Labor & Economic News Blog

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Oakland nixes proposal to gradually increase minimum wage

Isaih Hood examins some of his papers in the lobby of the Youth Employment Partnership on July 28, 2014 in Oakland, CA. At $9 an hour Oakland's Youth Employment Partnership can employ 1,000 Oakland teens to learn skills in offices, pick up trash or other jobs. A dramatic spike to Oakland's minimum wage that voters will consider in November may have the unintended consequence of making it much harder to hire at-risk youth who are desperate for subsidized and grant-funded minimum wage jobs that organizations like the YEP provides. If the wage jumps to $12.25 the group could only employ 700 teens -- a 30 percent drop.
Oakland nixes proposal to gradually increase minimum wage
The Oakland City Council voted late Tuesday to scrap a plan that called for a gradual increase in the city's minimum wage for nonprofits...

 

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

California cities among slowest to recover from recession

California cities among slowest to recover from recession
  California cities among slowest to recover from recession
California cities are rebounding significantly slower than those in other parts of the country, particularly Texas. San Francisco is the state's best performer and it ranks 20th.

 

Monday, July 28, 2014

Here’s why Obama should get credit for reducing income inequality

Here’s why Obama should get credit for reducing income inequality
The rich have grown farther apart from the rest of us during the Obama years, but Obama’s tax policies and the Affordable Care Act are narrowing inequality to less than it would otherwise be. This is what is important.

 

Child Care and the Overwhelmed Parent

Child Care and the Overwhelmed Parent
Why have states like Indiana managed to create accessible resources for busy and struggling parents while others are stuck in the dark ages?

 

Economics Across States: North Carolina’s Misunderstood Cut in Jobless Benefits

Economics Across States: North Carolina’s Misunderstood Cut in Jobless Benefits
Conservatives claim that cutting benefits has lifted the economy. Liberals say the cuts have damaged the economy. The evidence disagrees with both.

 

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Judges rule against letting public see LAUSD teachers' performance

Judges rule against letting public see LAUSD teachers' performance
The public has no right to know the names of Los Angeles Unified School District teachers in connection with their job performance ratings, according to a court ruling issued Wednesday.

 

The long-term unemployed might finally be getting jobs

The long-term unemployed might finally be getting jobs
Here's the good news: in the past six months, unemployment has fallen much faster than expected, from 6.7 to 6.1 percent. And as you can see above, 88 percent of that has been due to declining long-term unemployment. But is it really good? Long-term unemployment might be falling for the bad reason that people are giving up, rather than for the good one that they're getting jobs.

 

The Number That Many French Businesses Fear

The Number That Many French Businesses Fear
Taking on a 50th person unleashes nearly three dozen labor regulations that are a serious burden for companies.

 

Friday, July 18, 2014

The American economy America's lost oomph

The American economy America's lost oomph
Back in the mid-1990s, America's economic prospects suddenly brightened. Productivity soared. Immigrants and foreign capital flocked to take

 

Baby, it's you: Why boomers are an economic boon


Baby, it's you: Why boomers are an economic boon
There's also an economic benefit to increased life expectancy, with many boomers working longer

 

EEOC Announces Tougher Rules Protecting Pregnant Workers

EEOC Announces Tougher Rules Protecting Pregnant Workers
Discrimination against female workers who might get pregnant in the future, or have been pregnant in the past, is against the law, the EEOC...

 

Federal Loans Tough To Come By For Community College Students

Federal Loans Tough To Come By For Community College
 Nearly a million community college students don't have access to federal student loans, according to a new report.

 

How A Factory Man Fought To Save His Furniture Company

How A Factory Man Fought To Save His Furniture Company
Virginia furniture owner John Bassett III was determined to beat out foreign competitors. Author Beth Macy documents him, and the collapse of...

 

Latest Wrinkle In The Jobs Debate: Blame The Boomers

Latest Wrinkle In The Jobs Debate: Blame The Boomers
Half the drop in the labor force can be explained by retirements, a White House economic report concludes. And the other half of missing

 

Thursday, July 17, 2014

More evidence that we’re doing a better job taking care of senior citizens than young adults

More evidence that we’re doing a better job taking care of senior citizens than young adults
Young adults now more likely to be living in an inter-generational household than the elderly over 85.

