We begin by looking at last Friday’s unemployment report for July. The government reported that the economy created 163,000 new jobs in July, which was a big increase over the last three disappointing months. Yet the report also bumped the national unemployment rate from 8.2% in June to 8.3% in July. We will look into the details of the report as we go along.
President Obama continues to push for a tax increase on families making over $250,000 starting on January 1. The debate for months has centered on whether or not this tax increase will result in widespread job losses. Well, a new study from the accounting firm Ernst & Young has answered that question definitively – at least 700,000 jobs will be lost if Obama gets his way.
Finally, a little-known law passed back in 1988 requires companies with 100 employees or more to give at least 60-days notice to their workers if they know in advance that an event is coming that could lead to widespread layoffs. We all know about the so-called “fiscal cliff” that is coming on January 1 if Congress doesn’t do something to stop it.
So the question is, will we see mass layoff notifications just days before the presidential election? The Obama administration is doing everything it can to avoid this, but the law is clear. I'll explain what's at stake as we go along today.
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