Office workers’ exodus should be countered with wiser state and federal tax incentives, and there’s a novel municipal bond angle to promote. But cities themselves must step up to stem the urban maladies that feed public fears.
The state’s jobless rate is at 3.6 percent, which is lower than the national rate, but there are 90,000 unfilled jobs across several industries. The state is attempting to attract workers with education and job training.
The New York school district’s after-school instruction faces a teacher shortage two weeks before its scheduled start date. The majority of the program has been funded through American Rescue Plan dollars, which will expire by Sept. 2024.
The city’s pilot program will start this month to help day workers register for work, receive skills training and help ensure that workers get paid accurately by contractors when the job is finished.
Baldwin County, Ala., schools are in the process of constructing a preparatory academy that will open for the 2024-25 school year and will provide training in a variety of trades to help students seamlessly transition into the workforce.
It’s not enough for public and private employers to simply drop college degree requirements. State governments have a crucial role in matching workers and employers based on consistently defined competencies.
The state opened the school year with 3,584 teaching vacancies, almost a 20 percent drop from the previous year, but many of the new hires are less qualified. There’s been a 51 percent decrease in the last decade in traditional teacher preparation program enrollment.
An issue that seemed settled has returned, with states considering whether to loosen child labor laws. There might be some argument for revisiting them, but there’s evidence of growing abuse of existing laws.
Weakening licensing requirements for high-impact technical professions doesn’t help businesses. They value it in their hiring to maintain service quality and avoid liability and reputational damage.
Though officials have pushed job training and career readiness programs, the lack of child care, affordable housing or mental health services prevents people from joining the workforce.
As funds flow from the Inflation Reduction Act for projects across the country, getting the full benefit of this landmark law will depend on governors seizing the moment.
Several states have changed their policies in an attempt to overcome the national lifeguard shortage, lowering the minimum lifeguard age and offering large bonuses. Many pools and beaches are implementing aggressive recruiting tactics.
It's the world’s most popular music genre, and some of its stars are making big investments in their communities. People who work on building local economies should pay attention and nurture this opportunity.
A survey found that the average Texas employee working remotely would expect a bonus of more than $11,000 if forced to return to the office full time. Nationally, workers expect a $12,188 payment to return to an office.
Fourteen organizations across the state will receive part of $2.5 million in grant funding to help former inmates get back into the workforce. Two of the organizations are based in Lowell.
Maine’s ambitious broadband expansion is creating demand for more workers to hang fiber. Women are increasingly responding to the opportunity.
