bureau of labor statistics

10 Reasons Why You're Not Feeling Better About the Economy

The Dow is cruising at new highs, 236,000 jobs were created in February, consumer confidence is up, and Americans are feeling secure enough to take on new debt again. But if you're feeling somehow left out of the party, you aren't crazy. Things are still far from golden.

Jobs Report: Unemployment Rate Holds Steady At 7.8 Percent

Hiring by U.S. employers slowed slightly in December, pointing to a lackluster pace of economic growth that was unable to cut further into the country's still high unemployment rate. Payrolls outside the farming sector grew by 155,000, in line with analysts' expectations.

The 5 Best-Run and 5 Worst-Run States in America

Each year, 24/7 Wall St. conducts an extensive survey of all 50 states, reviewing a raft of data on financial health, living standards, government services and more to determine how well each one is managed. So which states do the best -- and the worst -- at the business of government? Read on...

Who Pays Better: Big Companies or Small Companies?

Complaints over higher tax brackets aside, one rule holds true when it comes to your paycheck: Bigger is better. Now, thanks to a recent report out of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we now know exactly where to look to score the bigger paycheck.

Social Security Benefits to Rise by 1.7% on Low Inflation

More than 56 million Social Security recipients will see their monthly payments go up by 1.7% next year, one of the smallest increases since automatic adjustments were adopted in 1975. The cost-of-living adjustment is linked to inflation, which has been relatively low over the past year.

Eat and Grow Rich: How you Can Become a Vegillionaire!

There are roughly 3 million millionaires in the U.S., and nearly everyone else has a plan to become the next one. But there are about 3% of Americans who may not even realize that they're already on the path to prosperity. What's giving their savings scenarios a leg up? They're vegetarians.

Are You Better Off Than You Were Four Years Ago?

It's the question every incumbent up for reelection has had to answer since challenger Ronald Reagan first posed it to President Jimmy Carter in 1980. But in this 2012 campaign, the answer is not so simple, for all the rhetoric on both sides.

America's Richest Cities

Median household income in the United States has declined for the second straight year, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau last month. But there are many cities that are doing well. These are America's richest cities.

Debate Fact Check on Jobs: Who Told The Truth and Who Didn't

Barack Obama and Mitt Romney offered viewers a blizzard of facts and figures Wednesday night, but not all of those "facts" were entirely accurate. Since employment is issue No. 1 for the American people right now, AOL Jobs has fact-checked the candidates' claims.

Financially on Track by 30? For Too Many, It's a Pipe Dream

By the time we hit the big 3-0, we expect our lives will be on track: Careers under way, finances under control, and perhaps even a partner to share the journey with. But the downturn has knocked millions of early 30-somethings off the track they expected to follow.

Why Gen Y Can't Get a Job: No Gumption, No Get Up and Go

You could just as well call them "Generation Why Bother." Amid our current hard times, the risk-averse and sedentary Gen Y-ers exhibit little of the gumption that helped prior generations survive their own periods of economic trouble.

The 10 Worst-Paying Cities in America for Women

International Women's Day honors women's successes, and also their struggles for equality. Nearly a century after American women won the universal right to vote, equal pay continues to remain a distant goal. Here are the metropolitan areas where the wage gap is the widest.

Teens Struggling to Find Elusive Part-Time Jobs

The economic turmoil that has left many Americans without work is having a disproportionate effect on teenage job-seekers, whose quest for entry-level positions often pits them against experienced older workers willing to take any job for a paycheck.

America's 10 Poorest Cities

America's road to economic recovery has been long and slow -- and uneven. Some parts of the country are doing a lot worse than others. It's a pattern that shows up in the jobs numbers, poverty rates, foreclosures. But if you want a quick, simple gauge of how any part of the U.S. is doing economically, just look at its median household income.

Second Jobs: Make Moonlighting Work for You

With U.S. unemployment continuing to top 9%, just having a job is enough to make many of us feel grateful. But one job isn't always enough. The new order of the day: combining two jobs to make a livable salary. Do you have the drive it takes to be a successful moonlighter or 'moonpreneur'?

How Americans Earn Extra Money on the Side

With unemployment high, wages stagnant and costs rising, a growing number of Americans are working a part time job -- or more than one -- to make ends meet. 24/7 Wall St. dug through the data to see which industries are the best bets for those seeking part-time work -- and some may surprise you.

Is Inflation Really 1.6%, or Is the BLS Getting Scammed?

Government measures show that inflation, at 1.6% in January, is still below the Fed's target of 2%. But commodity prices are soaring, and anyone who pays their household bills knows that food and energy prices are rising because of it. Is the Consumer Price Index getting it wrong?

Inflation Warning: Should the Fed Raise Interest Rates?

It's no surprise that consumer prices are rising -- the prices of commodities from corn to cotton to copper are near record levels, thanks to shrinking supplies and rising demand worldwide. The question is whether the Fed will raise rates to combat this price inflation -- and whether it should.

With Job Openings Falling, Trouble Could Be Coming

Two sets of labor statistics data, released this week, point to a divergence between the job-openings rate and the total number of employees on nonfarm payrolls. And that divergence may well serve as a leading indicator for the labor market as a whole.

What's the Real Unemployment Number?

In January, job creation was anemic, yet unemployment plummeted. What gives? The answer lies in the quirky way the government decides who gets counted as part of the work force, who gets counted as officially unemployed and who gets left out of the picture.

People@Work: Construction Job Growth Is Slowly Rebuilding

New forecasts show that the worst may be over for the construction industry, which was hit harder by the Great Recession than any other sector, as construction projects slowly resume. Some 27% of construction firms say they plan to add staff this year, while only 20% plan to cut jobs.