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.
While one stated purpose of worksite immigration raids is to remove illegal competition from the labor marketplace, the reality is far messier.
Many “guest workers” on temporary work visas must get rehired within 60 days to avoid being forced to leave the U.S. It’s unclear how many of the 18,000 Seattle-area tech workers laid off had temporary visas.
The state’s Workforce Development Council has recommended the Legislature invest more funding in operations and programming of new career and tech centers and education as well as support staff training.
This week, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration announced that it would rescind its telework policy that was established during the pandemic. Union leaders and members have expressed frustrations over the decision.
Two million Californians lost unemployment benefits last September when pandemic-era programs ended a lifeline for many workers, specifically those who were less-educated, Black or over the age of 64.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced a bipartisan agreement to fill the financial hole in the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund, which once stood at $4.5 billion, that was depleted by the pandemic.
In September, the state had nearly 1.03 million job openings, which amounts to almost 1.8 openings for every unemployed resident. Dallas-Fort Worth added 255,000 jobs in the last year, roughly 2.5 times the usual pace.
The region has added 19,500 jobs in October and 255,000 jobs in the 12 months ending in October, far outpacing previous years’ job growth. D-FW also set a new high for total employment in October with nearly 4.19 million workers.
With more people questioning the facts used in public finance, the Government Finance Officers Association has developed a curriculum that provides education and communication skills to remedy divisive and uncivil discourse.
The Washington state Employment Security Department estimates that the state is set to lose as many as 18,000 tech or tech-related jobs over barely two months. But some are hopeful the layoffs will be short-lived.
Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office reported that the state’s antiquated unemployment system and “ad hoc workarounds” contributed to a loss of billions of dollars in improper payments.
Voters on Tuesday approved an amendment to enshrine a right-to-work law in the state’s constitution by a more than 2-to-1 margin, which will make it more difficult in the future to change how union workers collect dues.
There was concern earlier this year that the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund would diminish, but the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations reported this week that it has grown to $232 million.
Not only do bus operators need better pay, but they need to be treated with dignity and respect, and they need flexibility in their work along with opportunities for advancement.
A state audit found that the Workforce Development office paid nearly $125,000 to deceased people and another nearly $114,000 to ineligible prisoners in the 2019 to 2020 fiscal year.
As the nation prepares for the possibility of an economic recession, one survey found that 60 percent of managers said remote workers would likely be the first to be laid off as compared to in-office positions.
A report has found that the state is performing worse than it should be in creating innovation-based jobs, growing only 11 percent between 2010 and 2019, eight points less than the national sector.
The ValleyBuild NOW program pays women a stipend to cover their living expenses and help with transportation and child-care costs while participating in the two-month training that prepares them for construction and related trade jobs.
A report found that 21 percent of millenials have changed jobs within the past year, which is three times higher than non-millenials. The study also found that 55 percent of millennial workers are not engaged at work.
The state’s food assistance program’s Fresno County office experienced a 23 percent staff vacancy rate last month while applications for the food benefits increased by 18 percent from 2019 to 2021.
Much of the Seattle area’s office return is stuck in limbo, with just 36 percent of downtown office workers back as of last week. Employees continue working remotely and optimizing flexible schedules.
Our prisons don’t have enough staffers to protect inmates or themselves. Better pay, benefits and working conditions are needed, and there are other effective strategies.
The state’s Department of Administration’s Hearings and Appeals Division reports a backlog of 13,842 workers’ compensation cases, caused, in part, by the pandemic. Officials currently have no concrete plans for reform.
Burnout, retirements and uncompetitive salaries have exacerbated a growing scarcity of workers in critical job positions for managing infrastructure, transit and disaster preparedness.
Companies with 15 or more employees will have to list salary ranges for all job postings starting in May 2023. Many expect this transparency to help workers, especially women and people of color, to receive fair pay.
The CEO of PostcardMania, a company based in Clearwater, Fla., has issued an apology to its employees after downplaying the severity of Hurricane Ian and encouraging staff to bring their pets and families to the office and not miss work.
The Ohio county is re-evaluating its operational and organizational structure to determine how many of the 800 current job openings actually need to be filled for systems to continue to function.
The Labor and Workforce Development Agency will spend $480 million over the next three years to expand apprenticeship programs across the state in an effort to help workers increase their salaries.
As of July, approximately 440,000 Louisianans have voluntarily left their jobs this year, the highest total for the first seven months of a year since 2000. But experts say mobility signals a healthy economy, albeit a challenging one for employers.
The Labor Department has increased its previous estimate of pandemic-era unemployment benefits fraud by nearly $30 billion. The agency has opened more than 190,000 investigations and charged more than 1,000 with fraud.
COVID-19 illustrated how paid sick leave doesn’t just protect people’s livelihoods; it can save lives. Seventeen states now have mandatory paid sick leave laws; at least 20 cities and counties have similar requirements.
