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Posted on April 4, 2015April 3, 2015 by James — Leave a comment

Labor Force Participation Matches 37-Year Low

Americans Not in Labor Force Exceed 93 Million for First Time; 62.7% Labor Force Participation Matches 37-Year Low
By Ali Meyer
April 3, 2015 – 8:58 AM

CNSNews.com) – The number of Americans 16 years and older who did not participate in the labor force–meaning they neither had a job nor actively sought one in the last four weeks–rose from 92,898,000 in February to 93,175,000 in March, according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

That is the first time the number of Americans out of the labor force has exceeded 93 million.

Also from February to March, the labor force participation rate dropped from 62.8 percent to 62.7 percent, matching a 37-year low.

Five times in the last twelve months, the participation rate has been as low as 62.8 percent; but March’s 62.7 percent, which matches the participation rate seen in September and December of 2014, is the lowest since February of 1978.

https://cnsnews.com/news/article/ali-meyer/americans-not-labor-force-exceed-93-million-first-time-627-labor-force

Posted on April 4, 2015April 3, 2015 by James — Leave a comment

US Growth Forecast Chopped to Zero

By Paul Ausick April 3, 2015 8:40 am EDT

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta has reported that its forecast for U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) growth dropped to zero on April 1 and ticked back up to 0.1% on April 2. The bank uses a unique model called GDPNow to prepare its forecasts, and the model typically estimates growth well below the rate projected by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).

The GDPNow model aggregates the same 13 subcomponents used by BEA to construct its estimate, but when a data point is not available, the model uses “bridge equations” to fill the gap. Other forecasters use similar “nowcast” techniques, but the Atlanta Fed notes that other forecasts are not updated more than once a month or once a quarter. Also, they are not publicly available and do not include forecasts of the subcomponents that add color to the top-line number. The GDPNow model fills those voids.

On February 2, the GDPNow model forecast GDP growth of 1.9%. At that time the change in net exports was forecast to be down $15 billion. By March 12, that total had dropped to a $40 billion negative change. Nonresidential construction spending was initially forecast to drop by 1.5% and is now forecast to be down 22.5%.

Posted on April 3, 2015April 3, 2015 by James — Leave a comment

Obamanomics : Except for rich, Americans’ incomes fell last year

Washington (AFP) – Most Americans’ incomes continued to fall last year, but the richest 20 percent saw theirs rise, a new Labor Department report showed Thursday.

In fresh data that adds fire to a growing debate over income inequality, the department said that Americans on average saw income decline for the second straight year in the 12 months to June 2014.

The average pre-tax income fell 0.9 percent from the same period a year earlier, to $64,432.

But broken down into quintiles, those in the top 20 percent of incomes saw their money stream grow by 0.9 percent to $166,048 on average.

Every other group lost ground, with the bottom 20 percent losing the most: their average income dropped 3.5 percent to $9,818.

https://news.yahoo.com/except-rich-americans-incomes-fell-last-220335392.html;_ylt=AwrBJR_C1B1VzXsAYUvQtDMD

Posted on March 31, 2015March 31, 2015 by James — 1 Comment

STUCK ON STUPID : N.J. Senate committee examining state’s economic recovery

MARCH 31, 2015, 12:55 PM LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 2015, 12:57 PM

BY DUSTIN RACIOPPI
STATE HOUSE BUREAU |
THE RECORD

State senators are looking for answers why New Jersey has become an economic island of the Northeast as the country continues to recover from the Great Recession.

On the second day of testimony by state leaders on Governor Christie’s $33.8 budget for 2016, legislators focused Tuesday on New Jersey’s lagging comeback. David Rosen, the Office of Legislative Services’ budget officer, told the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee that just five states – all in the south or west – have had a worse recovery from the economic crisis than New Jersey, while neighboring states, like New York, have had a strong rebound.

“What is it that we are doing wrong?” Sen. Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, asked Rosen.

