Before the pandemic, Miranda Doyle, 34, worked as a project manager at a Pennsylvania- based interior design company. The business shut down temporarily when the state issued a stay-at-home order in March 2020, allowing Doyle to take care of her three children while they attended school remotely. The company resumed […]
Jobs
Retirements in public sector may be effecting economy’s strength
Juanita Waters wasn’t ready to quit working. But the United States Postal Inspection Service, where she worked for nearly 25 years, had a mandatory age cap in place. So, in March, she retired from the agency and left for a job in the private sector as an investigator for TD Bank.
Once Overlooked, Felons and the Disabled See Opportunities Amid Labor Shortage
When Angela Huddleston went searching for a new job in July of 2020, she wasn’t sure if her criminal record – two DUIs and one charge for possession of methamphetamine – would serve as an insurmountable barrier towards finding something better. To her own surprise, she was soon offered a […]
Rising Inflation Squeezes Low Income Workers
In early March, Mayte Molina, 34, did a double-take at her higher-than-normal supermarket bill. Quickly adding how it would offset her weekly budget, she put a handful of her usual items back. Since then, Molina’s daily shopping run has turned into every three to four days to stretch out her […]
More coding academies going remote is part of a changing job training landscape
Sarah Palmer was feeling burnt out and ready to leave her job in the addiction and mental health field in Dayton, Ohio, even before the COVID-19 pandemic began. Then the pandemic added stress to her job, while also showing her that working from home appealed to her. So in February, […]
The Jobs Report Will Show the Labor Market in Excellent Direction, But Still at Terrible Levels
The labor market in the U.S. is likely to accelerate on its path to recovery as employers are expected to have added more jobs in March than they did in February. Economists expect the March jobs report to show a boom in employment in a sign of economic rebound, capping […]
US Manufacturing Takes Its Hardest Hit Since 2009
New orders and employment tumbled in March at the quickest speed since 2009, signaling a tough road ahead for U.S. manufacturers. March’s Institute for Supply Management’s report on business declined to 49.1%, an indication of contraction for the U.S. economy. The index, based on a survey of U.S. manufacturing companies, […]
Gone Country. Remote Workers May Open Opportunities for Rural America
Todd Henrikson did not plan to return to Emporia, Kansas, after more than 20 years away, but some surprising news he and his wife received caused them to reconsider – twins. “We really were kind of intimidated about having twins,” Henrikson said. “And because our families were both interested with our […]
Hispanic Economic Progress: Surging Faster but Still Behind
When President Trump visited Florida last month, he highlighted one achievement in particular: the economic progress made by Hispanics, a group that has strongly opposed Trump because of his immigration policies. The unemployment rate for Hispanics had hit 4.8 percent in October, a record low, and has remained at about […]
U.S. unemployment falls to historic low in April, but sluggish wage growth persists
Unemployment fell in April to the lowest level since 2000, signaling the continued strength of the U.S. economy as the longer-than-expected recovery stretches on. The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent last month, down from 4.1 percent in March, the Labor Department said Friday. Meanwhile, employers added a total […]