U.S. unemployment rate for blacks projected to hit 25-year high, By V. Dion Haynes, January 15, 2010, Washington Post: “Unemployment for African Americans is projected to reach a 25-year high this year, according to a study released Thursday by an economic think tank, with the national rate soaring to 17.2 percent and the rates in five states exceeding 20 percent. Blacks as well as Latinos were far behind whites in employment levels even when the economy was booming. But throughout the recession, the unemployment rate has grown much faster for African Americans and Latinos than for whites, according to the study by the Economic Policy Institute. Moreover, the unemployment gap between men and women has reached a record high — with men far outpacing women in joblessness…”
Day: January 15, 2010
Collection of Unemployment Benefits in 2009
20 million-plus collect unemployment checks in ’09, By Christopher S. Rugaber (AP), December 31, 2009, Houston Chronicle: “A record 20 million-plus people collected unemployment benefits at some point in 2009, a year that ended with the jobless rate at 10 percent. As the pace of layoffs slows, the number of new applicants visiting unemployment offices has been on the decline in recent months. But limited hiring means the ranks of the long-term unemployed continues to grow, with more than 5.8 million people out of work for more than six months. The number of new claims for jobless benefits dropped last week to 432,000, the Labor Department said Thursday, down sharply from its late March peak of 674,000. The decline signals that the economy could begin adding a small number of jobs in January, several economists said…”
Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program
Demand overwhelms program to prevent homelessness, By Tony Pugh, January 12, 2010, Miami Herald: “In rural communities and urban areas alike, one of the least expensive and most unheralded new initiatives of the stimulus bill is quietly saving hundreds of thousands of Americans from homelessness. Now housing advocates want Congress to boost the program’s $1.5 billion funding as the vast need for more assistance becomes evident nationwide. The Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program is expected to help 600,000 people by moving some from homeless shelters into their own apartments and by providing rent payments to prevent others from being evicted. Because the assistance is temporary – usually for three months to 18 months – the program tries to target people who are most in need and can who can return to self-sufficiency within a few months…”