Recession

‘Not just a low-wage recession’: White-collar workers feel coronavirus squeeze

The drop in overall employment that white-collar industries have seen in five months is already on par with or worse than the hits they took during the Great Recession. The coronavirus recession that began as a short-term shutdown devastating low-wage workers is now bearing down on white-collar America, where employers have been slower to rehire …

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Unemployment claims climbed by 1.5 million last week, despite jobs gains in May

The numbers suggest that some Americans are still being pushed out of work nearly three months into the pandemic. Workers filed another 1.5 million claims for jobless benefits last week, the Labor Department reported, suggesting that some Americans are still being pushed out of work nearly three months into the pandemic. Additionally, nearly 706,000 people …

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Another awful week of Americans seeking state and federal job benefits: 2.25 million file new claims

We’ve had plenty more news this week indicating just how bad things are economically now and how long they are likely to remain bad. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who has warned that gross domestic product could drop 30% this quarter, on Wednesday reinforced what other analysts have said about the crunch affecting American workers: ”It’s just going to be very …

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I Get America, It’s Americans That Confuse Me

I understand the home-of-the-free-and-land-of-the-brave. I get bring-me-your-tired-huddled-masses-yearning-to-breathe-free. I can even relate to hot dogs-apple pie-and-baseball. What I don’t understand is how passive Americans have been in the face of the economic challenges brought on by the recession. I thought we were a feisty country, tough and ready to stand up for what’s right. Case in …

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On Labor Day, Work to Save the Middle Class

With unemployment so high and middle class job prospects so low, this Labor Day is overcast by gloom. We can surrender to it. We can rant with Glenn Beck and kick the dog. Alternatively, we can join with our neighbors, employed and unemployed, our foreclosed-on children, our elderly parents and together create a grassroots groundswell that gives government no choice but to respond to our needs, the needs of working people.

Putting People Back to Work and Obama’s Jobs Summit

The U.S. is now 24 months into the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Over the course of those two years, we have lost 8.1 million jobs and 17.5 percent of the workforce–27.4 million workers–are unemployed, underemployed, or have given up looking for work. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg forsee the unemployment rate remaining at …

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Madeline Messa

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.