U.S. Bank tests new ways to fight bias against the long-term unemployed, By Jim Spencer, October 31, 2014, Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune: “After a health insurance company laid him off in 2012, John Columbus spent the next 20 months answering as many questions about gaps in his résumé as about his years of employment. Then a friend steered him to U.S. Bank, which was piloting a White House initiative for hiring the long-term unemployed. ‘There are some companies that ask you for any involuntary termination,’ Columbus said. ‘Those companies never call back. U.S. Bank looked at me as a whole person with 30 years of experience.’ If Columbus, a 53-year-old New Hope resident, embodies the woes of Americans out of work for more than six months, the Obama administration hopes a new hiring drill at Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank helps the nation address an ugly legacy of the Great Recession…”
Tag: Long-term unemployment
US Unemployment
- Drop in unemployment raises debate on optimal rate, By Jim Zarroli, October 17, 2014, National Public Radio: “The U.S. unemployment rate has been falling steadily over the years. Down from the recession peak of 10 percent in 2009, it reached 5.9 percent in September. That’s getting close to what economists call the natural unemployment rate — the normal level of joblessness you’d expect in a healthy economy. But a lot of economists are asking whether the old rules about full employment still apply…”
- Sept. unemployment rates fall in 31 states, By Paul Davidson, October 21, 2014, USA Today: “Unemployment rates fell in 31 states in September as the labor market rebounded after softening in August. Joblessness increased in eight states and was unchanged in 11 states and the District of Columbia, the Labor Department said Tuesday…”
- Long-term unemployment persists, By Michelle Jamrisko, October 22, 2014, Sun Sentinel: “Leticia Vives thought her rise from teller to senior teller to manager during 23 years at Bank of America had earned her staying power, or at least the experience to find work elsewhere. Still jobless 18 months after being let go in a downsizing move, Vives is wondering whether she had either. ‘I just feel helpless,’ said Vives, 44, of Ansonia, Conn. ‘The more you are unemployed, the more helpless you feel.’ More than five years into the U.S. expansion, 2.9 million Americans are long-term unemployed, meaning they’ve been out of work for 27 weeks or longer. They make up 31.9 percent of all jobless, more than twice the average in records dating to 1948. Vives is among the 2 million who have been off the payrolls for more than a year…”
Long-Term Unemployment – New Jersey
N.J.’s long-term unemployed rate worse than 48 states, By Erin O’Neill, October 15, 2014, Star-Ledger: “Nearly half of jobless residents in New Jersey have been out of work for more than six months, according to a new report, a level that ranks the state among the worst in the country. The brief released today by New Jersey Policy Perspective notes the ‘long-term unemployment crisis is a national problem’ but found every other state except Florida fared better than New Jersey. Also, while the share of long-term unemployed in New Jersey has fallen from its peak in 2010, the brief found that drop has not been as sharp as it has nationally…”