Weekly Economic Update: January 9 – January 13, 2016 - Analysis

CHART OF THE WEEK

The chart shows the ‎percentage increase in Obamacare premiums this year by state. This amounts to a national average hike of 25.2 percent – a tremendous increase relative to the overall consumer price index, which increased 1.7 percent over a comparable period. An interactive map, a table with the data, and a more detailed description of the data sources can be found on the JEC’s State Level Data page.

JEC Chairman-Designate Representative Pat Tiberi, who also chairs the House Subcommittee on Health, recently wrote an op-ed stating that genuine reform requires “…a deliberate, step-by-step approach to deliver solutions that will give more flexibility to states, eliminate the onerous tax hikes in Obamacare and make health insurance portable so that patients and families, not the federal government, can be in charge of their own care.”

LAST WEEK

News & Commentary Weekly Highlights

Daily Caller: Jobs Report Disappoints, Unemployment Ticks Up (Friday)
Bloomberg: 5 Economics Terms We All Should Use (Thursday)
Wall Street Journal: Malpass Seen as Top Candidate for Senior Treasury International Affairs Role (Thursday)
MarketWatch: Fed minutes show central bank uncertain about the pace of interest-rate hikes (Wednesday)
Business Insider: The top trends in trading to watch in 2017 (Tuesday)

Top Economic Indicator Highlights

Employment Situation (December)
- Unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted):
  - December: 4.7%; November: 4.6%; October: 4.8%
Nonfarm jobs (seasonally adjusted):
- December: 156,000; November: 204,000; October: 135,000
Noteworthy: In 2016 the private-sector added 2.0 million jobs. This was the smallest increase since 2010, and very low relative to 2015 (2.7 million). JEC estimates that since the recovery began in June 2009, there are over 5.1 million private sector jobs missing when compared to the average post-1960 recovery.