There is no clear answer and there are a host of underlying factors, but the state’s substantial losses in the pharmaceutical and telecommunications industry — two sectors that brought enormous wealth and prosperity to the Garden State — have had a significant and long-lasting impact, Rosen said. The state is creating jobs, he said, “just at a slower pace.” The national unemployment rate, for example, is 5.5 percent, while New Jersey’s is 6.4 percent.

“It seems like we just haven’t come up with the next thing to drive the economy,” Rosen said.

In his budget analysis, Rosen noted New Jersey’s sluggish revenue growth, at an average of 2.4 percent a year since 2010. Since the end of the recession only the state’s sales tax has returned to its pre-recession peak, while gross income taxes have fallen short and corporate business taxes “remain well below the peak,” he said.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/n-j-senate-committee-examining-state-s-economic-recovery-1.1299491

Posted on March 31, 2015March 31, 2015 by James — Leave a comment

North Jersey home prices rise, still less than national average

MARCH 31, 2015, 11:49 AM LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 2015, 12:12 PM
BY KATHLEEN LYNN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

Home prices in the region ticked up 2.1 percent in the New York metropolitan area, including North Jersey, in the 12 months ended in January, the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index reported Tuesday. That was less than half the national increase of 4.5 percent.

The numbers point to a housing market that is still slowly recovering from the worst downturn since World War II. Home values are no higher than they were in 2004, both nationally and in the region. Single-family prices in the area are almost 19 percent below their peaks in mid-2006, while national values are about 17 percent below their peaks.

“Despite price gains, the housing market faces some difficulties,” said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “Home prices [nationwide] are rising roughly twice as fast as wages, putting pressure on potential homebuyers and heightening the risk that any uptick in interest rates could be a major setback. Moreover, the new home sector is weak; residential construction is still below its pre-crisis peak.”

In Bergen County, the median price of a single-family home dropped 8.6 percent in January from a year earlier, to $425,000. In Passaic County, the median dropped 1.8 percent, to $275,000. Those numbers are from the New Jersey Realtors and reflect the mix of properties sold in the month; Case-Shiller does not track prices on a county-by-county basis.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/north-jersey-home-prices-rise-still-less-than-national-average-1.1299472

Posted on March 31, 2015March 31, 2015 by James — 4 Comments

NJ construction employment on the rise

MARCH 31, 2015 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY HUGH R. MORLEY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

* Multifamily housing, warehouse construction put 7,900 more on payrolls so far this year

The recovering New Jersey housing sector and a surge in warehouse projects has helped spark a dramatic increase in construction employment around the state, which last year added the most construction jobs in a decade.

The increase of 10,000 jobs in the sector in 2014, up 7.5 percent, far outstripped the 1 percent increase in all jobs over the period, figures from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development show.

And the addition of 7,900 construction jobs in January and February show the increase continuing into 2015.

Increased construction in the multifamily sector, particularly along the Gold Coast, the Hudson River waterfront from Jersey City to Fort Lee, is a key driver in the construction employment hike, said builders and economists.

“It’s getting more and more healthy each year, without question,” said George Vallone, principal of Hoboken Brownstone Co. and president of the New Jersey Builders Association, a Hamilton-based trade group. “And if you are in a particular sector, which is the multifam section on the Gold Coast — it’s blazing hot.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/building-surge-adds-jobs-1.1299296

Posted on March 31, 2015March 30, 2015 by James — Leave a comment

Stuck on Stupid :N.J. economy not generating big bucks in state budget, lawmakers told

Stuck on Stupid :N.J. economy not generating big bucks in state budget, lawmakers told
By Samantha Marcus | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

TRENTON — New Jersey’s mediocre economic recovery has the state Legislature’s financial analysts betting low on how much money the state will take in next year.

But that doesn’t mean there will be another big battle between the Legislature and Gov. Chris Christie’s office over revenue forecasts this year.

The nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services, known in recent years for offering a sobering take on the state’s tax collections that challenge the Christie administration’s more optimistic estimates, suggested there will be no such conflict this year.

