Today’s jobs report, the last before next Tuesday’s election, shows that the economy is growing too slowly to reduce unemployment. The unemployment rate rose from September’s 7.8 percent to 7.9 percent, and 171,000 jobs were added to the economy.

The Heritage Foundation’s Amy Payne explains how the administration is playing games with the economy:

The October report partly reversed the mysterious drop in the unemployment rate in the September jobs report… With the jump back up in the unemployment rate in October to nearly 8 percent, we have at least the beginnings of an answer to the mystery.

In addition to possible quirks in the way the government collects information on unemployment, the Administration is playing some more overt games with the economy, holding new regulations and even layoff notices until later in the year.

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The U.S. faces the prospect of a new recession and millions of lost jobs unless lawmakers act to stop the $494 billion Taxmageddon tax increases coming January 1, a Heritage Foundation expert warns.

“1.6 million more Americans will be out of work—on top of the 12.8 million who already want to work but can’t find jobs,” Heritage economist J.D. Foster explains, citing new government projections.

This chart makes clear the cost of Congressional inaction:

Do you think Congress and President Obama will act in time to stop Taxmageddon from going into effect on January 1?

Obama administration policies are sabotaging job growth.

Today, the Labor Department released its July jobs report and yet again, the numbers are dismal. Unemployment rose to 8.3 percent and 12.8 million of Americans  are out of work, of which 5.2 million have been out of work for at least half a year.

While it is good news that 195,000 jobs were added in July, unfortunately it is not enough to keep up with the jobs needed to pull the economy out of its withering growth rate.

In the past few years, Obama Administration policy has perpetually chosen the path to discourage job growth and slow the economy. Here are three of those policies:

• Obamacare-  By requiring companies with 50 or more employees to  provide healthcare, Obamacare will de-incentivize companies from growing and hiring new employees.  Research shows, “the cost to an employer of hiring a full-time worker increases to at least $10.03 per hour and for those with family health coverage, it is at least $13.75 an hour” this could lead to employers reevaluating new hires due to the additional fixed cost of providing government mandated healthcare coverage.
• Failed Stimulus Package- As part of President Obama’s Stimulus Package, unemployment benefits are extended up to an additional 20 weeks. Although the government distributes the unemployment checks, it is the former employer who must  pay the taxes on those unemployment benefits. How do you control this? The New York Times answered by saying “By making as few hires as possible”.
• Increased Environmental Protection Agency Regulation- The EPA has begun to place more stringent regulations on sulfur dioxide emissions that will cut down coal production and close production plant which employ thousands of workers and contributes to $1.3 billion dollars of Texas’s state economy. The impact in Texas is a small example of what is to come if Obama continues to place stringent regulations on coal manufactures.

 What do you think of the July jobs report?

The nation’s unemployment rate remains at 8.2 percent, while the economy added just 80,000 jobs in June, according to new figures released today. If there can be any upside to this, it’s that our unemployment rate is at least predictable: for the last 41 straight months the unemployment rate has hovered around 8 percent.

When President Obama announced his “stimulus” recovery plan in 2009, he predicted that by this point unemployment would be down to 5.5 percent. But his recovery plan (comprised almost entirely of government spending) has proven to be a failure. The Heritage Foundation’s Amy Payne explains:

This jobs drought is the result of counterproductive policies, many of which could be reversed immediately. But in the meantime, employers aren’t hiring because they are suffering from prolonged uncertainty, as economists readily admit.

The general sense of uncertainty is compounded by a global miasma. Europe’s economy is floundering and Asia has seen interest rates drop in reaction to slower growth. Much of this can be traced back to Taxmageddon, the massive looming tax hike.

“The largest tax increase in U.S. history—$494 billion in one year—will hit on [Jan. 1], as a host of tax cuts expire and new tax hikes (including some of Obamacare’s new taxes) take effect,” she explains.

Even though Taxmageddon has not hit yet, apprehension and uncertainty about it is starting to devastate to job creation. Taxes are among the biggest challenges facing small business owners, and if they expect a higher tax bill, that means less money to hire workers. Furthermore, they are unable to accurately predict their tax liabilities for 2013, adding to the general sense of uncertainty.

Payne suggests that Congress needs to act now to halt Taxmageddon and get the economy back on track:

The longer Congress waits to prevent Taxmageddon, the more uncertainty there will be for workers and businesses. This is an element of the economy that is actually in the complete control of American policymakers. They should act quickly to increase certainty and stability at a time when the economy greatly needs it. If the President will not lead, Congress should step up and show the public that at least one branch of government cares about creating jobs and growing the economy.

Do you think Congress needs to stop this massive tax hike? 

Each month, the Department of Labor releases the job report; an analysis of how many jobs the economy created and the current rate of unemployment. Each month analysts are optimistic the job market is improving. And each month for the past few years, the economy disappoints.

May’s report reveals that unemployment rose to 8.2 percent and the economy created only 69,000 jobs. Facing these disappointing numbers, the Obama administration has yet to provide real solutions to improve the economy, while new threats like tax increases loom on the horizon.

