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Stories Tagged as

Jobless claims

In labor crunch, businesses back efforts to clear workers' criminal records

by Nova Safo
Oct 22, 2021
“Clean slate” laws call for updating court databases and creating algorithms to automatically clear records for minor offenses.
Many officials and activists are trying to modernize the record-clearing process for people with criminal records and ease their path to employment.
Joe Raedle via Getty Images
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Jobless claims are upbeat, but consumer confidence is still a wild card

by Amanda Peacher
Sep 2, 2021
The delta variant is causing some consumer pullback, and the expiration of pandemic unemployment benefits on Sept. 5 could play a role in spending.
Consumer spending accounts for 70% of the economy.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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COVID & Unemployment

Fewer people are on unemployment, but there's a nasty shock coming for many of them

by Mitchell Hartman
Aug 19, 2021
Their federal benefits — which add up to more than $6 billion a week — are about to run out.
Emergency federal unemployment benefits — equivalent to roughly $6 billion per week — are set to expire in two and a half weeks.
Thinkstock via Getty Images
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Uneven state unemployment rates show different recovery arcs

by Kristin Schwab
Jul 8, 2021
Many of the states with the lowest unemployment rates have young workforces and multifaceted economies.
Idle Union Pacific engines sit in rows at a train yard in Salt Lake City in June 2020. Utah was one of the few states that didn't have to lock down as much as other states during the pandemic.
George Frey/AFP via Getty Images
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What's keeping labor force participation down?

by Mitchell Hartman
Jun 4, 2021
It's not just child care and health issues. Many people are looking at their old jobs and saying no thanks.
The job market has changed, as well as workers' situations. For people who used to be bus drivers, for instance, there may not be jobs to go back to.
Karen Ducey/Getty Images
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COVID & Unemployment

Nearly half of states will cut short federal jobless benefits

by Meghan McCarty Carino
May 27, 2021
The economy is steadily improving, but we're not back to "normal."
Conservatives have argued that enhanced unemployment benefits were meant to buffer workers from the worst of the pandemic, which has now passed.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
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New data points to strengthening economic recovery this year

by Justin Ho
Apr 15, 2021
Jobless claims and retail spending data out Thursday suggest that the economy's laying the groundwork for recovery.
This March, spending at restaurants rose by more than spending at grocery stores, a positive sign for economic recovery.
Octavio Jones/Getty Images
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Weekly jobless claims are up, but other signs point to a recovering job market

by Mitchell Hartman
Apr 1, 2021
The larger trend in jobless claims is down, while airline reservations and manufacturing work shifts are up.
Labor market indicators such as job postings and manufacturing work shifts have been improving.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
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COVID & Unemployment

Big jump in unemployment benefit claims from gig workers

by Erika Beras
Jan 21, 2021
More people are relying on gig work, which puts a lot of risk on the workers themselves.
An Uber driver participates in a car rally calling for basic employment rights in August 2020 in Los Angeles.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
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COVID & Unemployment

Jobs have bounced back in some parts of the economy. Others face a long slog.

by Mitchell Hartman
Nov 6, 2020
More Americans are returning to the labor market. But more are also joing the ranks of the long-term unemployed.
A shuttered business district in Brooklyn in May. Jobs in some face-to-face services, like bars and restaurants, are still down 15% to 30%.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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