- State’s unemployment rate hits record in March, By Cy Ryan, April 16, 2010, Las Vegas Sun: “The jobless rate in Nevada hit a record high of 13.4 percent in March, the 15th consecutive month of double digit unemployment. The jobless rate in the Las Vegas area, however, declined from 13.9 to 13.8 percent, but it also was the 15th straight month of double digit numbers…”
- R.I. jobless rate dips slightly in March, By Cynthia Needham, April 16, 2010, Providence Journal: “For the first time in nearly four years, Rhode Island’s monthly jobless rate inched down ever so slightly to 12.6 percent in March, while local businesses saw modest hiring gains, the state planned to announce Friday. But economists warn that the numbers may be misleading. For one thing, the rates are based on monthly surveys that were conducted several weeks before the flooding that temporarily swallowed thousands of jobs across the state. Meanwhile, the small uptick in hiring is likely due to part-time U.S. Census jobs that will only last a few months…”
- Florida’s jobless rate hits record 12.3 percent, By Kelli Kennedy (AP), April 16, 2010, Miami Herald: “Gary Salloum has sent out close to 300 resumes since losing his job as a civil designer in 2008. He’s even applied to be a stock boy at a grocery store. With a job history that ranges from being a machinist to working in a restaurant, 53-year-old Salloum says it’s hard to believe he’s one of more than 1.1 million jobless Floridians. Unemployment hit a record high at 12.3 percent in March, making it the second straight record-setting month since the state began tracking it in 1970, according to figures released Friday…”
Day: April 16, 2010
Cuts to Programs for the Poor – New Jersey
N.J. advocates for poor, disabled question Gov. Chris Christie’s budget cuts, By Susan K. Livio, April 15, 2010, Star-Ledger: “With millions of dollars in proposed cuts to health care, housing and public assistance programs, Democratic lawmakers and advocates for poor and disabled people today questioned Gov. Chris Christie’s contention that his budget represents “shared sacrifice” for all state residents. Democratic members of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee pressed Human Services Commissioner Jennifer Velez to defend reductions in what they called key safety net programs. Those cuts include saving $15.3 million by taking the entire monthly disability check provided to developmentally disabled people; eliminating the $200 monthly check to spouses of permanently disabled partners to save $6.7 million; and saving another $1.8 million by halving the $1,000 grant that allows grandparents raising grandchildren one-time expenses like furniture and moving costs…”
Payday Lending Legislation – Wisconsin
Senate passes payday loan regulations, no rate cap, By Scott Bauer (AP), April 13, 2010, Oshkosh Northwestern: “The payday loan industry would be regulated for the first time in Wisconsin under a bill that passed the state Senate on Tuesday. However, there still would be no limit on the interest that could be charged on the loans primarily given to the working poor. Advocates for the poor, as well as a bipartisan group of state senators, pushed for a 36 percent annual rate cap as a way to stop people from being charged high interest rates and getting trapped in a cycle of debt…”