Unemployment benefit applications fall to 9-month low, latest sign of improving job market, Associated Press, December 8, 2011, Washington Post: “A steady decline in the number of people applying for weekly unemployment benefits is the latest signal that the economy has strengthened and businesses may be poised to step up hiring. Applications fell last week fell to a seasonally adjusted 381,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s the lowest level since late February. And a four-week average for applications, which smooths week-to-week fluctuations, fell for the ninth time in 11 weeks to an eight-month low. The downward trend in unemployment benefit applications bolsters the view that the economy has improved from its spring slump, when many feared another recession was likely. Consumer confidence is up, retailers reported a strong start to the holiday shopping season and the unemployment rate fell last month to its lowest point in two and a half years…”
Day: December 9, 2011
Medicaid Program – Wisconsin
Feds OK some Medicaid changes, but thousands could lose coverage, By Patrick Marley and Jason Stein, December 9, 2011, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Federal officials on Friday gave preliminary approval to some of Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed cuts to Wisconsin health-care programs for the poor but said they likely couldn’t decide on other cuts before the new year – an outcome that could force tens of thousands of people off BadgerCare Plus next year. On Nov. 10, the state asked President Barack Obama’s administration to sign off on spending cuts to Medicaid programs like BadgerCare Plus to relieve a $554 million deficit in state and federal money through June 2013. State lawmakers this summer gave the Walker administration broad authority to balance the health-care budget but said if the federal government didn’t approve the state’s plan by Dec. 31 the state must remove 53,000 childless adults from the program by July to save money…”
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
- Feds crack down on FoodShare fraud on social media websites, By Jason Stein, December 6, 2011, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Federal officials unveiled new rules Tuesday to crack down on fraud in public food benefits, including targeting illegal sales on social media sites and investigating recipients who report their cards lost repeatedly. The Journal Sentinel reported in June that area residents had offered to buy and sell benefits on sites such as Facebook. A state official also said Tuesday that one Wisconsin resident has already been disqualified from the state’s food assistance program for using social media to sell benefits. A U.S. Department of Agriculture official said Tuesday that his agency was taking action after Internet trafficking of food assistance benefits had been highlighted by both the media and state officials around the country…”
- Food stamp use on the rise, By Phil Izzo, December 6, 2011, Wall Street Journal: “Food-stamp use jumped in the U.S. in September as 11 states tapped into the program for disaster assistance. Food stamp rolls have risen 7.8% in the past year, the Department of Agriculture reported, though the pace of growth has slowed from the depths of the recession…”