News and Issues

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose solidly in April and May, though the pace of increase was slower than in the first quarter, and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.6 percent. The unemployment rates for African Americans and for Hispanics were little changed, on net, though both rates remained noticeably higher than the national average. On net, the labor force participation rate edged down between March and May, while the employment-to-population ratio was unchanged. The private-sector job openings rate, as measured by the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, edged lower in April but remained at a high level. Nominal wage growth remained elevated, with average hourly earnings having risen 5.2 percent over the 12 months ending in May, and the increases were widespread across industries. Consumer price inflation remained elevated. Total PCE price inflation was 6.3 percent over the 12 months ending in April, and core PCE price inflation, which excludes changes in consumer energy prices and many consumer food prices, was 4.9 percent over the same period. more »

Ferida Wolff writes: "May politics be put aside. Let’s see all Americans, regardless of our differences, as one people. And may we all enjoy the brilliance of light and color and connectedness in America." more »

Julia Sneden wrote: "Being outdoors on a humid North Carolina night amid fireworks and fireflies has become my favorite July Fourth memory. Oh, these days I am happy to watch the various displays on television, in air-conditioned comfort, but it can’t replace seeing my boys’ awed faces, or the sound of their “oohs” and “wows!” or the relaxed, casual feel of the impromptu crowd. It was Carl Schurz, a 19th century German immigrant who grew up to become a US Senator and later on was the Secretary of the Interior, who gave us the famous remark: 'My country, right or wrong: if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.'  " more »

JUNE 23, 2022: Former White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx testified before the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis about the Trump administration’s pandemic response. She repeated her claim that up to 130,000 deaths were preventable and explained that beginning in April of 2020, there were “parallel streams of data coming into the White House and parallel analyses that I was not privy to.” She named Dr. Scott Atlas, former White House Coronavirus Task Force adviser, as someone who gave former President Trump COVID-19 misinformation, which resulted in unnecessary deaths. Dr. Birx also addressed other issues regarding the Trump administration’s pandemic response, such as White House officials being preoccupied with the 2020 election, misguided data collection amid asymptomatic individuals, and some officials downplaying the pandemic. She also emphasized that too many deaths are still occurring. [*This text was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.] more »