Recession forces rise in low-wage families, report says, By Michael A. Fletcher, December 21, 2010, Washington Post: “The Great Recession, responsible for boosting unemployment to its highest levels in a generation, has sharply increased the percentage of working people who earn wages so paltry that they are struggling to survive, according to a new report. The share of working families earning less than double the official poverty threshold – $43,512 for a family of four – increased from 28 to 30 percent between 2007 and 2009, according to a report released Tuesday by the Working Families Project, a nonprofit group that advocates on behalf of the working poor. Overall, the report said, the number of people living in low-income working families increased by 1.7 million to 45 million between 2008 and 2009. In November, the jobless rate rose to 9.8 percent, and has hovered near 10 percent for more than a year…”
Day: December 21, 2010
State Unemployment Fund – Ohio
State debt for jobless benefits looming, By Catherine Candisky, December 19, 2010, Columbus Dispatch: “Although the battle over extending unemployment benefits has been solved in Washington, Ohio still has no way to repay the $2.3 billion borrowed from a federal loan fund to continue the jobless benefits through the recession. Without a reprieve from Congress, that bill comes due next year, at the same time state leaders will be grappling to close a projected $8 billion shortfall in the two-year state budget that begins in July. Given the budget crisis in Ohio and other states, many are hoping the due date for repayments will be extended again or the loan wiped out altogether…”