Minnesota will spend $3 million in fiscal years 2023-2024 to help Minnesotans who have served their prison sentences reenter the workforce, the state announced Friday.
The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development said it received up to $10 million in First Step Initiative funding from the U.S. Department of Labor and Department of Justice to support formerly incarcerated individuals transition back to the community.
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Arizona’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained steady, remaining at 3.3% from June 2022 to July 2022. In that stretch, the state’s seasonally adjusted labor force increased by 7,209 individuals (0.2%); plus, Arizona added 18,300 jobs in that span, according to a report from the Arizona Commerce Authority.
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Florida’s job growth continued to surge in July while its unemployment rate also dropped to an historic low 2.7%.
“Florida continues to outperform the nation because freedom first policies work,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said. “July’s job numbers represent one of the largest month’s job gains over the past generation and Florida continues to outpace the nation in labor force growth.”
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A bipartisan bill aims to revive a killed business subsidy incentive that they say will spur new job creation in Michigan.
State Reps. Mark Tisdel, R-Rochester Hills and Angela Witwer, D-Delta Township, introduced House Bills (HB) 5425 and 5426 that aim to form the Michigan Employment Opportunity Program (MEOP) to provide incentives for business developments similar to the Good Jobs for Michigan (GJFM) program, which expired in 2019.
“The Michigan Employment Opportunity Program will form a public-private partnership to bring good jobs to our state,” Tisdel said in a statement. “Government can make it easier for businesses to invest in our communities and support more Michigan workers, bringing economic growth – and the revenue that comes with it.”
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Sixteen months after the COVID-19 pandemic began, Michigan is still behind 322,000 jobs compared to pre-pandemic in Feb. 2020.
Michigan’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate of 5% percent was unchanged in June, according to data released by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget.
“Michigan’s labor market indicators were little changed in June,” Wayne Rourke, the associate director of the Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives, said in a statement. “The Michigan unemployment rate has been near 5.0 percent for five consecutive months. Payroll job counts in June were similar to March levels.”
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Recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data revealed that the nation hit a record high for job openings in April of 2021, yet employers around America are not receiving enough job applications to fill their available positions.
Though the Bureau of Labor counted 9.3 million job openings in June, the unemployment rate remains at 5.8%, notwithstanding the millions of Americans not seeking employment.
Express Employment Professionals, a staffing agency, suggested in a press release that stimulus payments, unemployment benefits, and recent tax refunds are deterring job applications as those on the hunt for employment have the option to hold out for jobs which meet their demands and goals.
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The Michigan Senate voted 19-16 to approve House Bill 4434, which aims to end the state’s participation in boosted $300/week federal unemployment program.
Republicans have argued the benefit hinders economic recovery 15 months after the pandemic started.
Business owners told lawmakers on June 17 they can’t find workers, even after hiking pay, signing bonuses, and flexible hours. Some industries have seen as many as 35% of workers not return post-COVID-19, leaving some gas stations wondering if they’ll get enough gas.
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On Wednesday, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that on May 30th, he will be reinstating the work search requirements for jobless Floridians seeking unemployment benefits. In April, DeSantis and the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) extended the work search waivers through May 29th which allows applicants to receive benefits without reporting their weekly search for jobs to the DEO in the form of job applications.
Before the waivers were established in March 2020, individuals who were unemployed and looking for benefits had to complete and report five job applications to a registered career center or directly to the DEO. With the reinstatement of the work search requirements at the end of the month, and the denial of SB 1906 that would have increased the amount of weekly benefits and decreased the number of job applications required to report on a weekly basis, the process in attaining unemployment benefits will go back to how it was before the pandemic.
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With more relaxed restrictions and the promise of warmer months ahead, businesses are struggling to find employees to come back to work, even after raising wages and offering flexible hours.
Some blame generous unemployment benefits.
Atlas Staffing Inc has 241 open jobs on their site for locations across Minnesota, but Minneapolis office manager Alison Barge says it’s “next to impossible” to fill positions right now.
It’s not a skills gap, Barge said. Most of the jobs are entry-level positions, and some employers are even offering a $3/hour incentive, boosting pay to $17 an hour, flexible scheduling, part-time availability, but people just “don’t want to work.”
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Even as a handful of states have made tentative steps back to normalcy in recent days, new jobless claims continue to flood in across all 50 states, driving the number of unemployment claims to 33.5 million over the past seven weeks.
According to data released Thursday morning by the U.S. Department of Labor, 3.17 million Americans filed for new unemployment benefits for the week ending May 2. That was down 677,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 3.85 million but still well above the numbers seen before the coronavirus outbreak led to the shutdown of most of the national economy.
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If you’re looking for a job, employment search website Indeed has a suggestion: Advance Financial. Nashville-based Advance Financial recently ranked eighth on an annual nationwide list of top workplaces for compensation and benefits, placing ahead of companies like Apple, GEICO, Comcast, AT&T, Boeing, Starbucks and ALDI. Indeed’s list of top employers is available here. “They say money can’t buy you happiness … but it’s still a crucial consideration whenever you’re looking for a job,” Indeed says in its announcement. Indeed compiled the list by analyzing more than 100 million employer reviews and ranking the companies based on their average rating and number of reviews in the last two years. This is the first year Advance Financial has been selected. “What an unbelievable honor to be ranked among some of the most successful companies in the world for our compensation and benefits package,” said Tina Hodges, chief executive and chief experience officer of Advance Financial. “It may sound cliché, but we truly wouldn’t be where we are without our employees.” Advance Financial’s employee benefits include: 40 hours paid time off to volunteer in the community, an onsite nurse, gym, weekly yoga classes, above market starting hourly rates, 401(K) matching plans,…
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