Posts tagged unemployment rate
Unemployment rate steady as CT Labor Dept notes massive fraud
July 21, 2023 // The Connecticut Business and Industry Association, meanwhile, did not see many positives to the most recent report. “The June numbers point to the ongoing volatility in Connecticut’s job market while highlighting the challenges we face with resolving the labor shortage crisis,” CBIA CEO Chris DiPentima said in a statement. “Connecticut’s year-over-year job growth is now just 1.2%, well below the national average of 2.5%, and among the slowest of all states.” DiPentima also pointed to continued declines in the state’s overall workforce, something the organization highlighted last month. The number of people working in the state has declined since last year and while the CBIA does not know exactly why that is, they say it poses a concern for business leaders in the state who may not be able to fill open positions. All of this comes just one day after the Department of Labor issued an alert to Connecticut residents saying that they have found nearly 75% of unemployment claims to be the result of fraud. These fraudulent claims, they say, are the result of identity theft, and consumers in the state should be on alert for any changes to their credit reports. If you do notice fraud, you are urged to report it. You should also report to the department if you receive a tax form from them but did not file for unemployment benefits.
Reuters Analysis: Biden’s climate agenda has a problem in not enough workers
January 17, 2023 // The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law last year, provides for an estimated $370 billion in solar, wind and electric vehicle subsidies, according to the White House. Starting Jan. 1, American consumers can take advantage of those tax credits to upgrade home heating systems or put solar panels on their roofs. Those investments will create nearly 537,000 jobs a year for a decade, according to an analysis by BW Research commissioned by The Nature Conservancy.
Commentary: The labor market’s double-edged sword
October 14, 2022 // The unemployment rate now matches the pre-pandemic, half-century low of 3.5 percent. But with 2.8 million missing workers, low unemployment is both a blessing and a curse. In this photo from August 5, 2022, a hiring sign is posted at a Target store in San Rafael, California. In this photo from August 5, 2022, a hiring sign is posted at a Target store in San Rafael, California. © Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North America/TNS There are millions more job openings than there are people looking for work. Employers have responded by creating more flexible workplaces, adding new benefits and expanding opportunities for people to advance upward — including opening doors for workers without college degrees. And annual wages are up nearly 7 percent (not including inflation) since January 2021. But even as workers have benefited from an opportunistic labor market, they haven’t been immune from its consequences: shortages of goods and services, crowded emergency rooms, reduced public safety, delayed deliveries and higher prices. The average worker’s $3,600 pay raise since January 2021 is equivalent to a $3,000 pay cut after factoring in inflation.
Feds: Low unemployment, inflation, recession have economy at crossroads
September 6, 2022 // “Further, many structural barriers existed before the pandemic, including weaker skills, lack of access to affordable, good-quality child care, transportation problems, incarceration, addiction and discrimination,” they wrote. “Individually and collectively, they reduce job matching efficiency.” While they note an economy is in recession when gross domestic product falls in two consecutive quarters, they also state the National Bureau of Economic Research’s definition of a recession relies on a variety of indicators. If we’re in a recession or entering one, economists can’t predict its effects on employment.
Illinois continues to lag national unemployment rate
August 23, 2022 // "The pandemic and the financial impact from the pandemic, compounded with unemployment, has made people more vulnerable," Ford said. "In the communities that have been traumatized by these issues, you will see more violence." State Rep. Adam Niemerg, R-Teutopolis, blamed the state's handling of its unemployment fund for its failure to get people back to work. "For nearly two years, people could make more and stay home," Niemerg told The Center Square. "What did they think would happen?" Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub, State Rep. LaShawn Ford
Commentary: Is the labor market really as good as the administration says?
July 27, 2022 // Most significantly, 18 months’ worth of bonus unemployment benefits that paid most people more to stay on the sidelines than to work caused millions of people to leave the labor market. Meanwhile, Washington stimulated consumer and business demand for goods and services by flooding the economy with trillions of dollars in so-called COVID-19 relief — about half of which was money printed by the Federal Reserve.
Don’t Expect Unions To Make a Comeback
April 18, 2022 // The biggest problem for unions, it turns out, is that workers are making real progress without them
Changes to federal union rules would hurt struggling minority-owned businesses
April 13, 2022 // Congress could help Georgia businesses by permanently killing a particularly dangerous piece of legislation called the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, a major overhaul of America’s workplaces that grants far too much power to labor unions. While the PRO Act itself never passed the U.S. Senate, its proponents ceaselessly continue to amend its most job-killing provisions to otherwise popular bills.
Opinion: Amazon Employees Don’t Need a Union
March 25, 2022 // Tight labor markets empower workers more than any union. That’s why it’s unlikely that the 7,500 Amazon workers at the JFK8 plant in Staten Island, New York, who are voting today on whether to join the Amazon Labor Union, will choose to be organized. Voting at Amazon’s LDJ5 plant (also in Staten Island), which employs 1,500 workers, will take place next month.