Unemployment

Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell to the lowest level since 1969 — but there are disturbing trends below the surface.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported just 57,000 new jobs in June. Economists had expected double that.

April and May hiring increases were concentrated in lower-paying industries like leisure and hospitality, while professional sectors like banking and tech weren’t doing as well.

They’re hiring, paying more, and giving workers more hours.

In Iran, inflation is soaring, food prices are spiking, and over a million people have lost their jobs.

Philadelphia’s unemployment rate has risen recently, from 4.5% to 5.3%. That is a whole percentage point higher than the state and national average.

Long-term unemployment is defined as six months or more without work. The number of Americans in that group is up more than 300,000 over the past year, even as the overall jobless rate holds at 4.3%.

The economic landscape in this country looks very different now than it did four weeks ago, when the U.S. and Israel began waging a new war in Iran that has spread throughout the region. And the economic impact has been nothing but negative.

Unemployment insurance claims dropped more than expected last week. The number of people filing for jobless benefits for the first time fell to 205,000, the lowest level since January.

The rate of people either working or looking for work in the U.S. ticked down to 62%.