Re: Politics

1261
Black unemployment rate hits new record low in May

by Pete Kasperowicz | June 01, 2018 08:44 AM

The unemployment rate for black workers hit new record lows in May, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

Black unemployment fell sharply to 5.9 percent, beating out the 6.6 percent record low that was set a month earlier.

The unemployment rate for Hispanic workers hit a record low in April, at 4.8 percent, but it rose slightly to 4.9 percent in May.

The total unemployment rate for white workers dropped from 3.6 percent to 3.5 percent.

President Trump has cheered the record low unemployment rates seen for black workers on his watch. He and his supporters have pointed to the falling numbers for black workers as proof that Trump is working to better the lives of all Americans, even as Trump's critics continue to say Trump is a racist who should be removed from office.

The total unemployment rate for all workers fell to 3.8 percent, from 3.9 percent in April.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news ... low-in-may

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Unemployment Rate Falls to 18-Year Low; Solid Hiring in May

Nonfarm payrolls rose seasonally adjusted 223,000; unemployment rate at 3.8%

By Eric Morath and Sarah Chaney
Updated June 1, 2018 9:09 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON—The unemployment rate fell to an 18-year low in May and employers steadily added jobs, signs of enduring strength for the labor market.

U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose a seasonally adjusted 223,000 in May, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate ticked down to 3.8%, matching April 2000 as the lowest reading since 1969.

Wages in May improved modestly, growing 2.7% from a year earlier.

Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected 190,000 new jobs and a 3.9% unemployment rate.

Revised figures show employers added 159,000 jobs in April and 155,000 in March, a net upward revision of 15,000. Through the first five months of the year, employers have added an average of 207,000 workers to payrolls, outpacing 2017’s average monthly growth of 182,000. That runs counter to economists’ expectation for hiring to broadly ease as the labor market tightens.

U.S. employers have added to payrolls for 92 straight months, extending the longest continuous jobs expansion on record.

A tighter labor market should also produce better wage growth, but gains have remained in check, though they improved somewhat last month.

Average hourly earnings for all private-sector workers increased 8 cents last month to $26.92. The 2.7% annual gain is small compared with prerecession readings. Wages haven’t increased at better than a 3% rate from a year earlier since the recession ended in 2009. The last time unemployment was near current levels nonsupervisor wages rose 4.3% from a year earlier. The Labor Department only began tracking wages for all private-sector workers in 2006.

Still, the historically low unemployment rate and modest wage increases should keep Federal Reserve policy makers in line to raise the central bank’s benchmark interest rate at a meeting later this month. Consumer inflation has strengthened in recent months to reach the Fed’s 2% annual target, another factor likely keeping the central bank in line to gradually lift rates further in an effort to make sure the economy doesn’t overheat.

...

https://www.wsj.com/articles/unemployme ... 1527856298

Re: Politics

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May Boom: Number of Employed Americans Sets 9th Record Under Trump

By Susan Jones | June 1, 2018 | 8:47 AM EDT

(CNSNews.com) - "Looking forward to seeing the employment numbers at 8:30 this morning," President Trump tweeted early Friday.

And here they are: The number of employed Americans, 155,474,000, has broken another record -- for the ninth time since President Trump took office, in fact.

At the same time, the number of unemployed Americans dropped to 6,065,000, a low not seen since January 2001.

This pushed the nation's unemployment rate down a tenth of a point to 3.8 percent, a level not seen since April 2000.

And there's more good news: The number of employed women 16 and over set another record (72,690,000); the number of employed men 16 and over is at an all-time high (82,784,000); and so is the number of employed African-Americans (19,092,000).

The unemployment rate for African-Americans dropped to 5.9 percent, a record low. It was 7.8 percent when President Trump took office in January 2017.

The unemployment rate for women 16+ is now at 3.6 percent, a low not seen since 1953.


...

https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/su ... nder-trump

Re: Politics

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If somebody is getting a rate cut, it sure ain't me. My Az electric bill for May is $198.

With so many customers lowering their usage by installing solar panels, the utility is jacking up the rates for those without solar to keep their profits up.

Re: Politics

1265
The link I posted has all the companies lowering rates. You live in Arizona, right? Here are two companies in Arizona lowering their rates as soon as approved. I hope one of the companies is yours. (My electric company, Northwestern, is on the list!)

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Arizona Public Service (Phoenix, Arizona) -- The utility requested a $119 million bill reduction for customers due to tax reform:

APS has requested the Arizona Corporation Commission approve a $119 million bill reduction for customers, based on federal corporate tax cuts, effective February 1, 2018.

If approved, the $119 million decrease will offset the $95 million revenue increase that resulted from APS’s last rate review. The savings of $0.004258/kWh will be passed directly to customers through the Tax Expense Adjustor Mechanism (TEAM), a new adjustor mechanism that was included in the company’s rate review, and customer savings will vary with actual energy usage. APS customers would receive the credit on their monthly bill. – Jan. 9, 2018 Arizona Public Service press release

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Tucson Electric Power Company (Tucson, Arizona) – The utility will pass tax reform savings to customers:

EP and its sister utilities “believe it is in the public interest to share a substantial portion of the expected income tax savings with their respective customers on an expedited basis,” the companies said.

