EMPLOYER COSTS FOR EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION - DECEMBER 2011

Private industry employers spent an average of $28.57 per hour worked for total employee compensation in December 2011, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.

Wages and salaries averaged $20.14 per hour worked and accounted for 70.5 percent of these costs, while benefits averaged $8.43 and accounted for the remaining 29.5 percent.

Total compensation costs for state and local government workers averaged $40.90 per hour worked in December 2011. Total employer compensation costs for civilian workers, which include private industry and state and local government workers, averaged $30.45 per hour worked in December 2011.

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THE Unempoyment Situation (Bullet Point Version)

Nonfarm payroll employment continued to decline in August (-216,000), and the unemployment rate rose to 9.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Although job losses continued in many of the major industry sectors in August, the declines have moderated in recent months.

The Situation

• In August, the number of unemployed persons increased by 466,000 to 14.9 million,
• The unemployment rate rose by 0.3 percentage point to 9.7 percent,
• Since the recession began in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons has risen by 7.4 million, and the unemployment rate has grown by 4.8 percentage points,
• The civilian labor force participation rate remained at 65.5 percent in August The employment population ratio, at 59.2 percent, edged down over the month and has declined by 3.5 percentage points since the recession began in December 2007,
• In August, the number of persons working part time for economic reasons was little changed at 9.1 million. These individuals indicated that they were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job,
• Among the marginally attached, the number of discouraged workers in August (758,000) has nearly doubled over the past 12 months,
• The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 33.1 hours

Employment Situation

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Bob DeMarco is a citizen journalist and twenty year Wall Street veteran. Bob has written more than 700 articles with more than 18,000 links to his work on the Internet. Content from All American Investor has been syndicated on Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Pluck, Blog Critics, and a growing list of newspaper websites. Bob is actively seeking syndication and writing assignments.

Manufacturing ISM Report On Business (NAPM, Graph)

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector failed to grow in July for the 18th consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the third consecutive month, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business®.



The current index is 48.9 versus 44.8 in June. An increase of 4.1 percent.

A PMI reading above 50 percent indicates that the manufacturing economy is generally expanding; below 50 percent that it is generally declining. Institute for Supply Management.

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THE ECONOMIC CASE FOR HEALTH CARE REFORM

THE ECONOMIC CASE FOR HEALTH CARE REFORM

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) has undertaken a comprehensive analysis of the economic impacts of health care reform. The report provides an overview of current economic impacts of health care in the United States and a forecast of where we are headed in the absence of reform; an analysis of inefficiencies and market failures in the current health care system; a discussion of the key components of health care reform; and an analysis of the economic effects of slowing health care cost growth and expanding coverage. Read the full report.

The findings in the report point to large economic impacts of genuine health care reform:

• We estimate that slowing the annual growth rate of health care costs by 1.5 percentage points would increase real gross domestic product (GDP), relative to the no-reform baseline, by over 2 percent in 2020 and nearly 8 percent in 2030.
• For a typical family of four, this implies that income in 2020 would be approximately $2,600 higher than it would have been without reform (in 2009 dollars), and that in 2030 it would be almost $10,000 higher. Under more conservative estimates of the reduction in the growth rate of health care costs, the income gains are smaller, but still substantial.
• Slowing the growth rate of health care costs will prevent disastrous increases in the Federal budget deficit.
• Slowing cost growth would lower the unemployment rate consistent with steady inflation by approximately one-quarter of a percentage point for a number of years. The beneficial impact on employment in the short and medium run (relative to the no-reform baseline) is estimated to be approximately 500,000 each year that the effect is felt.
• Expanding health insurance coverage to the uninsured would increase net economic well-being by roughly $100 billion a year, which is roughly two-thirds of a percent of GDP.
• Reform would likely increase labor supply, remove unnecessary barriers to job mobility, and help to “level the playing field” between large and small businesses.

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National Association of Purchasing Managers Report (ISM, Chart)

Five months up, good sign. The reading is now 42.8. Still weak, but improving.

The crash down which began in August, 2008 appears to be over. The next couple of numbers will be really important in determining market direction.

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Bob DeMarco is a citizen journalist and twenty year Wall Street veteran. Bob has written more than 500 articles with more than 11,000 links to his work on the Internet. Content from All American Investor has been syndicated on Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Pluck, Blog Critics, and a growing list of newspaper websites. Bob is actively seeking syndication and writing assignments.

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Personal Income and Expenditures (Numbers and Charts)

Personal Consumption Expenditures tick up. A positive factor for first Quarter GDP.



Personal income

• decreased $29.1 billion, or 0.2 percent
• disposable personal income (DPI) decreased $10.5 billion, or 0.1 percent

Personal consumption expenditures (PCE)

• increased $17.2 billion, or 0.2 percent. In January, personal
• income increased $20.5 billion, or 0.2 percent
• DPI increased $164.6 billion, or 1.6 percent
• PCE increased $94.8 billion, or 1.0 percent, based on revised estimates.

Real disposable income

• decreased 0.4 percent in February, in contrast to an increase of 1.3 percent in January.

Real PCE

• decreased 0.2 percent, in contrast to an increase of 0.7 percent.
  
• The price index for PCE increased 0.3 percent, the same increase as in January.

Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis (more details and pres release)

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Disposable Personal Income ticks up.

Bob DeMarco is a citizen journalist and twenty year Wall Street veteran. Bob has written more than 500 articles with more than 11,000 links to his work on the Internet. Content from All American Investor has been syndicated on Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Pluck, Blog Critics, and a growing list of newspaper websites. Bob is actively seeking syndication and writing assignments.

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