Al Ittihad claims top spot in Saudi Pro League after victory over Al Fateh    Saudi delegation participates in the 7th U20 Deans Summit in Brazil    Al-Jubeir discusses with EU officials enhancing bilateral cooperation    GASTAT: Non-oil exports up 22.8% in September 2024    Saudi Arabia to host 28th Annual World Investment Conference in Riyadh    Saudi Arabia allows licensed flour milling companies to export flour    Saudi Arabia joins international partnership initiative to boost hydrogen economy    Israeli drones kill two paramedics, injure four in southern Lebanon    Trump's new attorney general nominee sparks concerns over DOJ independence    Australia drops proposed laws to regulate social media misinformation    Six Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes on central Gaza    Riyadh Emir inaugurates International Conference on Conjoined Twins in Riyadh    Al Khaleej stuns Al Hilal with 3-2 victory, ending 57-match unbeaten run    SFDA move to impose travel ban on workers of food outlets in the event of food poisoning    Al Okhdood halts Al Shabab's winning streak with a 1-1 draw in Saudi Pro League    Saudi musical marvels takes center stage in Tokyo's iconic opera hall    Al Khaleej qualifies for Asian Men's Club League Handball Championship final    Katy Perry v Katie Perry: Singer wins right to use name in Australia    Sitting too much linked to heart disease –– even if you work out    Denmark's Victoria Kjær Theilvig wins Miss Universe 2024    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Dropouts back: Data suggests Americans rejoining workforce
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 07 - 06 - 2014

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen waves to the crowd after receiving her honorary doctorate degree from New York University (NYU) at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York in this May 21, 2014 picture. Some 8000 NYU graduates received their degrees in the school's 182nd commencement ceremony. — Reuters
Howard Schneider and Jason Lange
Reuters
For the first time in six years, the share of people who either have a job or are looking for one is on the rise in a majority of US states, a sign one of the deepest scars of the economic crisis could be healing. Most states have experienced sharp declines in labor force participation since the 2007-2009 recession, but a Reuters analysis of government data found a reversal could be under way.
The data bolsters Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's view that America has ample room to create jobs without causing uncomfortably high inflation and it buttresses arguments for keeping interest rates low. If Yellen is wrong, the Fed's easy money policies could lead employers to bid up wages for scarce talent, stoking price increases.
Anecdotal reports suggest that in many parts of the country, demand for labor appears to be growing enough to get people who had dropped out of the workforce to restart their job hunts. “We are getting more job creation and we are seeing more people come in,” said Paul Turek, a labor economist with Washington state's Employment Security Department.
Washington is one of 32 states where the participation rate rose in the six months through April, according to the Reuters analysis. Together, these states account for a majority of the nation's working-age population. It was the second straight month where most states chalked up gains over a six-month period.
The data covering the 50 states and the District of Columbia is volatile, so it does not provide conclusive evidence of a bounce back in the labor force. But since the start of the recession in December 2007, the direction of participation rates has been clear: They have been falling. It has been rare in recent years for more than a handful of states to show improved labor participation over any six-month period.
Now there's evidence the pendulum may be swinging back. The gains are spread across the country — from states with rebounding construction industries like Florida and Utah to those with job growth in health care and education like West Virginia.
The Fed's Beige Book of anecdotal economic reports for May, which was released on Wednesday, said the US labor market “generally improved,” with the central bank's Kansas City district reporting that businesses were now having to compete for workers, the Cleveland and Chicago districts noting an upturn in demand for temporary employees, and Atlanta pointing to a jump in the number of workers moving from temporary to permanent jobs. It said wage pressures remained “subdued.”
Texas is another state making gains. Blessed with robust economic growth, the speed with which unemployed Texans find jobs is nearly twice as high as in the rest of the country, a dynamic that is coaxing discouraged workers from the sidelines, Dallas Fed economist Anil Kumar told Reuters. He expects a similar pattern will emerge nationwide.
“As the economy continues to improve, at least some of the people (will) be drawn back into the labor force,” Kumar said. Whether or not they return could be vital for the strength of the US economy, for the behavior of inflation, and for the path of monetary policy.
The US jobless rate has declined steadily over the last four years, but much of the drop was due to people giving up the hunt for work, which means they were no longer counted as unemployed. In April, the national participation rate fell to 62.8 percent, revisiting a 36-year low reached late last year, although a report on Friday is expected to show it ticked up in May. During 2007, before the financial crisis and the recession, it was as high as 66.4 percent.
Some of the decline has been due to an aging workforce and the retirement of baby boomers, a fact that may well keep participation from ever bouncing back to its pre-crisis level. But some dropouts went to college and are bound to eventually restart job hunts. Others grew frustrated at the lack of available jobs, but may decide to try their luck again if the economy continues to improve.
Some prominent economists, including former White House adviser Alan Krueger, argue that many of the folks on the margins of the labor force are not coming back. If that is true, higher inflation, fueled by rising wages, could come sooner than the Fed expects.
But Yellen, who took the helm at the Fed in February, has refused to write off Americans who have suffered long bouts of unemployment or given up the search for work entirely. She argues there is more slack in the economy than suggested by the nation's 6.3 percent unemployment rate, a key reason the Fed is expected to bide its time before hiking rates.
Along with the drop outs and record number of long-term unemployed, millions are working in part-time jobs even though they want full-time work — another fact Yellen has cited. The state data, which can diverge from the national statistics because of adjustments the government makes to account for seasonal swings and other local economic factors, suggests she may be right to wait.
In places like Portland, local officials and entrepreneurs say a recovery in the job market is starting to gather pace. Tech companies like business software manager Puppet Labs have been growing quickly in the city. Puppet Labs expects to double its work force to around 400 by the end of the year as it takes advantage of what CEO Luke Kanies said are wage levels as much as 20 percent lower than in hotter markets like San Francisco or Seattle.
While Oregon's labor participation rate has not gone up, officials say they feel the groundwork is in place. Patrick Quinton, head of the Portland Development Commission, said the vacancy rate for commercial office space is now in the single digits because of the rapid local expansion in Portland of companies like accommodation booking service Airbnb and game maker Kixeye. That, he said, is expected to trigger a wave of office building and the creation of construction-related jobs in Portland, which accounts for around 15 percent of the state's population.
Job creation on its own is no guarantee that the country's labor pool will stabilize or expand. But recent research has held out some hope by focusing on the fate of the long-term unemployed — a group that, by historical standards, currently accounts for a disproportionate share of the unemployed. If they were to grow frustrated and stop looking for work, they would drive the participation rate even lower. But research by both Goldman Sachs and the Fed indicates they are beginning to find jobs, gravitating, for example, to part-time work as a “stepping stone” to full-time employment.
Marlena Sessions, head of the Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County, said there has been a noticeable turn in recent months.
In the depths of the recession, her agency was able to place around 73 percent of the people who sought help into jobs, and that figure was only 60 percent for the long-term unemployed.
Now, it is back up to the long-term average of 85 percent for all job seekers, regardless of how long they have been out of work. “The numbers are falling and that is great, and the jobs are there and that is great,” Sessions said.


Clic here to read the story from its source.