Thursday, May 17, 2012
Contradictory headlines
Profits up at health insurers vs. More Mass. Homes face foreclosure in Jan. vs. Signs point to bumps in the recovery
Capitalizing on fewer people seeking medical care and submitting claims, Massachusetts four biggest commercial health insurers posted sharply higher earnings for 2011 while their executives collected more pay. Leading the pack was Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts which earned a net income more than 10 times the $13.4 million it earned in 2010.
In January, 1,333 homeowners, or 68% more than during January 2011, received notice from lenders that were going into foreclosure. The rise in foreclosures comes despite a drop in the number of delinquent mortgages and a slowly improving economy. “There’s still no real remedy for the fact that a lot of people have lost income and don’t have the means to keep up, lenders really doesn’t want to help.”
Steady declines in applications for unemployment aid, American’s after-tax income fell, a fourth straight month of weak consumer spending, manufacturing growth slowed, construction spending dipped, consumers hit with higher gas prices and the building industry cooled off after five months of gains.
Three articles from The Boston Globe, March 2, 2012
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Income for elderly falls short, study finds. Massachusetts seniors face the largest gap in the U. S.
The elderly in Massachusetts struggle with the nation’s largest shortfall between income and costs, with the age group’s median income covering only about 60% of basic living expenses. Five of the six New England states were represented in the top ten in a joint study for the Wider Opportunities for Women and University of Massachusetts.
The study aims to underscore the importance of entitlement programs – Social Security and Medicare – that support the elderly and face potential cuts as Congress grapples with long-term deficits.
Gail Waterhouse, The Boston Globe, March 1, 2012
Mass Underemployment
Hidden behind Massachusetts’s relatively good unemployment rate of 6.8%, economists say underemployment is a big problem. One analysis finds Massachusetts is the worst in the nation, with 8.9% of currently employed people with bachelor degrees or higher now working in jobs at least one educational level below where they should be.
A non-scientific poll of 995 people in Massachusetts confirmed that 40% of workers over 50 years old were not working at their peak capacity.
Don Seiffert, Boston Business Journal, February 24 – March 1, 2012
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Missing: 5.4 million workers
Millions of Americans vanished from the U.S. labor force in the past three years, many of them do discouraged by long, fruitless job searches that thy have given up looking for work, convinced that no employer wants them.
The “hidden unemployed” are not counted in the official jobless rate, tracked by the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University. They estimate the number to be 5.4 million people, with over 120,000 in Massachusetts. Half of the missing workers are under the age of 35.
Among the missing are teenagers and laid off 60-year-olds. Some are in college or training programs. Many have ended up homeless. Although the official unemployment rate slipped to 8.3% in January, when the labor force dropouts and the underemployed – those working part-time because they can’t find full-time jobs – are included, the rate doubles to 17%.
Katie Johnston, The Boston Globe, February 1, 2012
Confidence retreats in January
Consumer confidence fell in January after two straight months of gains as Americans become more worried about their incomes, rising gas prices, how hard it is to find a job, and overall business conditions. Things haven’t gotten much better in 2012.
Americans have reasons to be cautious in their optimism as the jobless rate is still high at 8.5% although it is at the lowest level in nearly three years. Consumers are worried about a weak housing market, inflation and that incomes are not keeping pace with inflation, causing shoppers cut back on big purchases.
Associated Press, The Boston Globe, February 1, 2012
Consumer confidence fell in January after two straight months of gains as Americans become more worried about their incomes, rising gas prices, how hard it is to find a job, and overall business conditions. Things haven’t gotten much better in 2012.
Americans have reasons to be cautious in their optimism as the jobless rate is still high at 8.5% although it is at the lowest level in nearly three years. Consumers are worried about a weak housing market, inflation and that incomes are not keeping pace with inflation, causing shoppers cut back on big purchases.
Associated Press, The Boston Globe, February 1, 2012
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