- 5 more states vote on minimum wages as federal wage stalls, By Kristen Wyatt (AP), October 18, 2016, Arizona Daily Sun: “Congress’ inaction on the $7.25 hourly minimum wage is again playing out on state ballots, with voters in four states considering an increase and another considering wages for the youngest workers, even though the states already exceed the federal. In some cases voters are also deciding whether to add sick-leave policies to help the working poor. The ballot proposals in Arizona, Colorado, Maine and Washington come two years after voters in five other states passed minimum-wage hikes. South Dakota voters are taking a second crack at wages, two years after raising them to $8.50 an hour…”
- Florida minimum wage rising to $8.10 an hour in 2017, By Marcia Heroux Pounds, October 17, 2016, Sun Sentinel: “Florida is raising its minimum wage to $8.10 an hour beginning Jan. 1, up 5 cents from $8.05 in 2016, the state Department of Economic Opportunity has announced. For tipped employees, the minimum wage will be at least $5.08 an hour…”
- Measure to lift minimum wage to $13.50 statewide has Washington divided, By Janet I. Tu, October 15, 2016, Seattle Times: “For Martha Camargo Castañeda, an agricultural worker in Wapato, Yakima County, an increase in the state minimum wage would mean she could afford a few more basics for herself and her son. She makes $10 an hour at her full-time job and counts on food stamps to make ends meet. She juggles the bills to decide each month whether she’ll pay, say, the electric or water bill…”
Category: Employment
US Unemployment Claims
U.S. unemployment claims at lowest level since 1973, October 13, 2016, Denver Post: “The number of Americans applying for first-time unemployment benefits held at a four-decade low last week, a sign employers are holding on to workers as the labor market tightens. Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, were unchanged at 246,000 in the week ended Oct. 8, the Labor Department said Thursday. The latest two weeks registered at the lowest level since November 1973…”
Unemployment Benefits – North Carolina
$2 billion in trust for jobless benefits. Is it time to increase unemployment checks?, By Richard Craver, October 6, 2016, Winston-Salem Journal: “North Carolina has more than $2 billion in its trust fund to pay unemployment benefits, a level close to what federal guidelines suggest for reserves. State Division of Employment Security officials told legislators Wednesday the amount should be enough for the agency to handle the payout demands of the next recession without having to borrow again from the federal government. However, some unemployment advocacy groups say the trust fund should be doubled to at least $4.2 billion before state officials should be secure with the amount…”