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1 month ago | 
cepr.net | Data Bytes |Jordan Billings |Dean Baker |Algernon Austin
By the Trump administration’s haphazard design, the federal government is in chaos. Federal workers are being fired without cause or due process, most of them recent hires and many working jobs not easily found – if found at all – in the private sector. Those losing their jobs are being told that they have failed to show that their employment would be in the public interest. The effects are widespread.
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1 month ago | 
cepr.net | Data Bytes |Dean Baker |Algernon Austin |Jordan Billings
The overall CPI rose 0.5 percent in January, while the core rose 0.4 percent. This put the year-over-year increases at 3.0 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively. The overall CPI outpaced the core because both food and energy inflation were faster than core inflation. The index for store-bought food rose 0.5 percent in January, a sharp increase from the rate of inflation in prior months. Over the year to January, food prices rose just 1.9 percent.
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1 month ago | 
cepr.net | Data Bytes |Dean Baker |Algernon Austin |Jordan Billings
The health care sector added 52,000 jobs in February, accounting for more than one-third of employment growth in the month. This figure was in line with most expectations and indicates that federal layoffs and contract cancellations have not yet had a substantial impact on overall employment growth. However, it is worth noting that a drop in hours in January, which was thought to be related to weather and the Los Angeles fires, was not reversed in the February data.
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1 month ago | 
cepr.net | Data Bytes |Dean Baker |Algernon Austin |Jordan Billings
The February employment report is the first of the Trump administration. While we are not likely to pick up much of the effect of the DOGE cuts, we should see some impact. Remember, the reference period is the week/pay period that includes the 12th. This is before most of the firings went into effect, and there was no noticeable uptick in the unemployment insurance claims at that point (although we did see an uptick later in the month). However, we are likely to see an effect on the hiring side.
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1 month ago | 
cepr.net | Data Bytes |Dean Baker |Algernon Austin
When thinking of what Elon Musk and his DOGE gang are doing it is worth remembering that the crypto coin DOGE was started as a joke. Elon Musk seems to be going back to these roots with his DOGE gang running around trying to dismantle government agencies. To put a couple points on the table: Making government more efficient is certainly a worthwhile goal. We spend $7 trillion a year, surely there is some waste that can be eliminated.
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2 months ago | 
cepr.net | Data Bytes |Dean Baker |Algernon Austin |Emma Curchin
The news has been filled with stories in recent days about Republicans desperately hunting for $2.0-$2.5 trillion (2-3 percent of the budget) in budget cuts over the next decade to cover the cost of extending tax cuts to the rich. While Elon Musk and his DOGE team have been screaming about corruption all through the government, they actually have found little that can be helpful here. They appear to have found virtually nothing by way of actual corruption.
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2 months ago | 
cepr.net | Data Bytes |Algernon Austin |Jordan Billings |Dean Baker
When Donald Trump was born, the federal government workforce made up 4.5 percent of all nonfarm workers (Figure 1). Today, the federal workforce makes up only 1.5 percent. This is a massive two-thirds reduction from Trump’s birth year. Contrary to the claims of Trump, Elon Musk and others, the real problem with the federal government is that it is too small to properly secure the health, safety, and overall well-being of the people of the United States.
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Jan 10, 2025 | 
cepr.net | Data Bytes |Dean Baker |Algernon Austin
The unemployment rate edged down to 4.1 percent, reversing the small rise in November. The unemployment rate has remained in the narrow range between 4.0 percent and 4.3 percent since May. The 256,000 job gain in the establishment survey was more than had generally been expected. The sharp slowing of immigration in the summer has apparently not had an effect on job growth yet.
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Dec 18, 2024 | 
counterpunch.org | Algernon Austin
Randall Irvin has been waiting for public housing in Chicago for six years, and his situation is not that unusual. For example, there are over 100,000 families on San Antonio’s waitlist for public housing. In Chicago, there were more than 200,000 families on the waitlist in 2023. Public housing waiting lists are extremely long because there is an inadequate supply – and a 1998 amendment to federal housing law is a significant barrier to building new housing.
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Dec 6, 2024 | 
counterpunch.org | Algernon Austin
Typically, about half of Division I college football players are Black, but less than a fifth of the head coaches are Black. This report quantifies and documents the underrepresentation of Black men as college football head coaches as well as the overrepresentation of White men in this occupation. The occupation of college football head coach stands out because of its prestige and high salary. College football is an important part of American culture.