“I am pleased that this year’s budget discussions will not feature a clash of conflicting revenue forecasts,” David Rosen, the Legislature’s budget and finance officer, told the state Assembly Budget Committee this morning. “The OLS believes the executive’s forecasts are reasonable.”

https://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/03/nj_economy_not_generating_big_bucks_state_budget_l.html#incart_river

Posted on March 30, 2015March 30, 2015 by James — 11 Comments

Raymond’s in Ridgewood, Montclair to pay $345K in back wages

Raymond’s in Ridgewood, Montclair to pay $345K in back wages

March 30, 2015 Last updated: Monday, March 30, 2015, 2:50 PM
By MELANIE ANZIDEI

A Ridgewood restaurant chain and its owners must pay $325,534 in back wages to 160 workers for overtime and minimum wage violations, the U.S. Department of Labor said Monday.

Raymond’s Ridgewood LLC did not pay members of its kitchen staff for overtime and failed to pay tipped workers the proper wage rate, an investigation by the department’s Northern New Jersey Wage and Hour District Office found.

Employees at two locations were affected. At Raymond’s in Ridgewood, 84 employees are due $100,048 in back wages, said the department. This includes overtime back wages to its kitchen staff and tipped employees. The employer also failed to pay tipped workers in Ridgewood the proper wage rate from the beginning of their employment, the department said. At Raymond’s in Montclair, 76 workers are due $225,486 in overtime back wages, the agency said.

The restaurant chain agreed to make the payments, which are in the process of being paid, according to Department of Labor spokeswoman Leni Uddyback-Fortson. The back wages cover employee compensations from April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2014.

Raymond Badach and Joanne Ricci, owners of the restaurant chain, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/raymond-s-in-ridgewood-montclair-to-pay-345k-in-back-wages-1.1298939

Posted on March 30, 2015January 21, 2019 by James — 1 Comment

Northern Bergen office vacancies skyrocket as companies flee New Jersey’s Anti Business Climate

Northern Bergen office vacancies skyrocket as companies flee New Jersey’s Anti Business Climate

MARCH 29, 2015 LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, MARCH 29, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY LINDA MOSS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

* Shifting preferences are likely to alter the look of many now-empty large corporate campuses

Northern Bergen County, once a magnet for corporations, has lost some of its luster as a number of companies leave the area, sending its office vacancy rate soaring to nearly 40 percent, according to one real estate firm.

In the first quarter so far, the northern corridor of the county, including towns like Montvale and Park Ridge, had 2.25 million square feet of its total 5.8 million square feet of office space unoccupied, according to JLL, a real estate firm with offices in East Rutherford.

That translates to a 39 percent vacancy rate in the quarter, up 70 percent from the year-ago period’s 23 percent, JLL reported.

The Hertz Corp.’s former headquarters in Park Ridge, a 226,000-square-foot property, is on the block after the auto-rental giant’s relocation to Estero, Fla. And Pearson Education’s exit a few months ago from its leafy campus in Upper Saddle River added 475,000 square feet of vacant office space.

“You’ve got almost a million square feet just in Montvale,” said JLL Managing Director Tom Reilly.

Vacancy rates could rise even higher when Mercedes-Benz USA moves its U.S. headquarters from Montvale, where it has three buildings, to Atlanta over the next couple of years. That relocation, announced in January, would add as much as 310,300 square feet of vacant space in the region.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/the-wide-open-office-spaces-1.1298328

Posted on March 28, 2015March 28, 2015 by James — 1 Comment

Ben & Jerry’s Helps You with Employee Appreciation

Ben & Jerry’s Helps You with Employee Appreciation

Office Event, Employee Appreciation, Just Because…

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Your employees will love the delicious toppings like fresh baked cookies and brownies, hot fudge, hot caramel and of course their favorite Ben & Jerry’s flavors.

