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.
With enrollment trending down, colleges are simplifying the process for students to get credit for skills they already have, which can save them both time and money.
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.
Nearly every county in South Florida is experiencing job growth; Fort Lauderdale metro area had a jobless rate of 2.8 percent in August and Palm Beach County was at 2.9 percent. But inflation still threatens to upturn the market.
The legislation would provide $400 million worth of tax credits to reimburse a portion of union members’ dues payments starting in 2024; it’s not yet clear how much each member would be eligible to receive.
The state’s House Ways & Means Committee began to study the possibility of removing individual and corporate income taxes, which would require significant reworking of property, sales or other taxes to offset the loss in revenue.
The pandemic overwhelmed a long-neglected public health system, pressuring many workers to leave. But a new program hopes to inspire AmeriCorps members to work in public health.
Mayor Eric Adams will spend the city money to connect 3,000 high school students with multiyear, paid apprenticeships at large finance and tech firms at a time when 8.3 percent of city government jobs are vacant.
A new study from Oxfam America reported that Texas was ranked 48th on a list of best states to work, a decrease from its 47th rank the year prior, based on its poor wages, worker protections and organizing rights.
While the entire nation is struggling amid a worker shortage, Maine’s aging workforce presents unique challenges. Workers that may have previously been overlooked are now being sought out and trained to fill labor gaps.
An audit found that the state’s unemployment agency likely paid between $441 million and $466 million in fake claims from March 2020 to March 2022. It also flagged numerous legitimate claimants as fraud.
In a brave new world of hybrid work — or not — IT leaders rethink what it means to work for the public sector and what investments are needed to keep everyone connected.
Proposed legislation would implement a federal standard to safeguard workers against hazardous conditions, including extreme heat, supplementing California’s guidelines. The bill currently only has Democratic support.
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey’s seventh annual Labor Day report revealed that the Fair Labor Division ordered employers to pay $7.5 million in restitution and $4.2 million in penalties on behalf of employees.
The state has cut unemployment insurance benefits almost in half; removed prevailing wage protections and reduced guaranteed retirement benefits for public school teachers hired this year.
Most lawyers, paralegals, investigators, social workers and administrative staff will be included. But there's a catch: under Colorado law, employees in the state’s judicial system are not authorized to unionize.
The growing officer shortage is colliding with the highest rates of gun violence Philadelphia has seen in generations. Critics argue local policies, such as city residency requirements, have made the situation worse.
A federal judge has approved a settlement between the state and 54 residents who had been on a work-release program but lost COVID-related unemployment benefits when the pandemic stopped their work opportunity.
Despite surviving several COVID-related challenges, some businesses are closing due to monthly rent increases, landlord disputes and hiring difficulties. Only about 65 percent of small businesses are currently profitable.
The root cause of the problem is a longstanding overall lack of respect for teachers and their craft, which is reflected by decades of low pay, hyperscrutiny and poor working conditions.
Five unions representing hundreds of thousands of health-care workers across California are attacking a legislative deal that would delay expansions on seismic safety standards to increase workers’ minimum wage.
New research found that improving gender equity across the state would increase the state’s income by $15.4 billion and would create 59,000 new jobs. Women earn less than men in every county except Greene.
The voter-approved Maine Technology Asset Fund awarded private companies with grants to help create new jobs and boost the state’s economy. But after five years, it’s unclear how impactful the investments have actually been.
The U.S. Census Bureau found that nearly half of adults ages 55 to 66 had no personal retirement savings in 2017. But a state-sponsored private retirement auto-IRA savings program could give many retiring Kansans a break.
The economy keeps adding them by the hundreds of thousands. But those big numbers don’t tell the whole story.
Tens of millions of Americans now work remotely on a full-time basis. Relocation incentives are helping to redefine the concept of “suburb.”
The number of vacant, state government positions has increased by more than 700 jobs in the last year, despite a 5.5 percent salary increase for all state workers that was approved by the Legislature and governor last year.
LaToya Cantrell announced last week that hundreds of unfilled government positions could get permanently cut to help pay for an across-the-board pay increase for the city workforce. But many worry about understaffing issues being exacerbated.
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NASCIO’s 2022 State CIO Top Priorities list, for the first time in over a decade, didn’t include costs and budgeting. No. 7 in this year’s list is workforce, but in truth, the entire list reflects the fact that everything about work — the where, why and how — is changing rapidly. Here, we’ll look at the trends shaping the future of work in government.
While the Washington state county’s employment numbers continue to improve, a look at the civilian labor force shows the region still has not fully recovered from the impacts of the pandemic.
The power in the labor market has shifted from employer to employee in the last year or so, allowing workers to be more firm in their demands, like the option to work remotely. Many think a recession would unlikely change those dynamics.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to hire non-citizens, with some exceptions. There were about 880,000 non-citizens living in L.A. County in 2018.
