- Unemployment reaches record high in euro zone, By Jack Ewing, May 2, 2012, New York Times: “Unemployment in the euro zone rose to a new high in March, according to figures released on Wednesday, which came a few days before crucial elections in France and Greece, and which are likely to intensify calls for an easing of the region’s austerity drive. Unemployment in the 17 countries that belong to the euro zone rose to 10.9 percent in March from 10.8 percent in February, according to Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics agency. In March 2011, the rate was 9.9 percent, a number that illustrates the deterioration of the area’s economy during the past year. The monthly increase, the 11th in a row, translates into more than 17 million jobless people, and is in line with other recent indicators showing that the euro zone economy remains distressed. Manufacturing in the zone hit a 34-month low in April, according to a survey of purchasing managers released Wednesday by the research firm Markit…”
- Eurozone unemployment hits record high of 10.9 percent as recession, austerity bite, Associated Press, May 2, 2012, Washington Post: “The 17 countries that use the euro are facing the highest unemployment rates in the history of the currency as recession once again spreads across Europe, pressuring leaders to focus less on austerity and more on stimulating growth. Unemployment in the eurozone rose by 169,000 in March, official figures showed Wednesday, taking the rate up to 10.9 percent – its highest level since the euro was launched in 1999. The seasonally adjusted rate was up from 10.8 percent in February and 9.9 percent a year ago and contrasts sharply with the picture in the U.S., where unemployment has fallen from 9.1 percent in August to 8.2 percent in March. Spain had the highest rate in the eurozone, 24.1 percent – and an alarming 51.1 percent for people under 25…”
- Unemployment benefits vary across the 17-country eurozone, Associated Press, May 2, 2012, Washington Post: “Unemployment benefits across the 17-country eurozone, where joblessness has hit a new record of 10.9 percent, vary considerably. In some countries, welfare payments have been cut recently as part of austerity measures introduced to bring government spending under control. In Spain, where almost a quarter of the adult population is without work, an unemployed person gets 70 percent of his or her monthly wage for as much as two years. That is on the high end for Europe, and highlights the continent’s focus on social safety nets. Monthly wages, however, are relatively low at an average of just over €1,000 ($1,300) a month. Also, the Spanish government has held off cutting jobless benefits in this year’s austerity budget to avoid hurting economic growth and to not heap more misery on the country’s 5.6 million unemployed, many of which own homes whose value has plummeted…”
Day: May 2, 2012
Drug Testing and Assistance Programs – Tennessee
Tennessee lawmakers approve welfare drug testing on last day, By Chas Sisk, May 1, 2012, The Tennessean: “State lawmakers approved a bill to test welfare recipients for drugs and revamped the state’s top utility regulator, but they dropped plans to rewrite the state’s campaign finance laws on the final day of the legislative session. Members of the state House of Representatives voted 73-17 Tuesday for Senate Bill 2580, which calls for testing welfare recipients who fail a psychiatric screening meant to find indicators of drug use. Proponents said the bill will keep Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds from going to drug users and help them get treatment. Opponents said it punishes the poor. ‘What we’re going to do is profile poor people,’ said state Rep. Joe Towns, D-Memphis. The measure, which cleared the Senate last month and now goes to Gov. Bill Haslam for his signature, was one of several issues resolved as lawmakers finished work for 2012. Both chambers adjourned until after the November election. With the welfare bill, Tennessee would be set to join a growing list of states that have adopted drug testing for recipients…”
Homelessness – Utah
- Utah temporary homeless numbers reach all-time high, By Brooke Adams, April 30, 2012, Salt Lake Tribune: “A statewide effort to get chronically homeless people off the streets and into supported housing continues to make progress, but officials on Mondayannounced the number of Utahns who experienced periodic homelessness reached an all-time high this winter. Volunteers and outreach workers counted 3,052 people in shelters and another 475 on the streets in the statewide Point In Time annual survey that began Jan. 26 and extended over five days to ensure as complete a tally as possible. On an annualized basis, state officials project that 16,642 people experienced an episode of homelessness between January 2011 and January 2012, an increase of 13 percent. Gordon Walker, director of the Division of Housing and Community Development, said Monday during a press conference that the increase was directly related to the weak economy and the end of a federal stimulus housing fund aimed at getting people out of shelters and into their own homes as quickly as possible…”
- Goal of ending chronic homelessness by 2015 ‘achievable,’ advocates say, By Marjorie Cortez, April 30 2012, Deseret News: “Mike Shannon has designs on one of the first meals he will cook in his new apartment at Sunrise Metro Apartments. ‘I want a Velveeta grilled cheese sandwich and a can of tomato soup,’ Shannon said. Shannon, a Vietnam War veteran who has been living in The Road Home homeless shelter for nine months, will have a place to call his own Tuesday in a 100-unit facility that provides housing and intensive case management for people who are chronically homeless. A place of his own – a restroom he doesn’t have to share with others – represents ‘freedom’ and ‘a life’ for the 61-year-old man…”