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Posted on March 28, 2015March 26, 2015 by James — Leave a comment

Hard Times for Obama Voters

Hard Times for Obama Voters

Recent college grads, and especially African-Americans, struggle to find work in a slow recovery.
ByJAMES FREEMAN
May 21, 2014 7:58 a.m. ET

The great irony of the Obama era is that the President’s base voters have disproportionately suffered from a sputtering economy, while the wealthy that Mr. Obama likes to criticize have enjoyed a booming stock market. A new study shows just how difficult this era has been for some of the President’s most loyal supporters.

Researchers at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a left-leaning think tank, find that “The Great Recession has been hard on all recent college graduates, but it has been even harder on black recent graduates.”

In 2013, the unemployment rate for black college graduates ages 22-27 was a full 12.4%, more than double the 5.6% rate for all college grads in the same age range.

And for those African-American recent grads who did have jobs in 2013, study authors Janelle Jones and John Schmitt find that a staggering 56% were underemployed, meaning they were doing jobs that typically don’t require a four-year college degree. This compares to 45% underemployment among all recent graduates. For youngsters of all colors, these statistics describe a tragic era of lost opportunity and unrealized potential.

Even a career-friendly course of study isn’t protecting young graduates from the ravages of this historically slow recovery. The authors report that “for the years 2010 to 2012, among black recent graduates with degrees in engineering, the average unemployment rate was 10 percent and the underemployment rate was 32 percent.” Among all recent grads with engineering degrees, the average unemployment rate in those years was 6%, while 22% were underemployed.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303480304579575560207738956

Posted on March 28, 2015March 26, 2015 by James — Leave a comment

U.S. Capital Gains Tax Rate, 6th Highest in OECD

U.S. Capital Gains Tax Rate, 6th Highest in OECD
March 25,2015

President’s budget proposal would bump rate to 5th highest

Washington, DC ,The United States currently has the 6th highest top marginal tax rate on capital gains in the OECD at 28.6 percent. President Obama’s recent budget proposal seeks to increase the top marginal tax rate on capital gains to 32.8 percent, which would give the U.S. the fifth highest rate in the industrialized world. However, this expansion of the capital gains tax could lead to slower economic growth, according to a recent report from the nonpartisan Tax Foundation.

“Increasing taxes on capital income discourages savings, which leads to lower levels of investment and slower economic growth,” explains Tax foundation Economist Kyle Pomerleau. “The expansion of this tax as suggested in the recent budget proposal would only further this bias against saving.”

The report argues that as more people prefer consumption today due to this bias, there will be less capital available in the future. For investors, this represents less available capital for factories, machines, and other investment opportunities.

“Additionally, capital gains taxes create a lock-in effect that reduces the mobility of capital,” adds Pomerleau. “People are less willing to realize capital gains from one investment in order to move to another when they face a tax on their returns. Funds will be slower to move to better investments, further reducing economic growth.”

By raising the federal top marginal capital gains tax rate, President Obama’s FY 2016 budget would compound these negative effects and make the U.S. tax code less competitive globally. On the other hand, the report finds that lowering taxes on capital gains would have the reverse effect, increasing investment and leading to greater economic growth.

The report’s key findings include:

The average combined federal, state, and local top marginal tax rate on long-term capital gains in the United States is 28.6 percent – 6th highest in the OECD.
This is more than 10 percentage points higher than the simple average across industrialized nations of 18.4 percent, and 5 percentage points higher than the weighted average.
Nine industrialized countries exempt long-term capital gains from taxation.
California has the 3rd highest top marginal capital gains tax rate in the industrialized world at 33 percent.
The taxation of capital gains places a double-tax on corporate income, increases the cost of capital, and reduces investment in the economy.
The President’s FY 2016 budget would increase capital gains tax rates in the United States from 28.6 percent to 32.8, the 5th highest rate in the OECD.

Full Report: The High Burden of State and Federal Capital Gains Tax Rates in the United States

Posted on March 24, 2015March 24, 2015 by James — Leave a comment

Obamacare Is Really Expensive for Small Businesses. Surprise!

Obamacare Is Really Expensive for Small Businesses. Surprise!

