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Workforce

State and local governments face a tight labor market and a competitive disadvantage with the private sector. But salaries aren’t the only issue, with cities, counties and states all grappling with training, retention, remote work and increased union activity.

Total hired farm labor in the state dropped 23 percent from 2017 to 2022, more than twice the national rate of decline. Migrant farm labor fell even more.
State officials are worried that under-resourced, low-income young adults may be left behind if not given the proper access and training needed to fill thousands of existing and anticipated jobs.
Wait times to speak to customer service representatives have risen to an average of more than 52 minutes, and as many as 1,500 people are experiencing delays due to the identity verification process.
Proposed legislation that has garnered support from a public employees union would provide greater protection to state workers who file complaints of bullying, which is mostly not illegal in the state.
Fifty million Americans are living in poverty or near it. A new grant program will help nonprofits address inequities and promote upward mobility.
A proposed law would require successful bidders for county construction work valued at $1 million or more to meet the standards of a New York State Apprenticeship program in an effort to retain trade students.
On-the-job training can serve as one way for states and localities to meet ongoing public- and private-sector labor shortages.
High-profile departures of senior-level executives reflect not only an aging workforce and a more politicized operating environment but also salaries and benefits that need to be competitive with the private sector’s.
An audit of the county’s new system found lax oversight of raises and more than $3 million in overpayments to employees, which could take decades to fully reimburse.
Several teachers have raised questions about the effectiveness of the strike. The longtime chair of the Portland Association of Teachers’ bargaining team resigned amid the fallout.
Tight labor markets can be hard on corporations. But they can help marginal workers find jobs.
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.
Latinos accounted for more than half of U.S. population growth in the last two decades. Understanding of this community hasn’t kept pace, but a new resource from the Latino Policy and Politics Institute could help change that.
Dealing with undeserved hostility and threats may be the most unexpected new task for election officials, but the skills their jobs require have been expanding for years.
The growing green economy is creating millions of jobs, but demand is outpacing the number of workers prepared to fill them. Promising new programs provide an opportunity to create a more equitable workforce.
They make up the smallest percentage of workers in state and local government. Despite being sought after, efforts to hire and retain them aren’t increasing those numbers.
The state remains among the lowest in both workforce participation rate and median family income, as it has been for decades.
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 use of artificial intelligence is partly a response to an acute staffing crisis and the pressing need to address the mental health challenges that emergency responders face.
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.
Approximately 34 million Americans above the age of 16 have some kind of disability. By 2020, the participation rate of those with disabilities had increased to 20.4 percent, a 2.2 percent increase from 2014.
States and city governments are rethinking job requirements, replacing four-year degrees with proven skill applications to bring in new applicants.
In the 2022 fiscal year, the school district sponsored 232 workers on H-1B or specialty occupation visas, which is nearly four times greater than Houston’s 60 workers, the second-highest total in the U.S.
The annual Medicare-plus advertising blitz now under way should remind us that smarter post-employment benefit designs for state and local employees are long overdue.
Pandemic-era federal money is gone, yet problems remain.
The nation’s agriculture industry is pushing for better protections for crops and the people who grow them against a changing climate, like the unprecedented drought that hit Illinois this summer.
A new law signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul last month prohibits employers from accessing a worker’s or applicant’s private social media accounts, which advocates claim is a win for worker privacy.
People in struggling communities can benefit from the work-from-home phenomenon. But they need some mentoring to do it. Some innovative startups are getting them there.
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.
There is a lot governments could do to give more people ways to serve their communities, benefiting themselves while addressing civic challenges. Public service is an antidote for disunity.
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.