 

High-Stakes L.I.R.R. Threat That Works Both Ways

High-Stakes L.I.R.R. Threat That Works Both Ways
While the Long Island Rail Road’s unions may feel they have the upper hand in negotiations, they may not want the public denouncing them as selfish.

 

Microsoft Layoffs to Cut Up to 18,000 Jobs

Microsoft Layoffs to Cut Up to 18,000 Jobs
The company said about 14 percent of its work force would be eliminated, largely in the mobile phone business it acquired from Nokia.

 

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Worse than Michelle Rhee: Teachers and public schools have a shocking new enemy

Worse than Michelle Rhee: Teachers and public schools have a shocking new enemy
The campaign against public school teachers and their unions has evolved from casting insults to inflicting real injury. The recent ruling by a California judge in the Vergara v. California case made it a legal precedent to equate teachers’ employment security to an affront to students’ rights to a quality education.

 

Monday, July 14, 2014

Orange County home to third-largest Asian American population in U.S.

Orange County home to third-largest Asian American population in U.S.
In a sprawling county of 3 million residents, today there are nearly 600,000 Asian Americans, marking a dramatic 41% increase from 2000 to 2010.

 

Friday, July 11, 2014

For A Business Built 'On Bended Knee,' Hobby Lobby

For A Business Built 'On Bended Knee,' Hobby Lobby ... - NPR
To the politics of religion and the Supreme Court now, and last week's decision in the Hobby Lobby case. The court cleared the way for closely...

 

Hobby Lobby 101: explaining the Supreme Court's birth ...

Hobby Lobby 101: explaining the Supreme Court's birth ...
The day after the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby decision, the court vacated a decision by an appeals court that had ruled against a Michigan

 

Teachers' checks shrink a bit as California tackles pension ...

Teachers' checks shrink a bit as California tackles pension ...
The plan, which takes effect Tuesday, phases in higher contributions from employees, schools and the state over the next several years. If successful, the $74-billion shortfall in the teacher retirement system, the second largest public pension fund in the country, will be erased in three decades.

 

Why the State and Local Pension Problem Will Get Worse

Why the State and Local Pension Problem Will Get Worse
Meanwhile, California governor Jerry Brown has signed off on another plan to rescue the state's struggling teachers' pension fund by requiring ...

 

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Twenty-three Years and Still Waiting for Change: Why It's Time to Give Tipped Workers the Regular Minimum Wag

Ten Dollars or Thirteen Dollars?
Twenty-three Years and Still Waiting for Change: Why It's Time to Give Tipped Workers the Regular Minimum Wage PDF

Sylvia A. Allegretto and David Cooper

 

Wednesday, July 09, 2014

India's sewer cleaners keep working despite ban on job

India's sewer cleaners keep working despite ban on job
Dharamani Kale emerged from the manhole, sewage clinging to his body. Next to him, Sona Bai gathered filth in a small round basket and carried it on her head to the end of the street. The unpleasant process had started at dawn and would continue for at least 12 hours.

 

Thursday, July 03, 2014

More Americans stuck with part-time

 More Americans stuck with part-time
In the new landscape of the American labor market, jobs are easier to come by but hours remain in short supply.
New government data released Thursday showed the economy added 288,000 jobs in June — the fifth straight month gains have topped the critical benchmark of 200,000. The unemployment rate fell to 6.1 percent, down more than a percentage point over the past year.

 

June hiring spree drives down jobless rate

June hiring spree drives down jobless rate
This is the fifth straight month the U.S. has added more than 200,000 jobs, a sign that the recovery is accelerating after slowing during the harsh winter.

 

Tuesday, July 01, 2014

Insurer Warns Some Pooled Pensions Are Beyond Recovery

Insurer Warns Some Pooled Pensions Are Beyond Recovery
More than a million people with federally insured pensions risk losing them in a few years, a government study said on Monday.

 

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