Where have all the workers gone? The real truth behind the drop in the labor participation rate.
One of the common views regarding the labor participation rate declining is that many baby boomers are retiring and leaving the work force. Unfortunately many are finding that retirement is a myth when you are broke and many will be working deep into their later years. So when we examine the numbers we actually find [...]
Food service workers at a record high in US economy: Record percent of Americans now employed in food services as a share of total employment coupled with peak food stamp usage.
One of biggest contributors to jobs over the last few years has come from the low-wage food service sector. A record 7.6 percent of Americans now work in food services and drinking places. Given that we have 47+ million Americans on food stamps and this figure has boomed in the last decade, it should come [...]
The rise of college students applying for food stamps – Mixing of college debt, part-time work, and food stamps. Working 40 hours a week at a minimum wage job does not cover basic costs for a college education.
The drawn out election campaign has now come to an end and very little substantive action is likely to be taken to assist the middle class. Even more disturbing is how little attention was given to the growing number of poor Americans. Almost 47,000,000 million Americans are now on food stamps, a record both in [...]
Financial panic button for younger Americans – The sandwich generation saw a 59 percent decline to their net worth as they deal with college aged students living at home and elderly parents.
Unfortunately more data pointing to the deterioration of the middle class came out this week regarding net worth figures. One of the more ominous data points regarded the sandwich generation of those taking care of college aged kids and parents. The net worth figures this time released by the US Census coincide with the information [...]
The curious calculus of the US employment numbers – Decline of 2.4 million in extended and emergency unemployment benefits coincides with 2.2 million rise in disability benefits. Last time we had 8.1 percent unemployment rate we had 14,000,000 fewer Americans on food stamps.
The math on the employment situation in the US simply does not compute. Over the last few years, many have escaped the employment market by diving into massive student loan debt. This looks good for the employment figures since these people are not counted as part of the workforce. The headline unemployment rate of 8.1 [...]
The phony economic deception machine – JP Morgan Chase CEO earns $23 million in 2011 while 2.7 million foreclosures are filed in the US. GDP at record levels but employment figures down by 5.3 million from their peak.
The US economic and political system is doing an excellent job sealing off opportunities for millions that aspire to be part of the middle class. Many are starting to realize that the system is rigged in favor of large financial institutions and those with political connections. The idea of raw success based on talent can [...]
How does an America with no middle class look like? Bureau of Labor and Statistics projects top two jobs for the next decade will pay roughly $20,000 a year. Approval rating of Congress at 10 percent. In comparison, Americans approved of BP’s handling of the Gulf oil crisis at a 16 percent rate.
A strong middle class has been at the core of what has been promoted as the American Dream. How would America look like if the middle class simply vanished? We may not need to wait too long at the current rate since we are quickly siphoning people off the middle class and throwing them into [...]
The compression of generations – 25 million adults live at home with parents because they’re unemployed or underemployed. The crushing cost of a college education today.
The thought of moving out on your own and making your individual way in the world is very much an American trait. Certainly movies and television shows almost always assume every American has moved out on their own once adulthood is reached. What this recession has taught us is never take anything for what is [...]
The sordid details of the employment market – Before recession hit 5,000,000 job openings were available while today there are 3,000,000. 1,000,000 Americans have completely quit looking for work and average duration of unemployment is 40 weeks, twice the amount of the 1980s recession.
There is a growing disconnect in America as the middle class is hollowed out. Many Americans hear talks of a recovery that is now going on three years but look at their tight monthly budgets and wonder what recovery is being discussed. The median household income is roughly $50,000 and with rising food, healthcare, energy, [...]
Working for less – Aggregate hours worked in U.S. economy from all workers moves back to February 1999 levels. 25 million Americans out of work or looking for full-time work as middle class continues to shrink.
The economy continues to sputter along and the weak employment report only adds more doubt for a summer recovery. As if the American worker was in a position to support more economic bad news? Many are now looking at new methods of measuring employment in our economy since the headline unemployment rate has failed to [...]
