Wall Street Journal (11/12/14) Nick Timiraos

Although the unemployment rate has declined, close to seven million Americans continue to work part-time jobs they do not want because they cannot find full-time employment. These workers often express frustration that their hours are being cut even though their employers are hiring. Economists are concerned that the higher level of part-time employment will become a permanent legacy of the Great Recession, forcing workers to choose between underemployment or working multiple jobs, which will put a damper on income growth and discretionary spending.

Some economists attribute the higher levels of part-time work to economic uncertainty and structural factors such as higher labor costs related to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Others believe the trend is cyclical, because companies are not paying part-time workers more than full-time workers, which would be a clear indication of a shift in hiring preferences.

Bloomberg (11/13/14) Shobhana Chandra

The number of people applying for unemployment benefits in the week ended Nov. 8 rose by 12,000 to 290,000, the highest since Sept. 20, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The 53 economists surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast claims of 280,000. The four-week moving average of new claims rose by 6,000 to 285,000.

Reuters (11/13/14) Martin Dokoupil; Stanley Carvalho

William Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, says that it is reasonable to expect that interest rates will begin to rise in mid-2015, noting that recent U.S. nonfarm payrolls were consistent with previous releases. “What I can tell you is that we are making progress toward our objectives but there is considerable further progress still to go,” he says. “I think the market expectations that expect us to lift off sometime around the middle or somewhat later next year are reasonable expectations.”

However, the actual timing of the rate hike depends on the evolution of the U.S. economy and the reaction of the financial markets. “It really depends on how the economy evolves and how we progress toward our objectives of maximum sustainable employment in the context of price stability.”