January 2012
Economy Adds 200,000 Jobs in December; Unemployment falls to 8.5% (Jan. 6): The U.S. economy added 200,000 new jobs in the month of December 2011, while the unemployment fell just slightly, to 8.5% from a revised 8.7% in November. The number of new jobs added in November has also been revised by the Labor Department from 120,000 to 100,000.
February 2012
U.S. Economy Adds 243,000 Jobs in January; Unemployment falls to 8.3% (Feb. 3): The U.S. economy adds 243,000 new jobs in January 2012, while unemployment fell to 8.3%, the lowest in three years. January is the second consecutive month that employment numbers are better than expected.
Komen Reverses Decision to Cut Off Planned Parenthood (Feb. 3): After outrage and online protesting, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation reverses its December 2011 decision to cut funding to Planned Parenthood. Komen announces they will restore their relationship with Planned Parenthood, which uses the funding to provide low-income women with breast cancer screenings. "We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that case doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women's lives," Nancy G. Brinker, the founder of Komen, says in a statement.
March 2012
U.S. Economy Holds Steady in February (Mar. 9): The U.S. economy adds 227,000 new jobs in February 2012. This marks the third consecutive month of job gains over 200,000. The unemployment holds steady at 8.3 percent, the same percentage as January. The report is seen as a sign that the economy in the U.S. is stable and continuing to recover from the recession.
Goldman Sachs Executive Resigns and Writes Scathing Editorial (Mar. 14): Greg Smith, a Goldman Sachs executive director of equity derivatives, resigns from the company. On the same day, his resignation letter is published in the New York Times as an Op-Ed piece. In the letter, entitled "Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs", Smith describes the company as a place where profits come before the interests of clients. Smith, who lives in London, blames top management for what he describes as a culture of greed within the company.
April 2012
Yahoo Cuts 2,000 Jobs (Apr. 4): Yahoo announces it is laying off 2,000 employees, 14% of its staff, as part of a reorganization plan. The reorganizing is a plan from new chief executive, Scott Thompson. In a press release, Thompson explains, "Our goal is to get back to our core purpose — putting our users and advertisers first — and we are moving aggressively to achieve that goal."
Jobs Recovery Slows in March (Apr. 6): The U.S economic recovery slows down in March, adding only 120,000 new jobs. The news is disappointing even though the unemployment rate falls to 8.2 percent, a three-year low. March's jobs increase is the smallest since October 2011.
(Apr. 27): The U.S. economy grows at an annual rate of 2.2 percent, according to 2012's first quarter report. The growth is largely due to consumer spending and a rise in construction on residential buildings due to the unseasonably warm weather. The growth is good news, but it is slower than the previous quarter's 3 percent.
_________________________________________________