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.
Supplementing early childhood educators’ wages has gone a long way toward addressing a longtime crisis. Even if the program doesn’t survive the city’s budget process, it should remain an example for local, state and federal efforts.
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.
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 Biden administration’s decision to grant work authorization to Venezuelans has sparked state action.
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.
Under increased scrutiny and even attack, election workers are leaving their jobs in record numbers. For those who stay, resources are being offered to help preserve their mental wellness.
The California governor vetoed a labor bill that would have made workers eligible for unemployment payments after two weeks on strike. Newsom said the bill would put more strain on the already stressed system.
This year's commemoration recognizes the community's importance to the country’s future, as the source of more than three-quarters of new workers.
In hopes of luring in chipmakers, states have been increasing their incentives for semiconductor manufacturers so that they may capitalize on the long-term economic development opportunities.
The state has the most clean energy jobs of any state in the Midwest, is fifth nationally for the growing industry and ranks second highest for hybrid and EV employment. However, it remains in the bottom 10 states for EV sales.
Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law that will increase the minimum payment for the first day of jury duty from $6 to $20. But 75 percent of people in Dallas County who receive a jury summons throw it away, ignore it or otherwise skip showing up.
