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After a turbulent few months, unemployment filings fall again

Nov 15, 2024
Last week, 217,000 people filed new claims for unemployment insurance. Back in the summer and early fall, that number spiked as high as 260,000.
Jobless claims are back down to levels last seen in the spring, signaling low layoffs and a rebound in job gains to come.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Efforts to boost manufacturing and clean energy run up against a shortage of welders

Apr 5, 2024
Welders are needed to build and upgrade roads and bridges, energy infrastructure and chip foundries. But the profession has an image problem.
There’s a perception that welding is a dirty, dangerous and dead-end career. Employers are trying to change that.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Labor Department to review subminimum wage policy for disabled workers

Sep 28, 2023
Federal regulations permit companies to apply for special certificates that allow them to hire disabled workers and pay them an average of less than $4 an hour.
Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images

Workers are being more productive, a good sign for low-inflation growth

Aug 3, 2023
The Labor Department says worker output is up while average hours worked is down. That could help bring down inflation going forward.
Worker output climbed in the second quarter as economic growth picked up.
Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images

Productivity in the U.S. fell last month, but the nation's output increased. How does that work?

May 4, 2023
What matters here is how the Labor Department defines productivity.
More people are working, since a lot of sectors — like leisure and hospitality — are playing catchup on hiring.
Leon Neal/Getty Images

Gen Z teens are heading back to the workforce; older Zoomers, not so much

Apr 7, 2023
Labor force participation for 20- to 24-year-olds is lagging. Zoomers whose educations were interrupted by the pandemic are still catching up.
In March, 37.4% of Americans aged 16 to 19 were actively employed or looking for work, according to the Labor Department.
Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images

How labor nominee's worker advocacy history informs her work today

Apr 6, 2023
A landmark sweatshop case and immigrant parents helped inspire Julie Su's efforts for vulnerable workers, a 19th reporter says.
Julie Su goes before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on April 20.
Win McNamee/Getty Images

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Employers want everyone back in the office — for real this time

Apr 4, 2023
A less robust job market has made corporate leaders' preference easier to implement.
Companies like Meta are pausing the hiring of remote workers. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the data suggests that engineers who started at the company in person generally perform better than people who trained remotely.
Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

In his first veto, President Biden defends Labor Department's ESG rule

Mar 20, 2023
Critics say ESG investments allocate money based on political agendas rather than on earning the best returns for savers.
It's unlikely that Republicans have enough votes in Congress to reach the two-thirds majority required in each chamber to override Biden's veto.
Leon Neal/Getty Images

Jobless claims remain historically low amid Fed's efforts to slow wage growth

Feb 9, 2023
What does this mean for their anti-inflation strategy?
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference after a Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Feb. 1, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images