While it operated, the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program provided record amounts of financial assistance to over 24 million long-term unemployed individuals.  The EUC program provided record weeks of unemployment benefits per person (a total of up to 99 weeks of all unemployment benefits in many states, far eclipsing the norm of up to 52 weeks), a record duration… Read more

Rhetoric "[Sen. Jack] Reed said he had consulted with state officials to vet potential problems. ‘We have been talking to the state administrators, and they have not raised any significant issues,’ he said.”   -CQ, March 19, 2014   Reality   “The requirements in S. 2148 would cause considerable delays in the implementation of the program and increased… Read more

White House Two Months Ago: Decline in labor force participation increases inequality (i.e. the “defining challenge of our time”) and is a sign of a not “strengthening economy.” “Q:  You’re now concerned about inequality -- I’m wondering if there has been any changes to the labor supply that help or hinder inequality?   MR. FURMAN:  What you’d like is to increase… Read more

THEN October 2009 - unemployment rate 10.0%; debt $7.5 trillion When an extension of federal unemployment benefits was paid for, the Obama Administration supported in a Statement of Administration Policy (SAP) Congress' “fiscally responsible approach to expanding unemployment benefits,” stating that, “...fiscal responsibility is central to the medium-term recovery of the economy and… Read more

Rhetoric “A well designed recovery plan will not only create numerous jobs, but also many jobs paying good wages and providing full-time employment.” Obama Administration’s “Romer-Bernstein Report” on the supposed job effects of their trillion-dollar 2009 stimulus plan.   Reality "Job Gap Widens in Uneven Recovery, Split in Employment Market Undermines Broader Economic… Read more

In the wake of recessions, the Federal government typically creates a “temporary” Federal unemployment benefits program for long-term unemployed workers who have exhausted up to 26 weeks of State UI benefits.  This recession has been no different. The current “temporary” program, called Emergency… Read more

Economists say the 2007-09 recession officially ended in June 2009.  Yet, as the fifth year of the “Obama Recovery” begins, American workers are facing another discouraging Labor Day.  Let’s take a look at some of the hallmarks of the “Obama Recovery”:   Worst jobs recovery ever;  Rising part-time employment; Declining wages;  Growing… Read more

The headlines citing last week’s jobs report as the lowest unemployment rate in years may have been technically accurate, but they are also reminders that looks can be deceiving.  The reality, as you dig into the latest jobs data, reveals that few are finding the full-time work they want and need, and many are forced to accept part-time employment. As the chart below depicts, seven… Read more

Then “US President Barack Obama vowed Saturday to work tirelessly to get unemployed Americans back to work now that new statistics have shown a slight improvement on the job creation front. ‘My commitment to you, the American people, is that I will focus every single day on how we can get people back to work, and how we can build an economy that continues to make real the promise… Read more

As the President heads back out on the road to talk about jobs, it is worth looking back at the “progress” that has been made since President Obama kicked off his first jobs road show in the summer of 2011.  Since then, Americans have continued to experience the slowest economic recovery in recorded history, including 2 million fewer jobs than promised, more part-time than… Read more