Coinciding with the crash of the housing market 3-4 years ago, the total number of jobs lost in the construction industry has been felt the hardest in Arizona, Nevada, and Florida. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has published the following construction job declines for the period of the recession: Arizona 53.2%, Nevada 52.3%, and Florida at [...]
Continue reading...18. March 2010
A study conducted by Portfolio.com declares Austin, Texas to be the best place in the country for young adults to find a new job. Austin stands out because it continues to add jobs to its economy. Two thirds of the job markets in the U.S. have fewer jobs now than five years ago but Austin [...]
Continue reading...18. March 2010
This morning President Barack Obama is expected to sign the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) bill that passed through Congress just yesterday. The bill passed the Senate 68-29 in a bipartisan vote on Wednesday. It includes about $18 billion in tax breaks and extends highway and mass transit programs through 2010. $20 billion will [...]
Continue reading...18. March 2010
Unemployment claims have fallen slightly for the third week in a row but there are still too many first time claims being filed to indicate that there have been significant job gains. Unemployment claims fell 5,000 to 457,000 according to the Labor Department. The four-week average of unemployment claims dropped to 471,250. Despite this the [...]
Continue reading...11. March 2010
The U.S. Labor Department reports initial jobless claims fell by 6,000 last week to a seasonally-adjusted 462,000. However, the four-week average, which is considered a better indicator, increased to 475,500 last week from 470,500 the previous week. According to the Associated Press, the four-week average continues to concern economists. It has risen by about 25,000 this [...]
Continue reading...10. March 2010
The Green Jobs Task Force in Cambridge, Mass. is offering a new “green” jobs program that will allow eligible residents to learn to become energy efficiency technicians and green building maintenance technicians. Orientation is next week and training will begin in April. Areas of study include energy auditing, basic residential energy efficiency, conservation practices, basic carpentry [...]
Continue reading...10. March 2010
While the national unemployment rate fell to 9.7 percent from 10 percent in January, the U.S. Labor Department reported Wednesday that 30 states actually saw an increase in unemployment that month. Five states reported record-high unemployment, including California (12.5 percent), South Carolina (12.6 percent), Florida (11.9 percent), North Carolina (11.1 percent) and Georgia (10.4 percent). The [...]
Continue reading...8. March 2010
In what is said to be the first in a series of layoffs, 329 staff members of the Los Angeles Superior Court will be let go on April 1. “Given the size of the budget cuts we have already experienced, we anticipate hundreds more layoffs to follow,” said Superior Court Executive Officer John A. Clarke on [...]
Continue reading...5. March 2010
While the U.S. shed 36,000 non-farm payroll jobs in February, the national unemployment rate managed to hold steady at 9.7 percent, according to a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Friday. Last month’s severe winter weather that gripped much of the country likely had some negative effect on the numbers, but BLS Commissioner Keith [...]
Continue reading...4. March 2010
A $15-billion jobs bill designed to increase jobs in the private sector was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday afternoon. The legislation passed on a vote of 217 to 201 and did receive some Republican support. The House make alterations to the bill, which originated in the U.S. Senate , so it will now [...]
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18. March 2010
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