Learners Live

Did you Know?
Menu

ABC: Nonresidential Construction Adds 19K Jobs in April

William Attardi on May 11, 2026

The construction industry added 9,000 jobs on net in April, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment has expanded by 50,000 jobs, an increase of 0.6%. Nonresidential construction employment increased by 19,000 positions, with gains in all three subcategories. Nonresidential specialty traded added the most jobs, increasing by 12,600 positions. Nonresidential building and heavy and civil engineering added 5,600 and 800 jobs, respectively, in April. The construction unemployment rate was 3.8% in April. Unemployment across all industries remained unchanged at 4.3% and is 0.1 percentage point higher than it was a year ago.  ABC: Nonresidential Construction Adds 19K Jobs in April

Weekly Jobless Claims Hits Lowest Level in 5 Decades

William Attardi on May 1, 2026

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits last week fell to its lowest level in more than 50 years, according to the latest report from the U.S. Department of Labor.  In the week ending April 25, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claimswas 189,000, a decrease of 26,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 214,000 to 215,000. The 4-week moving average was 207,500, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 250 from 210,750 to 211,000. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2 percent for the week ending April 18, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate. Weekly Jobless Claims Hits Lowest Level in 5 Decades – tEDmag

Manufacturing PMI® at 52.7% – March 2026 ISM® Manufacturing PMI® Report

William Attardi on April 3, 2026

US manufacturing activity expanded for a third consecutive month in March, with the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing PMI measuring 52.7, up slightly from 52.4 in February. New orders dropped from 55.8 to 53.5, while production rose 1.6 points to 55.1. Supplier deliveries increased 3.8 points to 58.9, and employment contracted 0.1 points to 48.7. Institute for Supply Management

US Jobless Claims Inch Up, Labor Market Remains Stable

William Attardi on March 27, 2026

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week, signaling a labor market that remains steady despite ongoing economic uncertainty. New data from the U.S. Department of Labor for the week ending March 21 shows initial jobless claims increased by 5,000 to 210,000. The four-week moving average was 210,500, a decrease of 250 from the previous week. At the same time, continuing claims fell to 1.82 million, the lowest level since May 2024. The figures suggest layoffs remain relatively low and employers are largely holding onto workers.  US Jobless Claims Inch Up, Labor Market Remains Stable – tEDmag

U.S. Jobs Suffer Broad, Surprise Drop-Off by Justin Lahart

William Attardi on March 8, 2026

The U.S. lost 92,000 jobs in February, a widespread and unexpected downturn for a job market that continues to struggle across a broad range of sectors. The employment numbers, reported Friday by the Labor Department, fell far short of January’s gain of 126,000 jobs. They were also much worse than the gain of 50,000 jobs that economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected to see. The unemployment rate ticked slightly higher to 4.4%. While that is still low, the Friday report exposes troubling weaknesses in a labor market that has shown very little employment growth in recent months. rdHkKlPag6piGjbFnd01-WSJNewsPaper-3-7-2026.pdf

ABC: Nonresidential Construction Adds Solid 27,900 Jobs in January

William Attardi on February 12, 2026

The construction industry added 33,000 jobs on net in January, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment has grown by 44,000 jobs, an increase of 0.5%. Nonresidential construction employment expanded by 27,900 positions, with gains in 2 of the 3 subcategories. Nonresidential specialty trade added 25,100 jobs, while nonresidential building added 3,600 new positions. Heavy and civil engineering lost 800 jobs in January. The construction unemployment rate was 6.9% in January. Unemployment across all industries decreased to 4.3% and is 0.3 percentage points higher than one year ago. ABC: Nonresidential Construction Adds Solid 27,900 Jobs in January

Faster Economic Growth, Weaker Hiring Seen by Harriet Torry and Anthony DeBarros

William Attardi on October 13, 2025

Prospects for U.S. economic growth are looking up, as investment in artificial intelligence booms and risks around tariffs diminish, according to economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. Even as the economists have raised estimates for economic growth, they have lowered prospects for jobs. Behind the strange dichotomy: Employers are reluctant to hire given political uncertainty and rising costs, even as their investment, especially in AI, is boosting productivity and economic growth.  That slower job growth, however, won’t translate into notably higher unemployment, because the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration is reducing the supply of workers. Economists expect the jobless rate to hover around 4.5% over the next year. It was 4.3% in August.  tCTlJoMg7sMgno0naAXk-WSJNewsPaper-10-13-2025.pdf

US Labor Market Remains Resilient, Unemployment Rate Falls

William Attardi on July 3, 2025

The job gains were significantly larger than expected and the unemployment rate ticked down in May. S. employers added 147,000 jobs in June and beat economists’ expectations of fewer than 118,000 new jobs as the American labor market continues to show surprising resilience despite uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s economic policies. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1% from 4.2% in May, the Labor Department said Thursday. US Labor Market Remains Resilient, Unemployment Rate Falls – tEDmag

US Unemployment Hovers at Historically Low Levels

William Attardi on June 22, 2025

 The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits dipped to 245,000 last week, hovering at historically low levels, the Labor Department said Wednesday. The number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits the week of June 7 slid to 1.95 million. Weekly unemployment claims are a proxy for layoffs and mostly have stayed within a healthy band of 200,000 to 250,000 since the economy recovered from a brief but painful COVID-19 recession in 2020, which temporarily wiped out millions of jobs. US Unemployment Hovers at Historically Low Levels – tEDmag

Remembering the Solemn Purpose of Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States observed on the last Monday in May to honor and mourn U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the armed forces. The holiday traces its roots to the years immediately following the American Civil War (1861–1865), which caused massive casualties—roughly 620,000 soldiers dead, about 2% of the U.S. population at the time. Communities across the North and South began spontaneously decorating the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers, wreaths, and flags, a practice that gave rise to the original name: Decoration Day. On May 5, 1868, Major General John A. Logan, commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR)—a powerful Union veterans’ organization—issued General Order No. 11. This proclaimed May 30, 1868, as a nationwide “Decoration Day” to honor those who died in the Civil War. After World War I, the holiday expanded to honor all American service members who died in any war, not just the Civil War.  In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act to create more three-day weekends for federal employees. This moved Memorial Day to the last Monday in May, effective in 1971, when it was also officially named “Memorial Day.” As one 1868 quote put it: “That Nation which respects and honors its dead, shall ever be respected and honored itself.”