The merger will combine departments that oversee zoning and permitting, the 311, non-emergency line, real estate deals and workforce challenges. At least one office is eliminating 5 positions.
Companies that grew tech talent rapidly during the pandemic are now firing workers in droves in an effort to reduce operating costs and improve profitability, creating an employer’s market.
After borrowing billions from the federal government to pay for unemployment during the pandemic, the state’s debt now stands at about $21 billion and growing. The state also currently accounts for about 20 percent of the nation’s unemployment.
After shedding nearly 1 million jobs, staffing levels are now higher than at the start of 2020. But severe shortages remain in several fields such as nursing, public safety and education.
In February, the state reached an unemployment rate of 5.3 percent, the highest in the country. Since 1976, California has created more jobs than any other state (9.7 million), accounting for 13 percent of all U.S. hires.
States have devoted billions of dollars to replenishing their unemployment trust funds, but many are still short. Fewer states are now prepared for a recession than before the pandemic.
The state Employment Department’s new computer system, Frances Online, will replace the one that had been in place since the 1990s. But old technology is not the only thing the department needs to fix.
The nation grew at a 5.2 percent annual rate in the third quarter of this year, but several factors indicate that a number of states are not seeing the same trends. The preliminary unemployment rate rose in 38 states.
Despite job gains moving at their slowest pace since 2011 and extreme stress in commercial real estate, Colorado managed to stave off a recession this year. Many are wondering whether it can keep an economic downturn at bay again next year.
The state has dropped more than 130,000 of its 500,000 Medicaid beneficiaries since April and about 30 percent of those disenrolled were left uninsured, which could be a bad sign for the rest of the nation.
The measure would grant unemployment benefits to striking workers by amending existing state law. Republicans oppose the measure, making the bill’s future in the GOP-controlled Senate uncertain.
If approved, the new program would offer small, no-interest loans to civilian federal employees who work in Maryland but are not otherwise eligible for unemployment insurance payments.
The deadly wildfires in August forced up the island’s unemployment by four percentage points to 8.4 percent in September. For the week ending Oct. 14, claims were up 217 percent from the same week a year prior.
A report found that 63,000 residents aged 14 to 26 have either failed to graduate high school or have graduated but are not currently employed or enrolled in further education. An additional 56,000 are at risk of not graduating high school.
Two months after wildfires tore across the Hawaiian island, it remains unclear whether survivors will receive unemployment payments if they’re too traumatized to work. The August wildfires killed 98 people and destroyed 2,200 structures.
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.
Most Read
