The surprisingly disappointing September unemployment report – 142,000 new jobs created compared to an expectation of more than 200,000 – should break once and for all two illusions about our ability to sustain a robust economy. The first illusion is that there is no penalty for the continuing lack of public investment in the fundamentals …
Jobs Report: Conservative Economic Illusions Are Unmasked Read More »
The Federal Reserve’s decision last week not to increase interest rates was preceded by a considerable amount of commentary that our economy, with a 5.1 percent overall unemployment rate, was close to “full employment.” If an economy has reached “full employment” at a rate of about 5 percent unemployment, that’s the same as saying that …
Atlanta Fed Suggests We’re Still Far From Full Employment Read More »
The economy added 173,000 jobs in August while the unemployment rate fell to 5.1 percent, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Analysts had expected 220,000 jobs to be added. That’s the lowest unemployment rate since March of 2008. August jobs reports are frequently unreliable, however, and tend to get revised upward …
Unemployment Drops To Lowest Rate Since April Of 2008 Read More »
The recently released minutes of the last meeting of the Federal Reserve Board’s Open Market Committee revealed there was serious discussion of the fact the labor market still showed signs of weakness. A primary issue was the lack of evidence of strong wage growth, which would be a clear signal the labor market was tightening. …
The economy added 288,000 jobs in April, a big boost over March’s 192,000 new jobs. The unemployment rate dropped to 6.3% from last month’s 6.7%, according to figures released this morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Over the past year, the number of jobless has decreased by 1.9 million and the unemployment rate has fallen …
288,000 New Jobs Drop Unemployment Rate to 6.3% in April Read More »
With congressional Republicans refusing to act and even blocking emergency jobless aid, President Barack Obama is trying to address long-term unemployment using the power of the executive. Unfortunately, the options without Congress are fairly limited. One of Obama’s new initiatives involves basically asking large corporations to please stop discriminating against unemployed people: President Obama has persuaded some …
Obama Takes Steps to Bypass Congress in Helping Long-Term Unemployed Read More »
Vickey Tyson, an SEIU Local 517Mmember in Saginaw, Michigan, knows firsthand about the stresses of today’s job market and the critical difference the federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) can make. Until late 2012, Vickey worked as customer service representative for the Michigan unemployment claims agency. But like many other Michiganders, she lost her job due to …
Thanks to a developing line of administrative appeal decisions, workers in New York State who resign their jobs due to bullying and employer abuse could still retain eligibility for unemployment benefits. Under New York State labor law, workers who voluntarily resign without good cause are presumptively ineligible to receive unemployment benefits. Most other states follow a …
Workplace bullying targets winning unemployment benefits appeals in New York State Read More »
Among the many reasons the country would be better off if Bernie Sanders was president is that the man just refuses to deal in silliness. He wants the country to have a serious debate — and whether the next head of the Federal Reserve Board is a man or a woman, or the current president …
Maine Gov. Paul LePage is facing some blowback for pressuring unemployment hearing officers into denying more unemployment insurance appeals. A lawyers group is asking the federal government to investigate LePage’s actions: LePage has violated federal laws requiring the impartial and prompt administration of unemployment insurance benefit, said David Webbert, president of the Maine Employment Lawyers Association, in a …
Maine governor faces call for investigation on pressure to deny unemployment benefits Read More »
Madeline Messa is a 3L at Syracuse University College of Law. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism. With her legal research and writing for Workplace Fairness, she strives to equip people with the information they need to be their own best advocate.
