Americans

Unemployment rate falls to 6.7% in December on Americans leaving the work force

By Michael Lucci
01/10/2014
The national unemployment rate declined to 6.7 percent in December, down from 7 percent a month earlier, according to the latest report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Payroll jobs increased a paltry 74,000, below consensus estimates of 200,000. November payroll gains were revised up from 203,000 to 241,000. Despite the huge miss in...

TAGS: jobs, unemployment

If you like your crummy health insurance plan, you can’t keep it — but now you can buy ours!

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
12/20/2013
To paraphrase political humorist P.J. O’Rourke, “Giving the Obama administration control over one-sixth of the economy is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.” Last night provided yet another example of ObamaCare rollout chaos. The Obama administration announced that people who had their plans canceled by ObamaCare regulations (because they were inferior plans,...

TAGS: ACA: Affordable Care Act

7,000 Illinoisans enrolled in ObamaCare plans in the first 2 months

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
12/11/2013
Almost 365,000 Americans have “enrolled” in the ObamaCare exchanges, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. That number is far below the Obama administration’s impending goal of enrolling 3 million people by the end of December and 7 million by the end of March. But the true number of people who have...

TAGS: enrollment

Government union power cracking as support wanes

By Paul Kersey
12/10/2013
While teachers unions hold tremendous power, cracks are starting to appear in their foundations.  As Stephanie Simon reports in Politico, both the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers are dealing with new challenges: declining membership, the growing popularity of Right-to-Work laws and a loss of support among the public. As Simon describes...

TAGS: AFT: American Federation of Teachers, lobbying, unions

Pension solutions: reforming retirement age

By Benjamin VanMetre, John Klingner
11/26/2013
THE PROBLEM Illinois’ $100 billion pension crisis is the worst in the nation. The Illinois General Assembly’s failed attempts to solve the pension crisis in the past have only perpetuated Illinois’ problem. Politicians have done nothing more than tinker at the margins of reform to avoid making tough decisions. The reality is minor changes won’t...

40 insurance policies canceled for every ObamaCare enrollee

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
11/18/2013
Five million Americans and counting across the country have already received notices that their health insurance plans in the individual and small group markets are being canceled as a result of ObamaCare. So far, Andrew Boron, Illinois’ insurance commissioner, has not yet revealed how many Illinoisans are facing the same situation, despite calls from both...

TAGS: ACA: Affordable Care Act

Who counts as an ObamaCare enrollee?

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
11/12/2013
The federal government is expected to announce this week how many Illinoisans and Americans across the country have enrolled in the federal health care program known as ObamaCare. But instead of reporting on actual enrollments, media sources are predicting that the Obama administration will, instead, be reporting on the number of people who have put a health plan in their online shopping cart, but...

TAGS: ACA: Affordable Care Act

59% of Americans disapprove of Obama’s handling of health care policy

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
11/12/2013
According to a recent poll by Pew Research, President Barack Obama’s overall job approval rating is tanking. While the president is seeing better marks for his handling of the economy, he is facing growing disapproval in a number of areas, including health care. According to the report: Obama also gets negative ratings on health care...

TAGS: ACA: Affordable Care Act

Lowest labor-force participation rate since 1978

By John Klingner
11/10/2013
The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the national unemployment rate rose in October to 7.3 percent from 7.2 percent one month earlier. There are 11.3 million Americans currently unemployed. The U-6 unemployment rate, which includes all workers who are unemployed or underemployed, rose to 13.8 percent, up from last month’s 13.6 percent. In total,...

TAGS: jobs, labor force participation rate, LFPR, unemployment

11.3 million Americans remained unemployed in September

By John Klingner
10/23/2013
After nearly a month’s delay due to the federal government’s shutdown, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced yesterday that the national unemployment rate edged down in September to 7.2 percent from 7.3 percent one month earlier. Overall, 11.3 million Americans remain unemployed. The U-6 unemployment rate, which includes all workers who are unemployed or underemployed,...

TAGS: BLS: Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment, jobs, unemployment