TEP says its proposals may include a fast-tracked regulatory approval process to implement a billing credit as soon as possible; a higher seasonal credit that would help offset customer bills during higher usage months; or bill credits that would decline over time while still smoothing the bill impacts of future rate requests. – Feb. 2, 2018 Tucson.com article excerpt

Re: Politics

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APS is my provider. They send out propaganda about how they are doing this and doing that. No inclination to read all their stuff. Just send me the bill.

Got mucho Solar companies haunting our residents to install solar panels. Went to a few presentations. Takes too long to recover your initial investment in savings especially with federal subsidies running out.

Re: Politics

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Awesome. Well apparently it has to get approved by commission then adjustments take place. Your provider announced this in January so if you haven’t already started seeing the savings it should take effect soon?

I started to say let me know, but you’re liberal butt will never give Trump credit so never mind.. ;)

My paycheck started going up $39 every 2 weeks when tax cuts took effect.

Then starting this month my company up and gave me a $1 an hour raise.

Then, a couple weeks ago a lady from my human resource department in the main office calls me out of the blue. She says she sees that I have worked for the company for 13 years and been a model employee. Tells me that the company has started a new tier system and I should apply for tier 2 pay, that I can get the paperwork from my supervisor. I filled it out a couple days later and that should take effect any time now.

Now keep in mind the state of Montana just had a big budget cut that hurt my field of work. My company took a hit. And my company is ran by a bunch of liberals so they are not admitting why, but the sumbitches haven’t gave out raises in 5 years. Now all of a sudden after budget cuts that hurt them and tax cuts from Trump I get two raises in a matter of weeks?? Yeah, I smell what Trump cooked up. And it smells delicious!

Re: Politics

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Nearly three-quarters of voters say that the U.S. economy has improved under President Donald Trump, according to a survey by the Wall Street Journal and NBC News.

The share of voters who give Trump credit for the economy is rising as well, up to 44 percent compared with 38 percent a year ago, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The share who say they are “very satisfied” with the economy is way up. In 2014, only two to four percent said they were very satisfied. This number rose to six percent in 2015 and was at eight percent in April of 2017, three months after Trump took office. In January of this year, 21 percent said they were very satisfied. This held steady at 20 percent in the most recent poll. These are both the highest very satisfied scores since March 2000.

On the other end of the scale, far fewer Americans are “very dissatisfied” with the economy. Two years ago, 29 percent of Americans were very dissatisfied, according to the Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll. In the most recent poll, just 12 percent are. The most recent figure is the lowest dissatisfaction share since January 2001.

This is made all the more remarkable because the U.S. was several years into an economic recovery when President Trump took office. Few economic prognosticators believed that Trump’s election would lead to such a dramatic turn in public perceptions about the economy.

In the WSJ/NBC poll from July 2016, just 64 percent of Americans said the economy had improved, while 36 percent said the economy had not really improved. The new poll shows the share of Americans who say the economy has improved rose to 71 percent and the not improved share fell to 25 percent.

Despite fewer voters saying the economy had improved in 2016, a higher number–49 percent–said they were willing to give Barack Obama credit for the improvement. Just 15 percent said the economy had improved but Obama did not deserve credit.

Resistance to giving Trump credit is much higher. Twenty-seven percent said the economy had improved but Trump did not deserve credit, up from 22 percent a year ago.

This suggests that those who have changed their mind on the economy of the first year remain almost evenly divided on the president. A year ago, 37 percent said the economy had not really improved, versus 25 percent in the most recent poll. Around six of those points were accounted for by those who give Trump credit, and around the same amount by those who do not.

Re: Politics

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Small Business Optimism Soars to Highest Level in 34 Years, Wage Increases Hit 45-Year Record

Small business optimism soared in May to its highest level in 34 years, with some components hitting all-time highs, the National Federation of Independent Businesses said Tuesday.

The NFIB’s Small Business Optimism Index rose 3 points in May to a reading of 107.8, its second-highest level in 45 years and strongest level of the recovery. Economists were expecting the index to rise to 105.2 from 104.8.

The May reading was just under the 1983 record of 108.

Several measures hit the highest levels ever recorded. Plans for business expansion, reports of positive earnings trends, and compensation increases broke new records. Expectations for strong increases in sales reached their highest level since 1995.

“Small business owners are continuing an 18-month streak of unprecedented optimism which is leading to more hiring and raising wages,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “While they continue to face challenges in hiring qualified workers, they now have more resources to commit to attracting candidates.”

The NFIB cites tax cuts and regulatory cuts as helping drive the optimism of small businesses.

“The new tax code is returning money to the private sector where history makes clear it will be better invested than by a government bureaucracy,” the NFIB said in its report. “Regulatory costs, as significant as taxes, are being reduced.”

http://www.nfib.com/surveys/small-busin ... ic-trends/

Re: Politics

1273
And then there is this ...

The number of households on food stamps has dipped below 20 million for the first time in eight years, according to the latest data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The latest data from the USDA reveals that the number of households on food stamps in February 2018 dropped to 19,992,124—the first time it fell below 20 million since September 2010, when 19,979,385 households were enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/de ... onthly.pdf

Re: Politics

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Absolutely.

Don't sound so happy about it.

Are you one of the far left like Bill Maher who is openly rooting for Trump and the country to fail. Hoping for a recession that will hurt millions just so Trump will look bad?

I find that absolutely disgusting.