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University of Wisconsin–Madison
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty

Day: October 19, 2012

September 2012 State Unemployment Rates

  • Unemployment falls in 41 states in September, By Paul Davidson, October 19, 2012, USA Today: “Unemployment rates fell in 41 states and the District of Columbia last month, reflecting a sharp drop in the nation’s jobless rate just weeks before the presidential election. Unemployment increased in six states, and three states showed no change. Among key swing states in the presidential race, the jobless rate declined in nine, was unchanged in two and increased in one…”
  • Unemployment rates fall in 7 US swing states and were unchanged in 2 others, Associated Press, October 19, 2012, Washington Post: “Unemployment rates fell or held steady last month in nine key swing states at the center of this year’s presidential election. Rates dropped in Ohio, Florida, Wisconsin, Colorado, Iowa, Nevada and North Carolina. They were unchanged in New Hampshire and Virginia. The declines could help President Barack Obama at a critical time. With just 18 days until Election Day, polls show GOP challenger Mitt Romney gaining momentum with voters in key states. Overall, the Labor Department said Friday that rates fell in 41 states last month, rose in six and were unchanged in three…”

Teen Birthrate – Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee’s teen birthrate drops for fifth year in row, By Karen Herzog, October 19, 2012, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Milwaukee’s teen birthrate – the second highest in the nation less than a decade ago – last year dropped for a fifth year in a row to a new historic low. The drop wasn’t as dramatic as those seen in 2009 and 2010, but the city remains on pace to reach a goal of reducing the teen birthrate to 30 per 1,000 teens ages 15 to 17 by 2015 – a goal set in 2007 by United Way of Greater Milwaukee, the Center for Urban Population Health and the Milwaukee Health Department. The latest data from the Health Department put the 2011 teen birthrate at 33.4 per 1,000 girls ages 15 to 17. That’s down from 35.8 in 2010 and follows a succession of decreases – 41.3 per 1,000 teens in 2009; 46.7 in 2008; 47.1 in 2007; and 52 in 2006. The teen birthrate is declining nationally, but Milwaukee has seen a slightly more rapid drop in its rate…”

Foster Care System – South Carolina

Some children spending less time in foster care, By Ron Barnett, October 17, 2012, Greenville News: “The state Department of Social Services has stepped up the rate of moving long-term foster children back with their parents or to adoptive families by 50 percent in the past fiscal year, a trend that has drawn both praise and criticism. DSS increased the number of foster children moving into permanent homes from 789 in 2010-11 to 1,184 in the 12-month cycle that ended June 30. Nearly two-thirds of the children who left long-term foster care during the year went to adoptive families rather than being reunited with their biological family, according to DSS figures. Faster movement through the foster care system is part of a national trend, but South Carolina had the second-highest percentage drop in the nation in the number of children in foster care between July 2011 and July 2012, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services…”