Labor Dept.

10/02/2009 -- WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement on the September 2009 Employment Situation report released today:

"This past September, the economy lost 263,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate increased to 9.8 percent.

"At the beginning of this year, the economy was in an unprecedented freefall, shedding 700,000 jobs a month. This administration met these challenges head on by putting a plan in place designed to create jobs and drive economic growth through a combination of tax relief for individuals and businesses, aid to hard-hit families and state and local governments, and funding for science, technology and infrastructure projects across the country.    » read more »

Seasonally Adjusted Data

October 1, 2009 -- In the week ending Sept. 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 551,000, an increase of 17,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 534,000. The 4-week moving average was 548,000, a decrease of 6,250 from the previous week's revised average of 554,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.6 percent for the week ending Sept. 19, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate of 4.6 percent.    » read more »

More Than 13,000 Workers in 27 Counties Will Benefit

September 29, 2009 -- WASHINGTON — More than 13,000 laid-off workers across Michigan will be assisted by three grants totaling $38,033,600, U.S. Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, both D-Mich., announced today. The National Emergency Grants from the U.S. Department of Labor will go to the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth for use in 27 counties.

“These grants will play a critical role in assisting the thousands of laid-off workers in Michigan, and I will continue to fight for more funding to support our workforce,” Levin said. “The retraining services these grants will provide will help lead to a diversified work force which can better adapt to new industries.”    » read more »

8,600 workers in 24 counties will receive job retraining and career support services

September 29, 2009 -- LANSING - Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today announced that Michigan has been awarded $38 million by the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) to provide job retraining and career support services for 8,600 dislocated workers in 24 counties. The National Emergency Grants (NEGs) are funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act).    » read more »

Seasonally Adjusted Data

September 17, 2009 -- In the week ending Sept. 12, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 545,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 557,000. The 4-week moving average was 563,000, a decrease of 8,750 from the previous week's revised average of 571,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.7 percent for the week ending Sept. 5, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate of 4.6 percent.    » read more »

Sept. 16, 2009 -- CHARLESTON, W.Va. – West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin announced today that the U.S. Department of Labor has awarded $11,058,877 in unemployment insurance (UI) modernization incentive funds to West Virginia.

This money will help pay the unemployment benefits funded by the state’s unemployment compensation trust fund.

"These funds will help offset the expense of unemployment benefits for West Virginia’s employers," said Manchin. "This is another example of our efforts to provide relief to both small and large businesses and workers in the current economy.”

West Virginia qualified for a portion of its share of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) funds by allowing workers to use their most recent earnings when applying for benefits.    » read more »

Funds Being Directed to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Rend Lake College

September 15, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – United States Senator Roland W. Burris today announced that the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Rend Lake College in Ina, IL will be receiving $100,000 in Brookwood-Sago grant awards from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). Funding will support the development and implementation of training materials for mine emergency preparedness and haulage safety. The following are descriptions of the funds being allocated to Illinois:    » read more »

08/27/2009 -- WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today certified for release $89,289,386 in unemployment insurance (UI) modernization incentive funds to the state of Wisconsin. Wisconsin qualified for the remaining two-thirds of its share of the funds available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) by updating its UI program to reflect the 21st century workforce.    » read more »

WORCESTER – August 20, 2009 – The Patrick-Murray Administration today announced that the Massachusetts Department of Veterans’ Services (DVS) has been awarded a $500,000 U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) grant to assist veterans in training and employment in green industry professions. This grant was one of only 17 awarded nationwide, totaling more than $7.5 million dollars, to provide approximately 3,000 veterans with job training to help them succeed in civilian careers. The grants are administered by DOL’s Veterans' Workforce Investment Program (VWIP).    » read more »

GAO Report Provides Suggestions For Strengthening Job Corps Programs; Report finds that while Job Corps provides critical career skills, more can be done to help retain and recruit young women

June 22, 2009 -- (Washington, D.C.) – The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Job Corps training program, while meeting its goals for young, disadvantaged males, is struggling to meet its goals for young women according to Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released today. The report found that Job Corps has taken some steps to improve the recruitment of young women but that more can be done, including providing more appealing career training options and additional support services for young women.    » read more »

Payments made possible under bill signed Friday by Gov. Nixon

June 17, 2009 -- JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Missourians who have exhausted their unemployment insurance while they continue to look for work have begun receiving their first payments of extended benefits under House Bill 1075, a bill signed into law last Friday (June 12) by Missouri Governor Jay Nixon. The bill will inject up to $65 million of federal Recovery Act funds in Missouri's economy by extending the period for Missourians to receive unemployment benefits.    » read more »

06/05/2009 -- WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement on the May 2009 Employment Situation report released today:

"This past May, our economy lost 345,000 jobs, bringing the total number of jobs lost since this recession began to 6 million. The overall unemployment rate increased to 9.4 percent.

"Americans all across the country continue to face adversity during this economic downturn. Today's findings continue to illustrate and underscore the needs of working families. That struggle is the single-most important focus of this administration.    » read more »

June 5, 2009 -- Washington, DC – Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley released a statement today following the announcement by the Department of Labor that job losses were lower than expected even though the national unemployment rate climbed to 9.4 percent.

“The loss of nearly 350,000 jobs last month is unacceptable. While some experts predicted that the numbers would be worse, ‘not as bad as we feared’ is not good enough. The fact remains that more Americans are out of work than any point in the last quarter-century. Oregon has been hit particularly hard, with the second-highest unemployment rate in the nation.    » read more »

Seasonally Adjusted Data

June 4, 2009 -- In the week ending May 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 621,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 625,000. The 4-week moving average was 631,250, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's revised average of 627,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 5.0 percent for the week ending May 23, unchanged from the prior week's revised rate of 5.0 percent.    » read more »

06/02/2009 -- ROMULUS, Mich. — While in Romulus today touring the General Motors Romulus Engine Plant, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced that the U.S. Department of Labor is releasing an additional $49.9 million to the state of Michigan to provide career training and employment and case management services to workers whose jobs are impacted for trade-related reasons, as well as for associated administrative costs. Combined with the original fiscal year 2009 allocations, Michigan now has nearly $60 million available to assist trade-affected workers.    » read more »