Jobs posts
FeedPosted Apr 3rd 2011 10:10AM by Joseph Lazzaro (RSS feed)
Filed under: Forecasts, Employees, Economic Data
This past week's data point of significance for investors has to be March's job report, which indicated the U.S. economy created a better-than-expected 216,000 jobs, the U.S. Labor Department said.
Also, the U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 8.8% from 8.9%. A Bloomberg survey had expected the economy to create 200,000 jobs in March and the unemployment rate to remain unchanged at 8.9%. Further, job creation totals for February and January were revised higher: February to 194,000 from the initially estimated 192,000 gain; January to 68,000 from 63,000.
Continue reading Ray of Light: March's Jobs Gain Is More Evidence of Healing Labor Market
Posted Mar 30th 2011 12:30PM by Michael Fowlkes (RSS feed)
Filed under: Employees, Economic Data, Workspace, Recession
According to the ADP Employer Services Report, the private sector added 201,000 new jobs in March, basically in-line with 203,000 new jobs that analysts had been expecting to see.
February's figures were revised downwards to 208,000 from a previously estimated 216,000 new jobs.
March's employment gains bring the four-month average of new jobs to 211,000, more than enough to keep the labor track on path. Analysts estimate that the economy needs to add 125,000 new jobs each month in order to keep up with population growth, so any jobs over that figure result in a lower unemployment figures.
Continue reading Labor Market Continues to Show Signs of Improvement
Posted Mar 5th 2011 3:10PM by Joseph Lazzaro (RSS feed)
Filed under: Good news, Economic Data, Federal Reserve, Recession
This past week's data point of significance for investors has to be the February nonfarm payroll report by the U.S. Department of Labor, which indicated that the U.S. economy created 192,000 jobs last month -- roughly in-line with the consensus estimate.
The good news was complemented by the fact that January's job gain was revised up to 63,000 from 36,000 and December's to 152,000 from 121,000. January's low job tally was probably skewed lower by the winter blizzards and storms that hit the Northeast and Midwest; hence, it's safe to say that the economy is creating jobs. What it needs now is sustained demand to drive GDP growth, which will lead to stronger job growth.
Continue reading Ray of Light: U.S. Private Sector Hiring Increases
Posted Mar 1st 2011 11:40AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst Reports, Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades, Boston Scientific (BSX), Analyst Initiations, Las Vegas Sands (LVS)
Analyst Upgrades
- Las Vegas Sands (LVS) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
- Boston Scientific (BSX) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
- Windstream (WIN) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
- Expeditors (EXPD) to buy from neutral at UBS.
- A123 Systems (AONE) to neutral from underperform and Chesapeake Midstream (CHKM) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
- AvalonBay (AVB) to outperform from neutral and Post Properties (PPS) to neutral from underperform at Cowen.
Continue reading Analyst Calls: AONE, AVB, BSX, LVS, MDRX, RRC, SAP, TIVO, WIN ...
Posted Jan 10th 2011 5:30PM by Michael Fowlkes (RSS feed)
Filed under: Forecasts, Good news, From the Boards, Competitive Strategy, Ford Motor (F), Employees
In another sign that auto industry has bright day ahead of it, Ford Motor Company (F) announced today that it planned to hire an additional 7,000 employees over the next 2 years.
While this is definitely good news, the figures are still way down from where they were before the auto crisis ravished the industry. Ford currently has 42,000 compared to 103,000 just ten years ago.
Continue reading Ford Planning to Hire More Employees
Posted Jan 5th 2011 9:00AM by David Schepp (RSS feed)
Filed under: Employees, Economic Data
The dismal jobs front got a bit more good news, following the release of a report showing the nation's employers last year cut the fewest number of workers in more than a decade. Further, the findings showed 2010 ended on a high note, with December recording the lowest number of monthly cuts since 2000.
The slowdown in cuts follows an uptick in activity in 2009 when downsizing reached a seven-year high, according to the 2010 year-end job-cut report, released Wednesday by job-services firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Last year, employers announced plans to eliminate 529,973 positions, the lowest number since 1997.
Continue reading Job Cuts in 2010 Tumble to Lowest Level in More Than a Decade
Posted Dec 3rd 2010 10:20AM by Connie Madon (RSS feed)
Filed under: Employees, Market Matters, Economic Data, Federal Reserve

The Labor Department threw the market a curve today when it reported nonfarm payrolls data for November. Employers added only 39,000 jobs in November, far below the 144,000 job growth economist had anticipated. The unemployment rate, too, rose to a seven-month high of 9.8%, up from 9.6% in October.
Markets reacted instantly. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 54 point to 11,310, and the S&P futures slid 7 points,
The Wall Street Journal reported. Treasuries moved up, with the yield on the 10-year note declining to 2.94%.
Continue reading Jobs Report Falls Short, Pushing Stocks Lower
Posted Oct 6th 2010 6:00PM by Joseph Lazzaro (RSS feed)
Filed under: Forecasts, Economic Data
Automatic Data Processing's (ADP) September private sector employment report -- which came in at a worse-than-expected loss of 39,000 jobs -- is not a data point that investors should ignore. That said, investors need to retain a proper perspective regarding the metric.
Institutional investors, public policy makers, and economists monitor the ADP report primarily because it's the last, monthly, national job tally before the U.S. Department of Labor's monthly, non-farm, payroll report -- the nation's best and most comprehensive survey of labor market conditions, called the Employment Situation.
Continue reading ADP's Private Employment Report: Useful for Investors?
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