Tag: Workforce

New Survey Shows Wisconsin Businesses See Recession Ahead

M.D. Kittle

Battered by ongoing high inflation, a majority of Wisconsin businesses see a recession ahead, according to Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce’s latest Wisconsin Employer Survey.

WMC’s survey finds 60 percent of businesses believe the Badger State economy is headed for a recession this year. On the surface, the number appears to be an improvement from last summer’s survey when 71 percent of respondents worried a recession was looming. But Nick Novak, WMC’s vice president of communications and marketing, said more employers moved from being sure about a recession to uncertain about the economy.

Read the full story

Tennessee Touts 2022 Economic Developments: 16,000 Job Commitments, $8.6 Billion in Private Investments

Kaitlin Housler

Governor Bill Lee and the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD) posted their picks for the top five new business investments in the state during 2022. 

In all, about 100 projects were supported by TNECD statewide in 2022, resulting in more than 16,000 jobs and $8.6 billion in private investment, according to the department.

Read the full story

Food Manufacturer Announces $2.2 Million Investment in Overton County

Kaitlin Housler

HealthVerve Food Manufacturing USA, Inc. officials announced Thursday that the company will invest $2.2 million to establish new manufacturing operations in Livingston. HealthVerve was founded in 2006 and is a high-value food manufacturer that specializes in canning processes and invests in research and development to bring wholesome and nutritional products to the public.

Read the full story

Americans for Prosperity Calls Out Oracle for Reported Layoffs While Receiving Taxpayer Money

Kaitlin Housler

Following a report that tech company Oracle has begun laying off workers from its Nashville location, the libertarian conservative political advocacy group Americans for Prosperity is calling on state and local leaders to scrutinize the company especially after it received “nearly a quarter of a billion dollars in taxpayer money.”

Read the full story

Lithium-Based Company Announces $582 Million Investment in Southeast Tennessee

Kaitlin Housler

Piedmont Lithium officials announced Thursday that the company would invest $582 million to establish a lithium hydroxide processing, refining, and manufacturing facility in Etowah.

The new facility will be located at the North Etowah Industrial Park, creating 117 new jobs in McMinn County. According to the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD), the facility will be America’s largest “lithium hydroxide processing” facility.

Read the full story

Knoxville Public Service Department to Host Job Fair on September 15

Kaitlin Housler

The city of Knoxville’s public service department announced that it will hold a job fair on September 15th, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., located at the Public Works Service Center.

The Public Service Job Fair is geared toward job seekers “looking for steady, satisfying outdoor work that helps keep Knoxville clean and operating efficiently,” the department wrote in a press release.

Read the full story

Survey: 56 Percent of Companies Dropping COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates to Retain Talent, Grow Workforce

The Center Square

According to Price Waterhouse Coopers 2022 Pulse survey, business leaders are implementing a range of measures to retain talent and grow their workforce, including dropping COVID-19 vaccine mandates as a condition of in-person employment.

According to the survey, 56% of companies said they were dropping COVID-19 vaccine mandates for on-site work. The survey findings, published Aug. 18, came after vaccine mandates continue to be challenged and overturned in courts and after it remains questionable that the COVID-19 vaccines were effective in preventing the spread of the coronavirus.

Read the full story

Michigan Gov. Whitmer Touts $77 Billion 2023 Budget, Despite No Tax Relief

The Center Square

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is touting the $77 billion 2023 fiscal year budget that she says will improve Michigan’s economy and workforce.

Whitmer bragged that the budget negotiated with Republicans doesn’t raise taxes. However, it also keeps $7 billion of taxpayer money locked in state coffers while spending another $7 billion more than the prior budget.

Read the full story

Only One Tennessee County Had Unemployment Rate Higher than Five Percent in April

Kaitlin Housler

Only one Tennessee county had an unemployment rate above 5% during the month of April, according to newly released data from the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Perry County was the only county with a rate above 5%, coming in at 5.1%. Although coming in with the highest rate for April, Perry County was down 0.1 of a percentage point from its March rate of 5.2% 

Read the full story

Tennessee’s Unemployment Reaches Lowest Level Since January 2020

Chris Butler

Unemployment in Tennessee reached a two-year low in December, according to new data that the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD) released late last week. The state ended 2021 with an unemployment rate of 3.8 percent, which was 0.2 of a percentage point lower than the rate it recorded in November. Over the past year, Tennessee’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by 1.8 percentage points from 5.6 percent to 3.8 percent.

Read the full story

Minnesota Gov. Walz Wants to Give $700M Back to Taxpayers

The Center Square
group of three people standing and talking

Gov. Tim Walz says he plans to send 2.7 million Minnesotans “Walz Checks” up to $350 as part of his 2022 Local Jobs and Projects Plan.

“To continue growing Minnesota’s economy, we must invest in the people who made it strong in the first place,” Walz said in a statement. “By investing in workforce development, cutting taxes for the middle class and working families, lowering costs, and expanding access to resources like technical education and high-speed broadband, we will improve economic prosperity across the state and grow the workforce we need to compete.”