Lousy news for growing the economy, creating jobs, and overall increasing prosperity

“Complying with the health care law is costing small businesses thousands of dollars that they didn’t have to spend before the new regulations went into effect,” reports AP business writer Joyce M. Rosenberg. This should be a surprise to exactly nobody. In general, government mandates have poor track record of making people’s lives less expensive and complicated. Specifically, businesses around the country have reported over the past year that Obamacare raised their healthcare costs and they anticipated more hikes to come. Hiring—especially of full-time employees—has taken a hit as a result.

Writes Rosenberg:

The Affordable Care Act, which as of next Jan. 1 applies to all companies with 50 or more workers, requires owners to track staffers’ hours, absences and how much they spend on health insurance. Many small businesses don’t have the human resources departments or computer systems that large companies have, making it harder to handle the paperwork. On average, complying with the law costs small businesses more than $15,000 a year, according to a survey released a year ago by the National Small Business Association.

Last summer, Federal Reserve Banks around the country surveyed businesses in their regions. In the service sector, about 82 percent of businesses told the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas that the Affordable Care Act raised costs for them in 2014; 91 percent expected increased costs in 2015.

https://reason.com/blog/2015/03/23/obamacare-is-really-expensive-for-small

Posted on March 23, 2015March 23, 2015 by James — Leave a comment

How an ‘expensive’ N.J. community might handle town-by-town minimum wage proposal

How an ‘expensive’ N.J. community might handle town-by-town minimum wage proposal

MONTCLAIR — A township official says an Assembly proposal that would allow municipalities in New Jersey to set their own minimum wages would be plausible, and likely passable, in Montclair. But, he says he’s not convinced that it’s the most effective way to increase the minimum wage in New Jersey. (Mazolla/NJ.com)

https://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2015/03/how_an_expensive_nj_community_might_handle_town-by.html#incart_river

Posted on March 14, 2015June 27, 2021 by James — Leave a comment

Congressman Leonard Lance (NJ-07) Calls FCC Release of Depression-Era Net Neutrality Regulations regulatory overreach and job-killing

Congressman Leonard Lance (NJ-07) Calls FCC Release of Depression-Era Net Neutrality Regulations regulatory overreach and job-killing
Mar 12, 2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

WESTFIELD, N.J. — Congressman Leonard Lance (NJ-07), New Jersey’s only Republican member of the House Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee, commented on the Federal Communications Commission’s release of its Depression-era rules to regulate the Internet.

In January Lance stated ,the obvious to everyone except the Obama administration, “The Internet is a medium that continues to experience tremendous technological growth and today’s action by the D.C. Circuit Court striking down the FCC’s efforts to regulate the Internet protects consumers, increases competition and encourages new investment and innovation in broadband. As a member of the House Communications and Technology Subcommittee I will continue to work with my colleagues to ensure that the FCC does not overstep its authority on the issue of network neutrality.”

Lance continued his attack on Net Neutrality in February , “The Federal Communications Commission has voted in favor of a net neutrality plan that is the most dramatic government intervention in the Internet in two decades. The FCC’s proposal to regulate the Internet will hurt consumers and discourage new investment and innovation in broadband. It is Congress, not an unelected federal commission, that is tasked with modernizing our Nation’s telecommunications laws and today’s action is a blatant overstep of authority that threatens to stifle one of the Nation’s most important economic engines.”

The FCC’s Release of the Net Neutrality regs on Thursday, Rep. Leonard Lance (NJ-07), seized on the opportunity to condemn what he views as “Depression-era” rules.“The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has finally released its sweeping proposal following weeks of secrecy and stonewalling. The American People now have an opportunity to read the FCC’s 300-plus page plan to regulate the Internet as a utility — a plan I believe will hurt consumers, discourage new investment and innovation in broadband, and lead to billions of dollars in new fees and taxes. That’s why I have joined many of my colleagues on the House Communications and Technology Subcommittee and introduced H.R. 1212, the Internet Freedom Act, that will put the brakes on this FCC overreach and protect our innovators from these job-killing regulations.”

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