Today the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its monthly employment report, and it’s not good: we’ve now seen eight straight months of increasing unemployment:
The unemployment rate rose from 5.7 to 6.1 percent in August, and non-farm payroll employment continued to trend down (-84,000), the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. In August, employment fell in manufacturing and employment services, while mining and health care continued to add jobs. Average hourly earnings rose by 7 cents, or 0.4 percent, over the month…
The number of unemployed persons rose by 592,000 to 9.4 million in August, and the unemployment rate increased by 0.4 percentage point to 6.1 percent. Over the past 12 months, the number of unemployed persons has increased by 2.2 million and the unemployment rate has risen by 1.4 percentage points, with most of the increase occurring over the past 4 months.
On his blog, economist and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich breaks down what this means:
84,000 jobs were lost in August — the 8th month of job declines. Since January, more than 600,000 jobs have been lost. Remember that at least 125,000 new jobs need to be added to the economy each month merely in order to keep up with an expanding population. So the loss of 600,000 jobs actually means a larger portion of the population without work than today’s household survey (6.1 percent unemployment) reveals.
In the short term, the economy needs a powerful fiscal stimulus. Longer term, it needs policies (such as I mentioned yesterday) that will continue to put more money into the pockets of average working families.
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CraneWatch.com Seeks to Make NYC Safe from Crane Accidents.
A series of crane-related construction accidents – including one on Sept. 4 at 600 West 42nd Street that killed a construction worker -- has left New York City residents, workers and visitors scared and skeptical of the safety of many of the construction sites they pass every day on the streets of Manhattan. Revelations about unanswered complaints, safety violations and the lack of adequate inspection and permitting have all contributed to a need for timely information about crane safety.
That's why a group of concerned New Yorkers has developed CraneWatch, an impartial, non-governmental Web site dedicated to monitoring the safety of New York City cranes and construction sites. Our site's mission is to make it easy for everyone to find cranes in their local area and to review safety-related information compiled from Department of Buildings and other sources. Visitors to the site can upload photos, post comments and, soon, add new crane listings to the system. A mobile application will be available shortly as well as CraneWatch sites for other cities.
"While we applaud the City Council's efforts to tighten safety standards, there will never be enough inspectors to monitor every crane in Manhattan," said New York entrepreneur Rosalind Resnick, who built the site along with developer Jim Convery and Internet marketer Laura Allen. "We believe that the only way to prevent these accidents from happening in the future is to empower every New Yorker with a cell phone or a digital camera to help make our city safe again by posting photos and comments on our site where everyone can see them."
For more information, check out CraneWatch at www.cranewatch.com email rosalind@double-r-ventures.com
Posted by Ray Guerin on September 9, 2008 at 9:25 AM
Posted on September 9, 2008 at 9:25 AM