Unemployment up to 8.9 percent / T-Paw starts the veto engine / World and national headlines

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Unemployment up again The unemployment rate rose to 8.9 percent in April, as the economy shed another 539,000 jobs. Looking for the bright side – that’s the smallest number of jobs cut since October. But it’s pretty hard to see much of a bright side in the highest unemployment rate in more than 25 years. The Department of Labor also notes:About 2.1 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally attached to the labor force in April, 675,000 more than a year earlier. These individuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. Continue Reading

Teens and young adults face bleak employment outlook

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As spring nears, and young high school and college graduates look out at a grim future, the dwindling job market doesn’t offer much hope for new workers. In general, the workforce participation rate (the percentage of a population that is either working or actively seeking work), for teens aged 16-19 has been declining steadily for the past decade. In 2008 the workforce participation rate for teens was 54.2%, down from 67.4% in 1998, while young adults 20-24 had an 84.5% workforce participation rate, which has remained about the same for the past decade. Oriane Casale, the Assistant Director for the Labor Market Office at DEED said that one reason that fewer teens are looking for work is that “kids are realizing it’s more important to focus on academics.”
According to Casale, most of the jobs teens are getting are in retail and food service, although the 2,522 Minnesota teens that found manufacturing jobs in the first quarter of 2008 made about double the salary of retail and food service jobs. Temp work also provides a higher salary for teens, but those jobs are hard to get. Continue Reading

Recession stories: Teens and summer jobs

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Like many — probably most — people, I have heard from friends who have lost jobs recently, friends who are afraid they will lose jobs soon, business owners who are struggling, and people affected by the recession in too many ways to count. Today, tomorrow and Friday, the Daily Planet will focus on recession-related issues. Today’s stories look at teens seeking summer jobs. Read three perspectives in:
• Summer jobs for teens: Difficult but maybe not impossible •Teen job market worst on record • Volunteering can pay off for teens Continue Reading

State’s employers cut payrolls to weather recession

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In late January, International Paper, the world’s largest pulp and paper company, announced plans to shutter its Roseville plant. At the time, the container-board production facility employed 106 workers, including 88 members of United Steelworkers Local 264. International Paper, like many of Minnesota’s employers, is looking to survive the global economic downturn by cutting labor costs. That trend revealed itself in the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development’s labor market report for January 2009, released Feb. 26. Continue Reading

Governor’s tax cuts = unemployment

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The Governor’s proposed budget contains a number of tax breaks for businesses, including large reductions in corporate income taxes. Fully phased in, these tax breaks would cost the state $440 million every two years. It is far from clear whether these tax breaks will generate the new jobs that the Governor predicts. However, one thing is certain: the additional reduction in public spending resulting from these tax cuts would lead to immediate and significant job losses in Minnesota. The Governor’s plan to cut business taxes would lead to further reductions in public investment, which would in turn cause an immediate and certain loss of public sector jobs without a guarantee of corresponding private-sector job growth in the future. Continue Reading

January jump in Minnesota unemployment rate largest ever

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Minnesota’s unemployment rate skyrocketed from 6.9 percent in December to 7.6 percent in January. This represents the largest growth ever seen in Minnesota’s unemployment rate over a one month period. (Data on monthly unemployment rates extends back to January 1976.) January 2009 marks the first time in the last quarter century that Minnesota’s monthly unemployment rate surpassed seven percent. Minnesota’s unemployment rate has been significantly below the national average throughout most of recent history. However, over the last two years, Minnesota’s advantage relative to the rest of the U.S. has evaporated. Continue Reading

WorkForce Centers respond to unemployment

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Mae Thao was born in Thailand and grew up in St. Paul. She is a young member of the workforce with two particularly valuable skills. She speaks Hmong and she knows how to navigate the unemployment insurance system. Her coworker Jose Koehler, a Spanish speaker, has an MBA and a Masters of Public Administration with considerably more professional experience than Thao. Continue Reading

Niche for temp job-seekers in financial work

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Job security is scarce for everybody today, but especially for temporary workers, who are often the first to get laid off. According to the MN Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), employment for temporary workers was down 3.8% in the last month, and 12.8% in the last year. But there are certain jobs that are available for temp workers, and right now, there is work to be done in the financial sector of the economy. Candice Winterringer, vice president of Prostaff, a national temporary worker agency which has an office in Minnesota, said in a telephone interview that businesses that are involved in refinancing are suddenly very busy. She said the work is on a temporary basis because the financial companies don’t know how long the need for temp workers in these areas is going to last. Continue Reading

Recession taking toll on Minnesota’s poor

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The economy is in the toilet. Anyone not locked in a basement bathroom for the last six months will have noticed the daily cascade of mass layoffs, cratering stock prices and dismal retail reports. But in a forum at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute yesterday, five eminent economists sounded surprisingly upbeat about the future. Art Rolnick, director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, began the discussion by pointing out that the country cycled through 10 recessions since World War II and always rebounded. Although he’s troubled by the systemic collapse of the housing market, he expects the current downturn to be no different. Continue Reading

A lifeline for the jobless

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A law that would extend unemployment benefits to thousands of jobless Minnesotans was signed by the governor last week, after being passed by the House and Senate.For Minnesotans who’ve recently been laid off from their jobs, the state’s unemployment insurance program can be a lifeline. It helps them pay their bills, put food on the table and keep a roof over their head until they can find new work. “It’s the social safety net that keeps people from real devastation,” said Rep. Tim Mahoney (DFL-St. Paul). Unemployment benefits don’t last forever, though — and as Minnesota plunges with the rest of the country into potentially the worst economic crisis since World War II, many will be unable to find new jobs before their benefits run out. Continue Reading