announced Friday that the US unemployment rate rose to 14.7% from just 4.4% in March and a near 50-year low of 3.5% in February before the US was hit by the virus.

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