In good times, safety net for the jobless frays, By Patrik Jonsson and Simon Montlake, March 27, 2018, Christian Science Monitor: “Jennifer Barkley looks down and apologizes for her sneakers, which are missing their laces. A well-worn polyester dress whips about her legs. It’s been a long day, and Ms. Barkley is headed home, jobless and frustrated. A call center operator in Jacksonville, Barkley has been let go three times in the past year after big corporations like Bank of America changed contractors. Since these redundancies were no fault of her own, she’s eligible for unemployment benefits, which means she’s a regular at CareerSource Florida, a state agency which has a branch here in a strip-mall office next to a Halloween-themed amusement park. Life on the dole in Florida isn’t easy street: Barkley’s benefits come to $270 a week and max out at three months…”
Tag: Unemployment rate
February 2018 US Unemployment Rate
- Jobs report: U.S. employers added 313,000 jobs in February, By Paul Davidson, March 9, 2018, USA Today: “A hot labor market showed no sign of cooling as U.S. employers added a blockbuster 313,000 jobs in February. The unemployment rate was unchanged at a 17-year low of 4.1%, the Labor Department said Friday…”
- U.S. added 313,000 jobs in February. Here’s what that means., By Patricia Cohen, March 9, 2018, New You Times: “Whether you work on Wall Street or in a warehouse, the latest jobs report released by the government on Friday contained good news, with impressive employment gains in low-, middle- and high-wage industries…”
Black Unemployment
Lowest ever black jobless rate is still twice that of whites, By Natalie Kitroeff and Ben Casselman, February 23, 2018, New York Times: “President Trump celebrated the milestone on Twitter and in his State of the Union address. The unemployment rate for black Americans had hit its lowest point on record, a sign that the recovery was at last reaching groups that had been left behind. But the achievement was bittersweet: Black joblessness was still roughly twice the rate for whites…”