Continue reading Economic concerns push oil prices to a five-week low

Economic concerns push oil prices to a five-week low originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 07 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Oil prices move back higher today

Oil prices move back higher today originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 02 Nov 2007 13:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Everyone's cheering today the strong payroll report released by the Labor Department, but if you take a closer look at the numbers you'll understand why so many middle class folks do not think the labor market offers them any good news. While the government reported that unemployment held steady at 4.7% and 166,000 jobs were created, you must look at where those jobs were created and where jobs were lost to get the true picture.

Job growth was created in the service sector, which added 190,000 jobs - led by food services (37,000 jobs - primarily at restaurants), employment services (34,000 jobs) and health care (34,000 jobs). Job losses were seen in the higher paying manufacturing sector where 21,000 jobs were lost in October and 203,000 jobs have been lost in the last year. Employment at banks and mortgage brokers dropped 5,000 where 56,000 people lost jobs since February and more layoffs are expected as the mortgage mess continues to grow.

Richard Moody, Chief Economist for Mission Residential, also found that 21,500 jobs were lost in retail trade during October, which he said is the third consecutive monthly decline. In his October NonFarm Report, he wrote, this "is a sign that retailers are not expecting great things in the coming months."

Earnings also were flat. Just a 0.2 cent gain in average hourly wage to $17.58 an hour with no gain in the average workweek of 33.8 hours.

If you're in the top executive ranks you're pay may look good, but for the middle class these numbers don't show much hope of earning a better paycheck.

Lita Epstein has written more than 20 books including the Complete Idiot's Guide to Improving Your Credit Score due out in December.

October job growth strong, but only in the lower-paying service industries originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 02 Nov 2007 11:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Sears Holdings (SHLD) slides on jobless data

Sears Holdings (SHLD) slides on jobless data originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 Oct 2007 12:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

September's U.S. job report released Friday reinforced two economics adages. Namely: 1) it's best to not put too much confidence in the U.S. Labor Department's initial monthly job statistic, as it will undoubtedly be revised; and 2) regarding job creation/reduction, it's best to use a 3-month or 6-month average, as it gives a more-complete and more-accurate picture of hiring conditions.

For example, in September's report, which indicated that 110,000 jobs were created -- more than analysts had expected -- the U.S. Labor Department also its revised the August job report to indicate that 89,000 jobs were created, up from a 4,000-job loss the Labor Department reported in its initial August tally.

Wall Street was encouraged by September's upside jobs surprise with the Dow gaining about 85 points to 14,063 in early Friday afternoon trading.

Continue reading U.S. jobs rebound in September, but long-term trend is key

U.S. jobs rebound in September, but long-term trend is key originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 05 Oct 2007 16:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.