Tag Archives: unemployment

U.S. Trade Deficit Soars as Washington Pols Do Nothing

This latest economic disaster came as the overfed, overpaid Washington ruling class bickered about how to pay for debts they already incurred. Simply put, even a Tea Party Republican can or at least should understand that once again, U.S. exports decreased and imports increased in yet another setback for the economy and the unemployed and underemployed. Continue reading

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Auto Loan Delinquency Rate Declines by 35%

Mirroring a trend in many consumer lending categories, auto loan delinquency rates have declined significantly in July year-over-year. Equifax’s latest monthly National Consumer Credit Trends Report released today says that auto loan 60-day plus delinquency rates declined 35% in dollars.CNW Research also has good news for automakers and their stockholders. Its latest Loan-to-Value Ratio data shows a rise, especially for sub-prime borrowers. Banks are once again chasing auto loans because of low repossession rates and a minimum of late-payers. In the heyday of sub-prime lending, those with the lowest acceptable FICO score (credit rating in industry jargon) had LV ratios in the near-100% range. Continue reading

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Automakers Protest EU Korean FTA Deal is One Sided

European automakers are protesting that EU-South Korea FTA one year later has resulted in massive increases for Korean exports of passenger cars, yet only relatively modest gains for the EU auto industry. The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) took the opportunity of the first anniversary of the Korean FTA coming on 1 July to draw attention to what it called an “unbalanced situation.” Continue reading

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No Jobs Crisis Continues in May as Washington Dithers

The looming choices facing voters are clearly unpalatable. At the top of the ticket, you have the demonstrably job-destroying Harvard-educated Republican party 1 percenter Mitt Romney running against the demonstrably non-job creating Harvard-educated Democratic party 1 percenter Barack Obama. It is time to put the name “somebody else” on all ballots, which if somebody else wins starts another election with the other previously listed candidates disqualified from running again. Continue reading

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April Marks Third Straight Month of Declining U.S. Job Growth as Unemployment Remains at an Official and Understated 8%

The struggling U.S. economy added a measly 115,000 jobs last month, the third straight month of declines in job growth. More than 15 million Americans are unemployed or underemployed. This poor performance comes years after Washington declared the recession caused by the reckless and unpunished practices of Wall Street officially over. Continue reading

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Unemployment Unchanged in February as Politicians Blather

Alan B. Krueger – Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and an employee of President Obama – said, “Today’s employment report provides further evidence that the economy is continuing to heal from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. It is critical that we continue the economic policies that are helping us dig our way out of the deep hole that was caused by the recession that began at the end of 2007, including measures to help the sectors that were most severely harmed by the bubble economy that misdirected investment and created too few durable jobs.”

Critics said only the fact that Krueger issued the statement electronically prevented his nose from growing longer while delivering it. Continue reading

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December U.S. Unemployment at 8.5% Remains at Crisis Levels

The 200,000 employment increase is roughly half of what is needed each month to return the almost 20 million under-employed and unemployed back to full-time work as taxpayers in the still ailing U.S. economy. At this rate it will take a decade or more to return to pre-Great Recession levels. Since 80% of workers in the U.S. commute to work in a vehicle, the unemployment crisis hurts the auto industry’s prospects and its own fragile, mostly jobless, recovery that is underway. Continue reading

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Payroll Tax Cut and Unemployment Scrap Ends Temporarily

The dysfunctional Washington government finally agreed to extend a payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits after President Obama stared down a divided Republican party by threatening to stay in town while the Congress ‘vacationed,’ which most voters would have a hard time discerning anyway given the gridlock in Washington.

Gallup has Congressional Approval rating at 11% an all time low, which makes Obama’s low 49% rating looking like grounds for a Democratic landslide next year. Continue reading

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GM China Advanced Technical Center Nears Completion

GM intends to use Chinese battery suppliers in future electric vehicles – the latest setback for beleaguered U.S. workers who are facing grim employment prospects in the moribund U.S. economy. This is no longer a blue-collar or solely a UAW problem. College level white collar engineering jobs are at stake in advanced technologies touted by politicians as the key to returning the U.S. to global competitiveness. Continue reading

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The Secret of Future Success for Ex Auto Plants is Location

The study is the latest example of how devastating the collapse of the automobile industry is to the economies of local communities, many of them now with grim futures. Simply put, the best outcome for a community is to keep auto plants operating. The lack of a U.S. industrial policy – alone among all other industrialized nations and clearly a problem in the view of critics of multinational corporations – is not addressed in the study. Continue reading

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U.S. Unemployment Epidemic Continues at 9% in October

This means that coupled with underemployed and those discouraged from looking for work, more than 25 million people are not contributing what they could and want to add to the economic prosperity of local, state and national communities. Continue reading

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President Obama and South Korean President Lee Defend Korean FTA at a Michigan General Motors Small Car Plant

President Barack Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak toured the General Motors Orion Assembly Plant on Friday and spoke to several hundred workers and guests in support of the pending U.S-South Korean Free Trade Agreement. The rally came as U.S. long term unemployment remain at record post Great Depression levels. Korea is the fifth largest producer and fourth largest exporter of motor vehicles in the world, and – up to now – its car market has been closed. Continue reading

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Household Income Continues to Fall Significantly as Federal Government Claims the Great Recession is Officially Over

Real median annual household income has fallen significantly more during the so called economic recovery period from June 2009 to June 2011 than during the recession lasting from December 2007 to June 2009. That’s right, not only do we a jobless recovery, but we have one where incomes are dropping. Since when are politicians in the business of making people poorer in a grim reversal of the American Dream?

The report is bad news for the auto industry, which remains in a severe slump caused in part by record high new car prices – now averaging more than $30,000 a vehicle, and projections of even higher prices to come because of new emissions and safety regulations. Continue reading

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U.S. Unemployment at 9.1% Unchanged in September

The unemployment rate during September in the U.S. remains unchanged at 9.1% where it has been stuck for months now. This means that according to the Federal government more than 14 million people are out of work. The real number – if you include people who stopped looking for work and forced part time workers – is likely 25 million people who want to work full time. Continue reading

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Obama Administration Submits Controversial FTAs to Congress. Largest Loss of Jobs since NAFTA Coming?

The AFL-CIO said the “The Korea agreement is the largest offshoring deal of its kind since NAFTA. If enacted, it likely will displace 159,000 U.S. jobs, mostly in manufacturing. And its glaring loopholes would allow unscrupulous businesses to import illegally labeled goods from China and possibly even from sweatshops in North Korea—potentially without any tariffs at all.” Continue reading

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