Jobs Report Makes a 2008 GOP Win Less Likely      (U.S. News & World Report)
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U.S. News & World Report - You know the &quot;five-second rule,&quot; the one that says you can eat food dropped on the ground for five seconds and it&#39;s still good. Well, maybe, there&#39;s a five-day rule for presidential candidates. Maybe Fred Thompson can still drop right back out of the presidential race--no harm, no foul. Today&#39;s job numbers were that bad for Republicans and that good for Democrats. I mean, if you&#39;re a political junkie who likes to bet a few sawbucks now and then, it might be time to snag a few &quot;Democratic Party Candidate to Win 2008 Presidential Election&quot; contracts over at the TradeSports online betting site.  ...
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The Economist is currently reporting the results of a survey of professional economists. When asked the majority seemed to feel that the economy was safer in Kerry's hands than in Bush's. The Bush tax cuts seem to have gone down particularly poorly with this group.     On the more positive side for Bush, a significant number of the economists say they don't think the problems of the US economy are entirely his fault.
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US employers added 96,000 workers in September, fewer than expected, in the last jobs report Americans will see before deciding between President George W. Bush and Democratic challenger John Kerry in November.
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WASHINGTON -- The economy has slowed even more than previously thought, but the sluggish spell is not expected to turn into recession as Election Day nears.
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The outcome -- or lack of it -- of Tuesday&#39;s US presidential contest will move stocks in the short term, but the election effect likely will wear off quickly
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WASHINGTON -- A string of government reports yesterday offered a mixed picture of the US economy.
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According to Wall Streetâs forecasters, the recession of 2008 is now unavoidable. That is, if you read between the lines of their predictions.
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The US economy created less jobs than expected in December,  but created more jobs in 2004 than any time since 1999.
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AFP/File - A weaker-than-anticipated report on the US labor market, showing just 112,000 jobs added in November, cast fresh doubts over the pace of growth of the world's largest economy.
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You think the Republicans are sure to lose big in November? They aren't. Here's why things don't look so bad to them
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President Bush and Democratic challenger John Kerry on Friday seized on a Labor Department report showing the US expanded payrolls by 144,000 and lowered the unemployment level to 5.4 percent
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Bush administration officials on  Friday sought to ease fears the U.S. was tipping into recession  after a government report showed the economy shed jobs for the  first time in four years last month.
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NEW YORK -- A closely watched barometer of future economic activity fell in September for the fourth consecutive month, suggesting that the recovery may be cooling. A separate report from the Labor Department, however, suggested modest improvement in the job market.
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NEW YORK - The stock market that meandered through September could gain some direction in the week ahead as the Labor Department releases its latest report on job creation.    For all the economic data that Wall Street parses and analyzes every day, the jobs report, scheduled for release Friday, is one of the few that seem to encapsulate the economy as a whole...
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The U.S. economy added a modest 111,000 jobs in January, but the job picture was much brighter than first estimated in the final quarter of last year, a government report showed on Friday.
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The Software &amp; Information Industry Association (SIIA) released a report on Thursday that painted a rosy picture of the sector&#39;s fortunes, one that stands in stark contrast to widespread fears of a recession in the U.S.&quot;One of the things we could not have anticipated was that we&#39;d be releasing this report at a time when the stock market had swooned and lawmakers were focused on an economic stimulus package,&quot; said Kenneth Wasch, president of SIIA. &quot;But it is important as policymakers consider what to do about our economic situation to recognize the role this industry plays in growing the U.S. economy.&quot;However, the SIIA acknowledged that a recession would undoubtedly have some effect on its membership.The 48-page report cites statistics culled from various government and private sources, including the U.S. Census and the Department of Labor.The SIIA&#39;s findings include:*&#160;More than 2.7 million Americans were employed in software and information-related companies in 2006, and net employment growth for those sectors was 17 percent between 1997 and 2006.*&#160;Those same workers earn among the top wages in the nation, taking home an average of $75,400 in 2006 compared to the overall average for private-sector employees of $42,400.*&#160;In comparison, other major but related industries saw their job numbers drop. Computer and electronics manufacturing fell by 27 percent, and telecommunications lost 8 percent during the same period.*&#160;The software and information industry&#39;s growth rate tripled that of the overall U.S. economy in 2005, rising 10.8 percent, compared to the 3.2 percent uptick in the U.S. gross domestic product.*&#160;The number of jobs for software engineers alone will grow to 1.2 million by 2016.Policymakers must pursue legislation that recognizes the contribution of the tech industry to the economy and ensures it remains strong in the future, Wasch and other SIIA officials said in a conference call on Thursday. Key to this, they said, is producing enough skilled workers through improving the higher education system and reforming immigration policies.&quot;We have to recognize we are competing as a country for the best-skilled talent,&quot; said David LeDuc, SIIA&#39;s director of public policy. &quot;We shouldn&#39;t be turning away some of the best and brightest workers in the world when in many cases they&#39;re being educated right here.&quot;The group also called for relaxed trade restrictions, increased penetration of broadband Internet and computer access, and tougher laws protecting intellectual property. &quot;It&#39;s simply unacceptable that we have the rates of piracy as we do around the world,&quot; LeDuc said.Even as the SIIA calls for the government to ease immigration law, Senator Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, and others have attacked the H1-B temporary visa program, which allows companies to hire foreign workers with specialized skills. Critics contend, among other things, that companies are using H1-B visas to import cheaper labor, passing over U.S. employees and depressing wages.&quot;There&#39;s no question there&#39;s been some abuse. I&#39;m not going to sit here and argue that there&#39;s been no abuse of this,&quot; LeDuc said.
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The US Labor Department on Friday issued its employment report for November, showing slower job growth than had been expected. Only 112,000 new jobs were created, compared to forecasts of 180,000.