Content about Socioeconomics

Data released Friday morning by the Bureau of Labor statistics show the unemployment rate for February holding at 8.3%. 

The Employment Situation Summary shows employers added 227,000 jobs in the month, slightly more than expected, according to analyst forecasts. It was also the third straight month that employers added more than 200,000 jobs. 

The 8.3% unemployment rate was unchanged from January, but down from 8.9% in February 2011, and way down from 9.7% in February 2010.

More jobs than expected were created in December as the national unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since February 2009.

According to the Employment Situation Summary released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nonfarm payroll rose by 200,000 in December, and the unemployment rate declined slightly to 8.5% -- down from a revised 8.7% in November.

Analysts and economists had expected about 150,000 new jobs in December. 

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Friday morning reported the lowest national unemployment rate since March 2009. 

The November rate of 8.6% is down 0.4 percentage points from 9.0% in October. A year ago, the unemployment rate stood at 9.8%, according to the bureau.

The employment situation report showed that the private sector added 140,000 jobs, as employment rose in a number of service-providing industries. Government employment continued to trend down.

A probe of the hiring and wage practices of some of the nation’s largest home builders has widened to include the Internal Revenue Services and labor officials from nearly a dozen states, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal. 

A disappointing report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics this morning showed the nation's unemployment rate slipped to 9.2% in June, up from 9.1% in May.

Only 18,000 nonfarm payroll jobs were added in June, according to the Employment Situation summary, released Friday morning.

Construction employment, which fell sharply during the 2007-to-2009 period, was "essentially unchanged" in June. It has shown little change since early 2010, the report said.

The unemployment rate in April edged up to 9.0%, compared with 8.8% in March 2011.

Construction employment was about unchanged in April, according to Friday's report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This industry has shown little net movement since early 2010, after having fallen sharply during the prior three years.

Overall, the economy added 244,000 jobs in April, a higher gain than anticipated by analysts.

The unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage points to 9.4% in December, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The government also reported non-farm payroll employment increased by 103,000. Employment rose in leisure and hospitality and in health care, but was little changed in other major industries, according to the Friday morning release. The retail trade showed a gain of 12,000 jobs in December, and it has risen by 495,000 since a recent low in September 2009.