unemployment rate

In March, employers added 236,000 jobs as the economy continued to expand. Job growth is slowing, with most job growth in the past month occurring in the sectors that have been the slowest to recover from the pandemic. The unemployment rate ticked...

As concerns about the economy continue, one economist is optimistic. Justin Wolfers, professor of public policy and economics, recently talked with NPR to discuss his economic analysis and predictions. "You're talking to an economist who is going...

Justin Wolfers, NPR: "We're celebrating unemployment being at a 50-year low. This is only three years after the scariest economic moment of my lifetime. If you had said in three short years we'll yield an unemployment rate that earlier generations...

As more Detroiters return to work amid the pandemic recovery, the greatest declines in unemployment have been for residents of color and people with low incomes—although those groups continue to experience higher-than-average unemployment...

The U.S. labor market had yet another month of strong job growth, with employers adding 263,000 additional jobs in November. The report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Friday also showed that the unemployment rate remained at 3.7%....

Attention on government safety net programs and their effects on overall poverty has increased in the run-up to the midterm elections. Associate dean Luke Shaefer, who is also director of Poverty Solutions, has recently appeared in the media...

Despite low unemployment and rising wages, inflation is causing President Biden to struggle with low approval ratings. Justin Wolfers, professor of public policy and economics, discussed how he would frame the economy to raise approval...

The labor market is still booming, according to the latest jobs report. Justin Wolfers and Betsey Stevenson, both professors of public policy and economics, broke down what the jobs report means for Americans. "I do think it more likely that the...

The latest jobs report reflects a strong, recovering economy. But, Justin Wolfers, professor of public policy and economics, explained that not all Americans are feeling the effects of recovery.  "A lot of people, particularly older people, have...

In a recent interview with WXYZ, Lydia Wileden, PhD candidate and research associate on the Detroit Metro Area Communities Study, answered questions about Detroit's unemployment rate, which has stayed at 20% over the last year.  "We do see that a...

Detroit’s unemployment rate—the proportion of adults who are in the labor force but not currently employed—remains at 20%, virtually unchanged over the course of 2021, according to a new University of Michigan survey.  This is less than half the...

As the omicron variant spreads, the impact it will have on the fragile economic recovery remains uncertain. Justin Wolfers, professor of public policy and economics, talked to numerous media outlets about economic recovery, the jobs report, and...

Following the release of the November jobs report, Justin Wolfers, professor of public policy and economics, broke down what it means in an op-ed in The New York Times.  "This chill in employment might lead one to conclude the economy’s too cold,...

This week, Betsey Stevenson helped make sense of the data coming from national jobs reports and unemployment numbers. "The percentage of Americans employed fell off a cliff in the early pandemic. We’re now 75 percent of the way back up that...

ANN ARBOR—As National Hispanic Heritage Month, which celebrates the culture and contributions of Latinos in the U.S., comes to a close, Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan highlights key data from its research that relates to Latinos...

The September jobs report did not reveal things that economists, including Betsey Stevenson, were hoping to see. "If you look at this report, it’s very clear that it’s delta that’s holding it back. We saw the highest number of people working...

During the pandemic, median real income dropped 2.9%, signaling a rise in poverty. But, according to David Johnson, director of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and professor of public policy, "the data shows that the official poverty measure is...

After a few months of economic recovery, the delta variant is slowing down the economy yet again. "Today's dreadful jobs report - which basically put the recovery on ice for a while - is yet another reminder that the virus is the economy," Justin...

This weekend, millions of Americans will lose their federal unemployment benefits. Betsey Stevenson, professor of public policy and economics, says that lawmakers need to consider employment effects, like decreases in spending. "People need the...

Businesses and companies need more workers right now, but they can't find them. Patrick Cooney, assistant director of economic mobility at U-M Poverty Solutions, attributed most of the gap between supply and demand of labor to public health. "Our...

“Permanent unemployment is much harder to solve... It's going to be a long slog getting folks back to work and it's not clear that we're going to get the kind of support from the government that we need, but I do think that policy can mitigate some...

An article in Vox.com on June 5, reacting to the surprising drop in the unemplyment rate, quoted Ford School economists Betsey Stevenson  and Justin Wolfers : "Betsey Stevenson, the former chief economist at the US Department of Labor and a...