The economy added 171,000 new jobs in October—the 32nd straight month of positive job growth—according to figures released this morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The nation’s unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 7.9%, up slightly from September’s 7.8%. The labor force grew by more than half a million workers in October, which is a positive sign, as more workers are seeking and finding jobs. The number of discouraged and involuntary part-time workers has fallen since last year.  

The newly created jobs exceeded most economists’ predictions of 100,000 to 125,000 new jobs for the month. Also, September payrolls were revised to a gain of 148,000 from an initially reported 114,000, and August to 192,000 from 142,000.

A new report on retiree health care reinforces the need to maintain the Affordable Care Act—not repeal it, as presidential candidate Mitt Romney vows to do—and strengthen Medicare by rejecting “coupon care” private system proposals like the Romney-Ryan plan.   

The Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) report, “Employment-Based Retiree Health Benefits: Trends in Access and Coverage, 1997‒2010,” quantifies what we all know, fewer employers are offering health care benefits to their retirees—both early retirees and those Medicare-eligible at 65—and those that do are raising the cost to retirees.

"Wear Jeans? Why Made in America Matters to You" is a cross-post from the Youth Monument blog, by Celeste Drake, trade and globalization policy specialist at the AFL-CIO. 

“Buy American.” “Made in America.” In today’s interconnected world, those ideas might seem more like leftovers from the Cold War—not important maxims for America’s future. After all, young Americans are drinking Colombian coffee in the morning, skyping with friends in the U.K. at lunch, buying a made-in-China iPhone in the afternoon and drinking Italian wine in the evening. The idea of “Buying American,” or economic patriotism, might seem quaint, if not outright ridiculous.

Fact is, making things in America isn’t an obsolete idea. It’s how we built this country into the largest economy the world has ever seen. And it’s imperative for America’s future. 

Electrical workers from Washington, D.C.'s IBEW Local 26 are building some cutting-edge green energy on the rooftops of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Md. Made possible by the 2009 stimulus funds, highly skilled electrical workers are building four solar arrays with all "Made in America" materials to power the NIST complex with one on the ground, two on the roof and one parking structure. Watch our new Innovators website feature, "Stimulus Money Brings Solar Jobs," to learn more.

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President Obama and Mitt Romney discussed jobs during the debate, but the president didn't use the opportunity to tout his record of job creation or proposals, writes Economic Policy Institute's (EPI's) Rebecca Thiess. For more than two and half years, private-sector jobs are growing. 

The unemployment rate declined from 8.1% in August to 7.8% in September, with 114,000 jobs added last month, according to figures released this morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). There has been positive private-sector job growth for more than two and a half years. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says this morning’s jobs report:

confirms that the economy is finally beginning to build some momentum, as we work to dig out of the devastatingly deep hole that President Obama inherited from George W. Bush and a generation of flawed policies.  Now we need the President and Congress to build on this momentum and keep their focus on job creation, including by passing the American Jobs Act. 

"The Betrayal of America's Middle Class Was a Choice, Not an Accident" is a cross-post from Truthout by Amy B. Dean, a fellow at The Century Foundation and co-author of A New New Deal: How Regional Activism Will Reshape the American Labor Movement.

The outsourcing of good jobs, the elimination of pensions, rampant home foreclosures; skyrocketing higher education costs and mounting debt: Given these stark realities, the American middle class seems to be sinking fast. The renowned reporting team of Donald Barlett and James Steele insists it is no accident.

I was excited to talk with the duo about the problems now facing our middle class—and about how we can pull ourselves from the abyss.

In addition to a live, interactive discussion with AFL-CIO policy experts during Wednesday night's presidential debate we'll host on the AFL-CIO Now blog (details to come later today), we're encouraging young workers to tune into our live Twitter chat Oct. 3 from 9 p.m.-10:30 p.m. to join the conversation. AFL-CIO's NextUp Twitter account will moderate the discussion on jobs, student loans and investing in America's future. 

After the election, Congress will make some high-stakes decisions about jobs and taxes that could have serious consequences for working families and the economy. A new report by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) should serve as the working families’ guide to the post-election debate.

Here are some of the decisions facing Congress when they return: the federal unemployment benefits program expires at the end of December. The Bush tax cuts also expire automatically and Congress will have to decide whether to extend them for the middle class or also extend them for the richest 2% of Americans.  Thanks to last summer’s debt ceiling agreement, across-the-board budget cuts are scheduled to take effect in January 2013.  If Congress makes the wrong calls on these high-stakes decisions, we could have another recession in 2013.

This is the fourth of a four-part series describing what went wrong with America’s economy and how to fix it. Read Part 1 here, Part 2 here and Part 3 here—and please leave a comment to tell us what you think. (Click the chart to enlarge.) 

To fix what’s wrong with the U.S. economy, we have to replace the failed low-wage economic strategy of the past 30 years with a high-wage strategy for shared prosperity.

The first step in such a high-wage strategy is to put America back to work because high unemployment keeps wages down. Our goal should be “full employment,” meaning everybody who wants to work should be able to find a decent job. We can’t allow the unfounded fear of inflation to be used as an excuse to keep unemployment high and wages low.