The proposal aims to deliver $700 million in direct payments to Minnesotans funded by Minnesota’s tax surplus.

Read the full story

Missouri Economic Leaders Give Glimpse of How $2.6 Billion in Federal Pandemic Funds Will be Spent

The Center Square
Maggie Kost

Missouri’s Department of Economic Development (DED) recently previewed how Gov. Mike Parson plans to allocate the state’s $2.6 billion portion of federal pandemic funds.

In late December, Maggie Kost, acting director of the DED, outlined major priorities for Missouri’s portion of the more than $195 billion in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. A total of $350 billion will be delivered to the 50 states and the District of Columbia and local and Tribal governments throughout the nation to support the response and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The total amount of ARPA funds, passed in March 2021, is $1.9 trillion.

“We want to give you an idea of what to expect as we get into the legislative and budget session here in January,” Kost said. “As you’re planning and setting priorities locally for communities, we want to make sure you have an idea of what’s to come so you can think about how to leverage state funds as you’re building out your local priorities.”

Read the full story

$10 Million Grants Awarded for Semiconductor Manufacturing in Central Florida

The Center Square
semiconductor

With chip and semiconductor shortages expected to last through the year, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Florida is continuing its investment in local technology initiatives to strengthen the economy and job growth and eventually offset future production delays.

Osceola County and Valencia College received nearly $10 million in funding through the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund to support semiconductor and other advanced technology manufacturing in the county.

The award includes $6 million to assist with developing infrastructure connecting the county’s emerging NeoCity technology district with its workforce, and $3.7 million to Valencia College to develop a new program that will train students in utilizing robotics technology for semiconductor manufacturing. The two awards are designed to help create manufacturing jobs and develop a talent pipeline to support industry growth.

Read the full story

Michigan’s $40 Million ‘Going Pro’ Fund Helps 30,000 Train and Get Jobs

The Center Square

A $40 million project is estimated to help 30,000 workers statewide secure employment through the state’s Going PRO Talent Fund.

The program aims to lure back Michigan’s workforce lost during COVID-19, encourage specialization, and help businesses fill jobs in a tight labor market. Between Feb. 2020 and April 2020, Michigan’s labor force plunged by 341,500 or 6.9%. Labor force levels in Michigan have rebounded modestly, increasing by 139,400 or 3% percent from April 2020 to August 2021.

Read the full story

Boeing Suspends Vaccine Mandate for Employees

The Center Square

Boeing Friday said it has suspended its requirement that U.S.-based employees be fully vaccinated or face losing their jobs.

The announcement comes as several attempts by President Joe Biden to require vaccinations for workers in various settings have been blocked by courts in recent weeks.

“Boeing is committed to maintaining a safe working environment for our customers, and advancing the health and safety of our global workforce,” a company spokesperson told KOMO News. “As such, we continue to encourage our employees to get vaccinated and get a booster if they have not done so. Meanwhile, after careful review, Boeing has suspended its vaccine requirement in line with a federal court’s decision prohibiting the enforcement of the federal contractor executive order and a number of state laws.”

Read the full story

Child Tax Credit Is Driving Americans Toward Entrepreneurship, Has Little Effect on Workforce

Admin

A new study suggests that the child tax credit (CTC) is not reducing overall employment nationwide but is driving some low and middle-income parents away from their private sector jobs and toward self-employment.

The study, led by researchers at the Washington University in St. Louis’ Social Policy Institute and Appalachian State University and provided exclusively to the Daily Caller News Foundation, found that the monthly payments had barely any impact on the job market whatsoever, contradicting concerns that the tax credits would worsen the labor shortage. It also found that adults were far less likely to list child care as a reason for unemployment, with the share of people saying so dropping from 26% to below 20% once they began receiving the payments.

Read the full story

Bill Would Stop Income Taxes for Ohio College Grads for Three Years

The Center Square

A lawmaker wants Ohio college graduates to put their degrees to work in the state, and he wants to eliminate state income taxes for three years for those who take a full-time job in Ohio.

Rep. Jon Cross, R-Kenton, also wants more out-of-state students to choose higher education in Ohio by offering 100 merit-based scholarships to the top students in other states.

Read the full story

Report: Arizona to Add 700K Jobs by 2030, Triple the U.S. Rate

The Center Square

Arizona’s economic conditions are estimated to attract hundreds of thousands of new workers to the state.

A report from the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity indicated the state’s economic growth is expected to outpace the national average.

“The Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) is projecting Arizona employment to increase to 3,751,905 jobs in 2030 from 3,030,216 jobs in 2020,” the report said. “This represents growth of 721,689 jobs, or 2.2% annualized growth. By comparison, United States employment is projected to grow by 0.7% annually from 2020 to 2030.”

Read the full story

Brnovich Requests Restraining Order Against Biden Vaccine Mandate

The Center Square

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich asked the U.S. District Court in Arizona for a temporary restraining order and nationwide preliminary injunction against the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates. 

“The COVID-19 vaccine mandate is one of the greatest infringements upon individual liberty, federalism, and the separation of powers by any administration in our country’s history,” Brnovich said in a news release Friday. 

Read the full story