The Heritage Foundation’s Mike Brownfield explains,

Even with millions of Americans unemployed, dismal job creation, an increasing unemployment rate and Europe sliding into a deep recession, President Obama is silent on the issue of stopping the United States from heading over a fiscal cliff. Absent any leadership from the White House, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has announced the House will vote in July to prevent tax rates from rising. The Senate should do likewise. There is time for Washington to take action, but that time is growing shorter with each passing day.

What do you think must be done to remedy these disappointing jobs numbers?

Three years ago, the Obama administration predicted that its trillion-dollar “stimulus” program would keep the unemployment rate below eight percent and lead to a thriving economy.

But the March job report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics was a bleak reminder of unrealized dreams. The figures showed an increase in employment, but the new-jobs numbers still fell 80,000 short of expectations. And the unemployment rate remains stubbornly above eight percent.

Heritage Foundation economist Rea Hederman comments on the disappointing report:

While the labor market has continued to improve, the state of the recovery is troubling and disappointing. Many workers simply have not re-entered the labor market, and as a result, the unemployment rate’s decline conceals the overall weakness. While jobs were added in March, job growth was much slower than earlier in the year, which indicates that a truly robust recovery has not yet taken hold.

What do you think? Is the economy recovering?

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The U.S. economy added 227,000 jobs in February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unemployment remains at 8.3 percent.

Encouragingly, the private-sector saw the biggest growth, with 233,000 new jobs, while government employment decreased by 6,000. The labor force participation also increased by 0.2 percentage points.

Despite this good news, Heritage Foundation economists Rea Hederman and James Sherk report, the economic recovery is still slower than previous recoveries and better policies are needed to allow economic activity to reach its full potential:

In the context of an already good economy, February’s employment figures would be excellent news. In the context of the recovery from the worst recession of the postwar era, they are only encouraging. Certainly, job growth is better than continued stagnation, but the U.S. economy has great underlying resilience. It will eventually recover from a recession. The important questions are how long until that happens and how quickly the economy grows.

Read their full analysis here.

To ensure growth, Hederman and Sherk urge the government to skip the massive tax hikes set to go into effect after December 31. They encourage policymakers to instead enact pro-growth policies by reducing regulations and tax hikes.

Are you confident job growth will continue?

Unemployment insurance was created to provide a safety net to aid Americans as they found their way back into the work force.

However, these benefits today provide not a net but a comfy cushion. They offer little incentive for the unemployed to re-enter the workforce.

As of January 2012, the average unemployed worker searched 40 weeks before finding a job — but thanks to federal policies, workers in many states can collect unemployment benefits for up to 99 weeks, or nearly two years.

In a new analysis, The Heritage Foundation’s James Sherk argues the current unemployment benefits are excessive and a drain on the economy:

Extending unemployment insurance benefits has helped unemployed workers in a difficult economy. It has also increased unemployment and the deficit. Extending UI during a recession makes humanitarian sense, but two years of benefits was excessive when Congress passed it. A year-and-a-half of benefits in a recovering labor market is still excessive. A more appropriate level at this point in the ongoing slow recovery would be 60 weeks.

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The economy added 243,000 jobs in January, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s 108,000 more than the forecast of 135,000.

As a result, the unemployment rate fell from 8.5 percent to 8.3 percent, the lowest level since February 2009.

For the last three months, job creation has averaged 201,000 a month, a sign that a labor market recovery may be truly underway.

Unemployment fell equally for both men and women, and private employers hired 257,000 more people. The service sector alone added 176,000 jobs.

Great news, right?

Unfortunately, this growth comes despite, not because of, the “stimulus” policies Congress has enacted. The two-month payroll tax cut extension didn’t create employment, for example, because employers see the tax change as temporary.

Heritage Foundation economists Rea Hederman and James Sherk point out some disturbing news buried in the jobs report: many people have simply stopped looking for work. Continue Reading »

Today marks the 1,000th day of Barack Obama’s presidency, and unfortunately for America, those days have been marked by deeper deficits, lost jobs, prolonged unemployment and bigger government.

In the first 1,000 days, we’ve seen:

• The national debt increase by $4.2 trillion
• 2.2 million jobs lost
• 3 million more people living at or below the poverty line
• The federal government spending $4.2 billion per day than it takes in
• Unemployment at 9 percent or higher for 840 out of 1000 days

All told, what we’ve seen from the Obama administration is big government and failed policies. In his $787 billion stimulus package, the President promised to create or save 3.5 million jobs. Two years later and we’ve seen millions lost.

In today’s Morning Bell, Mike Brownfield writes,

Over the last 1,000 days, America has seen increased regulations, a 9,000-earmark omnibus bill, a government union bailout, a Wall Street reform bill that will do more harm than good, a nuclear arms treaty that is detrimental to missile defense, a refusal to expand domestic energy production, federal overreach into education, an undermining of the rule of law, and a dark cloud hanging over our military’s future due to a failure to ensure adequate defense spending.

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