unemployment

Is Favoritism Driving Black Unemployment?

The conversation with Ross Reynolds — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:17:47 +0000

The job market has been slowly recovering in the United States. But for African-Americans, the unemployment rate remains high at 13 percent — nearly double the national average.

Social scientists say racism continues to be one factor. But now researchers have uncovered another important obstacle to employment: favoritism. Rutgers Business School professor Nancy Ditomaso talks about it with David Hyde.

Federal Sequester Turns Employment Workers Into Job Seekers

Jessica Robinson — Wed, 15 May 2013 18:47:20 +0000

In the next couple of months, many employment office workers in the Northwest will join the unemployed. State labor agencies are having to make cutbacks in staffing. It's due to a combination of the economy getting better and federal budget cuts known as the “sequester” setting in.

Staffing at the local employment office usually moves in the exact opposite direction as the rest of the economy.

Study: Private Prisons Lead To Fewer Jobs

Jessica Robinson — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 17:04:21 +0000

Researchers say the economic benefits of prisons often don't materialize for rural communities. That's according to a new paper by Northwest sociologists. In fact, they found communities with private prisons fare worse than they did before.

Washington State University sociologist Gregory Hook says rural areas that opt to build prisons, even courting them with tax breaks, have one main goal in mind: jobs.

“You know, you look across the way and you say 'Oh there's a prison.

The New Workforce: Stories Of Temping, Freelance And Temporary Work

Ross Reynolds — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 20:20:00 +0000

Job growth continues to be sluggish, but there’s one big exception: temporary work. The number of temp and contract jobs has increased by nearly 30 percent since early 2009, according to the American Staffing Association.

Ross Reynolds takes a closer look at the new temping economy with Steven Greenhouse, the labor reporter for The New York Times.

Landing One Job No Longer Sufficient For Many In Idaho

Jessica Robinson — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 15:51:11 +0000

POST FALLS, Idaho - Personal incomes took a hit in the economic downturn across the nation. But according to the latest figures, no state has lower median earnings than Idaho.

A few years ago, James Drennen and his family left Lancaster, Penn., to start a new life in north Idaho.

“We figured we could come out here and live on a whole lot less money and my wife could stay home," he says.

Giving To Panhandlers

Ross Reynolds — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 19:56:08 +0000

To give or not to give? That's the question many of us face when encountering panhandlers on Seattle's sidewalks. Some people make up their minds about how to act and don't deviate from the script. For others, the ethical questions resurface with every encounter.

Now, it seems we're at a crossroads. Many people are still out of work. Yet social services will probably be cut even further next year. Will that change how you give?

Unemployed Workers Brace For End Of Federal Support

Carolyn Adolph — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 16:30:13 +0000

Correction: This story has been corrected to show that of the 120,000 people who were cut off unemployment benefits before they found a job from summer to 2008 to November 2012, 70 percent have not yet found work.

A program Congress has extended 10 times over the last four years is expected to end this month. The emergency unemployment compensation program has been a safety net for 400,000 people in Washington since the summer of 2008. Four years later 70 percent of people who were cut off from benefits before they found work are still looking. That's about 84,000 people.