Unemployment News


Laid-off men fight perceptions arising from 'mancession' (2/12/2012)
Experts say the mancession exists in part because male-dominated fields such as construction and manufacturing have been hit hard — with 3.5 million of the 7.9 million jobs lost during the economic downturn in these two areas — and because men, as higher earners, are more susceptible to cost-cutting layoffs.

LTE: GOP Obstruction on Unemployment Benefits (2/7/2012)
One of the main reasons that the trust fund is insolvent is that for the last 25 years companies have only been required to pay into the fund the first $8,000 of an employee's wages.

Unemployment compensation benefits in PA expire for 17,000 because of inaction in Harrisburg (2/4/2012)
Congress approved a 13-week extension of extended benefits in December for individuals who have been receiving benefits for the past 80 weeks. The congressional action provides $30 million in federal dollars to pay for those benefits. But Pennsylvania must first amend its own unemployment compensation law in order to tap that money.

The Corbett budget plan (2/6/2012)
Until now, the Corbett administration has distinguished itself through efforts to cut waste, fraud and abuse, restrict the number of people on food stamps and cut social service budgets. On top of this, 90,000 children have now reportedly been removed from state-funded health care.

Good jobs news: Finally, an encouraging employment report (2/5/2012)
It's been too long since the phrases "unemployment rate" and "cautious optimism" could be found in the same sentence. That changed Friday with news that the nation's jobless rate fell to 8.3 percent in January, the lowest level in three years while the economy saw a net gain of 243,000 jobs.

Dems say Corbett 'heartless' toward working families (2/5/2012)
Cite cuts to schools, assistance programs inaction on transit

Jobless report best in 3 years: Shows net gain of 243,000 jobs, but bad news mixes in with good (2/4/2012)
The monthly unemployment report contained undeniably good news Friday, but with bad statistics dappled in like dandelions in a lawn.

Mayors tout jobs growth in Lehigh Valley(2/3/2012)
The state Department of Labor reported that unemployment for the Lehigh Valley metro area dropped from 8.7 percent in November to 8.4 percent in December, adding 1,300 job.

Erie County unemployment rate holds steady in December (1/31/2012)
Pennsylvania rode a tide of good news in December, with the unemployment rate falling in 55 of 67 counties.

Pittsburgh region's unemployment rate fell in Dec. (1/31/2012)
Unemployment in the Pittsburgh region followed state and national trends in December and fell, dropping two-tenths of a percentage point to hit 6.9 percent, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry reported today.

Jobless benefits to expire unless Pa. House acts (1/31/2012)
Thousands of Pennsylvanians will see their federally funded unemployment benefits expire after this week, with legislation to extend those checks lingering in the state House of Representatives.

US economy still 10 million jobs short of boom times (1/28/2012)
The U.S. recession officially ended in June 2009, but most Americans don't feel like we are in a recovery.

Retraining one answer to job loss situation (1/22/2012)
Miss Akers, 35, of Forest Hills, lost her job, along with 476 co-workers in November 2008. In January, she started a program at Community College of Allegheny County for dislocated workers, which waived her tuition and trained her in biotechnology.

Stress and distress in southeast Delaware County (1/22/2012)
The county is experiencing 7.6 percent unemployment, the worst rate among the four Pennsylvania suburban counties. The city of Chester's rate, 11.8 percent, even outpaces Philadelphia's 10.9 percent.

Skills of workers don't always match up with employer needs (1/22/2012)
According to the more than 1,300 U.S. employers surveyed, the jobs that are most difficult to fill include skilled trades, sales representatives and engineers.

Jobless rate falls, Pennsylvania still bests U.S. (1/20/2012)
Unemployment in Pennsylvania dropped to 7.6 percent in December, down from 7.9 percent in November, the state's Department of Labor and Industry reported Thursday.

Pennsylvania Unemployment Offices Unreachable by Phone (1/19/2012)
There is growing frustration among out-of-work Pennsylvanians. Some are struggling to reach the state's unemployment offices on the phone.

Jobless claims: Lowest level in nearly 4 (1/19/2012)
The Labor Department reported that 352,000 people filed for initial unemployment benefits last week, down sharply from a revised reading of 402,000 claims in the previous week. It is also the fewest number of people filing for jobless claims since the week ending April 19, 2008.

Western Pa. to regain recession losses, report says, yet unemployment still high (1/19/2012)
If the prediction holds up, the region will have more than regained the 37,500 jobs it lost since the official start of the recession in December 2007.

Tug-of-war over unemployment money.(1/18/2012)
Business leaders want additional federal unemployment compensation tied to systemic changes that have nothing to do with the federal money being offered.

Brighter outlook: The nation's jobs picture continues to improve(1/8/2012)
What better news on a January Friday than the struggling U.S. economy in December created 200,000 new jobs and the unemployment rate dropped from 8.7 percent to 8.5 percent?

Pennsylvanians getting jobless benefits push for extension(1/7/2012)
About 3,000 jobless Pittsburgh-area workers who are nearing the end of unemployment benefits won't get a two-month federal extension -- unless the Legislature tweaks state law.

 

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