The Labor Department reported this morning that the nation's payrolls contracted by a net total of 95,000 in September. The latest rounds of layoffs from the government trumped what hiring was done in the private sector, leading to the rather nasty number.

According to the Labor Department, local governments jettisoned 76,000 jobs last month -- most of them in education. This cut was the largest by local governments in 28 years. Also, 77,000 temporary census jobs ended in September. Offsetting these two figures somewhat was the private sector, which added 64,000 last month.

Continue reading Economy Loses 95,000 Jobs but Markets Open Higher

Economy Loses 95,000 Jobs but Markets Open Higher originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Friday morning, Consol Energy (CNX) announced that it will close its Mine 84 near Washington, Penn. The closure will cost roughly 60 employees their jobs.

The employees who lose their jobs will have the choice of taking a position with another Consol operation. The company will conduct the layoffs for 14 days, starting at 12:01 AM on December 1 -- talk about your happy holiday season. The good news is that these workers will be able to look for alternative work before the layoffs take place.

Continue reading Consol Energy to Close Mine

Consol Energy to Close Mine originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The U.S. lost fewer jobs than expected in August. Here are the key stats, as reported in the New York Times:

• The economy lost another 54,000 jobs last month.
• Private companies added 67,000 jobs.
• The unemployment rate rose to 9.6% from 9.5%.
• The government lost 121,000 jobs in August.
• State and local governments cut 10,000 jobs and another 114,000 temporary census positions.

Continue reading U.S. Lost Fewer Jobs Than Expected in August

U.S. Lost Fewer Jobs Than Expected in August originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Thursday morning, Merck & Co. (MRK) announced that it would shut down eight manufacturing plants and eight research sites around the world, along with consolidating some of its offices.

Merck notes that these moves are part of the ongoing consolidation triggered by the acquisition of Schering-Plough last November. The acquisition made Merck the second-biggest pharmaceutical firm in the world. That said, the company is going to eliminate roughly 15% of its workforce (which comes out to 16,000 jobs) in order to save roughly $3.5 billion a year.

Continue reading Merck to Close Eight Plants

Merck to Close Eight Plants originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 08 Jul 2010 10:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When it comes to unemployment reports, you can pick any one of at least three that will give you quite different results. On Friday we will get the Labor Department's report on March jobs. It is expected to show overall growth due to an increase in hiring of about 100,000 census takers. Then you have the Automatic Data Processing and the forecasting from Macroeconomics Advisers. The ADP report showed that employers shed only slightly fewer than 24,000 jobs in February and 23,000 in March.

Then there is the private employment report discussed in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required). The report showed weakness across a range of sectors and businesses.

Continue reading Private Employment Was Down in March

Private Employment Was Down in March originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 01 Apr 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Oil Closes Above $80

Oil Closes Above $80 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

What are the chances of a jobs bill emanating from the U.S. Congress in the immediate future? As of now, put it at 60/40 in favor.

Two factors that will help determine the jobs bill's fate: 1) health care reform legislation and 2) net monthly job losses/creation.

Assuming a December passage of health care reform legislation (signing it on the one-year anniversary of President Obama's inauguration has a nice ring to it), and continued, monthly job losses through March (which is likely), that will give Congress the legislative time and also underscore the necessity of an infrastructure-based jobs bill.

Continue reading Democrats' jobs bill likely to hinge on job creation in the private sector

Democrats' jobs bill likely to hinge on job creation in the private sector originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Sorry to say that the jobs report for October is bleak. According to ADP National Employment, 203,000 jobs were lost.

Since the recession started, U.S. job losses have risen from 7.6 million to 15 million.

Here are the numbers by sectors:

Continue reading U.S. loses 203,000 jobs in October

U.S. loses 203,000 jobs in October originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Pfizer reports solid quarterly earnings thanks to cost-cutting maneuvers

Pfizer reports solid quarterly earnings thanks to cost-cutting maneuvers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The United States is not alone. We just saw the unemployment rate creep higher to 9.8% for September, and the rest of the world is coming with us.

The worldwide recession is still circling the globe, it seems, leaving slashed jobs in its wake. While the rise in unemployment is essentially a fact of life, how countries are responding to it differs widely. Some are spending aggressively to protect jobs; for example, by chipping in some extra cash to pay for shorter work weeks.

In the 30 countries comprising the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), unemployment is as low as 3.2% in the Netherlands and as high as 17.6% in Spain, as of July 2009.

Continue reading Ten views of unemployment around the world

Ten views of unemployment around the world originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 03 Oct 2009 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Unemployment is at its highest level since 1983, hitting 9.8% last month. The Department of Labor announced that 263,000 jobs were lost. This follows a revised loss of 201,000 jobs in August (lower than first reported). Nobody expected the August unemployment reprieve to last, and the increase suggests that the forecasted 10.3% unemployment rate for early next year will be realized.

Originally, the forecasted unemployment drop for September was 175,000, according to Bloomberg News, with individual economists surveyed reporting in a range of 100,000 to 260,000.

Continue reading Unemployment rate hits 9.8%

Unemployment rate hits 9.8% originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 02 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Job losses continued to mount in September. Unfortunately, the numbers are even worse than expected.

According to the ADP National Employment Report, employers shed 254,000 jobs in September. Analysts had been expecting to see the number of job losses at 200,000 in the month.

Continue reading September job cuts steeper than expected

September job cuts steeper than expected originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading New jobless claims drop last week

New jobless claims drop last week originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Job cuts slow in August, more not-so-bad news

Job cuts slow in August, more not-so-bad news originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Sep 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Unemployment rate hits 9.4% in May

Unemployment rate hits 9.4% in May originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here's a great surprise: Job losses slowed dramatically in May.

Let's look at the numbers:

• Non-farm payrolls dropped 345,000. Economists had expected a drop of 525,000.
• The economy has lost 6 million jobs since December 2007.
• The unemployment rate jumped to 9.4%, the highest since August 1983.
• Economists expect to see 10% unemployment soon.

Continue reading Payrolls dropped by only 345,000 in May

Payrolls dropped by only 345,000 in May originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 05 Jun 2009 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Job losses slowed during May

Job losses slowed during May originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 03 Jun 2009 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading JockStocks: Nike eliminating jobs -- potential exists

JockStocks: Nike eliminating jobs -- potential exists originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 15 May 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here's one that people are also trying to blame on executives at the Big Three automakers -- the private aviation industry is hurting. Can you hear the violins starting?

Reportedly, corporate "giants ranging from Bank of America to Time Warner are grounding planes," thanks to the faltering economy and public outcry.

How can this be traced back to the automakers? The public outrage really started when the CEOs of the automakers eschewed a more economical style of transport for the lush trappings of their private jets when they were headed to Capitol Hill.

Continue reading Private aviation firms suffer, time for a pity party

Private aviation firms suffer, time for a pity party originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 May 2009 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Back on tax day, my friend and colleague Elizabeth Harrow wondered if Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) would announce job cuts when it reports earnings tomorrow. Ms. Harrow looked at a report in The New York Times about preparations for a "significant round of layoffs" and then took a look at the option activity on the Internet search portal a week ahead of earnings.

Something that Elizabeth noted was the fact that the 15 strike was going to assume the mantle of peak call open interest when the market opens for trading festivities today. This level could be a major sticking point for the stock, as Yahoo hasn't closed atop the $15 level since late 2008.

Continue reading A peek at Yahoo ahead of earnings

A peek at Yahoo ahead of earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 20 Apr 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.