Department of Labor

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Unemployment Now at Highest Level Since 2021

It hovers at 4.6%; meanwhile, 64K jobs were gained in November, but 105K were lost in October

(Newser) - The United States gained a decent 64,000 jobs in November, but it lost 105,000 in October as federal workers departed after cutbacks by the Trump administration, the government said in delayed reports. The unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, the highest level since 2021, per the AP . Both...

We're Finally Getting September's Jobs Report

Labor Department to release shutdown-delayed numbers on Thursday, a month and a half late

(Newser) - The Labor Department will release its numbers on September hiring and unemployment next Thursday, a month and a half late, marking the beginning of the end of a data drought caused by the 43-day federal government shutdown. The statistical blackout meant that the Federal Reserve, businesses, policymakers, and investors have...

WH: There Probably Won't Be an Inflation Report Next Month

It would be first time in more than 7 decades, due to government shutdown

(Newser) - The government shutdown, now in its fourth week, likely means there won't be an inflation report next month for the first time in more than seven decades, the White House said Friday, leaving Wall Street and the Federal Reserve without crucial information about consumer prices. "Because surveyors cannot...

Latest Sign of Softening Labor Market Emerges

The number of Americans filing last week was 263K, a 4-year high

(Newser) - US jobless claim applications jumped to their highest level in almost four years last week, reports the AP , the latest sign that the labor market is softening. The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the week ending Sept. 6 rose 27,000 to 263,000, the Labor Department...

The Fed Just Got a Big High Sign to Cut Interest Rates

US inflation cools for 5th month in a row

(Newser) - The post-pandemic spike in US inflation eased further last month as year-over-year price increases reached a three-year low, clearing the way for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates next week. Wednesday's report from the Labor Department showed that consumer prices rose 2.5% in August from a year...

Jobs Report Shows 'Another Healthy Month of Hiring'

America's employers added 206K jobs in June, a strong gain despite pullback from May's numbers

(Newser) - America's employers delivered another healthy month of hiring in June, adding 206,000 jobs and once again displaying the US economy's ability to withstand continually high interest rates. Last month's job growth did mark a pullback from 218,000 in May. But it was still a strong...

Sanitation Firm Fined $650K for Hiring Kids to Clean Factories

Fayette Janitorial Service has also agreed to no longer hire minors to work in meatpacking plants

(Newser) - A Tennessee-based sanitation company has agreed to pay more than half a million dollars after a federal investigation found it illegally hired at least two dozen children to clean dangerous meat-processing facilities in Iowa and Virginia. The US Department of Labor announced Monday that Fayette Janitorial Service LLC entered into...

Feds Fine Company That Employed 11-Year-Old Forklift Operator

Kentucky distribution center had child workers for months, Department of Labor says

(Newser) - A warehouse in Kentucky that employed two children, including an 11-year-old who operated a forklift, has been fined $30,276 and ordered to stop hiring underage workers. The US Department of Labor says the children were employed at the Win.It America Inc. for months before the labor law violation...

Restaurant's Fake Priest Just Cost It $140K
Restaurant's
Fake Priest Just
Cost It $140K
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jun 24, 2023 4:15 PM CDT

Restaurant's Fake Priest Just Cost It $140K

California eatery had workers confess their 'sins' in 'most shameless' plot to intimidate them, per DOL

(Newser) - It may have seemed a bit unconventional for a priest to show up at their place of employment to offer confession, but workers at the Taqueria Garibaldi restaurant in Sacramento took the holy man up on the chance to admit their "sins." Now, the owners of the Northern...

Boss Who Dumped Pennies on Worker's Driveway Must Pay

Stunt led to investigation that found Georgia body shop owner had violated labor laws

(Newser) - An auto body shop owner who paid a worker's final wage of $915 using 91,500 oil-covered pennies has been ordered to pay $39,934 to nine workers—and authorities will likely take a dim view of any attempt to settle up using nearly 4 million greasy pennies. A...

Labor Sec, SOTU's 'Designated Survivor,' Said to Be Quitting

Marty Walsh reportedly leaving White House for NHL

(Newser) - US Labor Secretary Marty Walsh is expected to leave the Biden administration to run the National Hockey League Players’ Association, according to two people familiar with his plans who spoke to the AP . The hockey players' union has been searching for a new executive director to take over for Don...

After 'Life-Changing Injury' at USPS Facility, Possible Big Fines

Worker has arm amputated after accident at NC mail facility; OSHA finds 'serious safety violations'

(Newser) - A US Postal Service worker lost an arm after an accident involving a machine at a North Carolina mail processing center, and now the agency could face fines of more than $170,000, reports WGHP . Per a release from the US Department of Labor, the mechanic at the USPS' Greensboro...

In Return to Jobs, a Huge Gender Gap

BLS stats show 1M-plus men went back to job market in Jan. amid pandemic; only 39K women did

(Newser) - The pandemic struck a huge blow to the American workforce, but January's jobs report brought some hopeful news, with employers adding 467,000 jobs last month. But the news appears to be better for men than for women, per Axios , which cites a "jaw-dropping" gender disparity in labor...

'Year-End Victory' for Restaurants May Not Please Servers

Labor Dept. says employers can mandate tipped workers share their tips

(Newser) - New changes to Labor Department rules are being called a "year-end victory" for the restaurant industry, per the National Restaurant Association—though servers who rely on tips to boost their sub-minimum-wage pay may not be giving it an enthusiastic thumbs-up. Fox Business reports on a revision made final Tuesday...

GAO: Weekly Unemployment Numbers Flawed

Government watchdog finds Labor Department has been providing an inaccurate reading

(Newser) - A government watchdog has found that the Labor Department’s widely watched weekly unemployment benefits data are providing an inaccurate reading on the number of newly laid off workers because of flaws in the government’s data collection. The Government Accountability Office said in a report Monday that the Labor...

Jobless Claims Continue an 11-Week Streak

1.5M apply for benefits, but that's another decline from the previous week

(Newser) - About 1.5 million laid-off workers applied for US unemployment benefits last week, a historically high number, even as the economy increasingly reopens and employers bring some people back to work. The Labor Department's largest figure marked the 11th straight weekly decline in applications since they peaked at nearly...

Wendy's Franchisee Hit With $160K Fine Over Child Labor

Labor Dept.: Nearly 450 minors worked illegally at Wendy's in 9 states

(Newser) - A Wendy's franchisee was just hit with a massive fine after the US Department of Labor found it had violated child labor laws, allowing kids employed by restaurants in nine states to work longer hours than they were supposed to, or outside the parameters of when they were allowed...

Turns Out We Weren't Adding 200K Jobs a Month

Department of Labor revises job gains figures, with 501K fewer than previously estimated

(Newser) - It's not uncommon for the Department of Labor to revise job growth numbers. It actually does so annually, when, instead of using the surveys that help form those initial estimates, it reviews unemployment insurance records in each state to come up with more accurate figures. What is uncommon is...

Trump Announces His New Labor Secretary Pick

It's Alexander Acosta, former NLRB member

(Newser) - A day after Andrew Puzder withdrew his name from consideration as Labor secretary, President Trump has announced his replacement pick, Reuters reports. Trump will nominate Alexander Acosta, who served as assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division under former President George W. Bush and has also served as a...

Puzder Withdraws His Nomination as Labor Secretary

His confirmation hearing had been scheduled for Thursday

(Newser) - Andrew Puzder says he is withdrawing as President Donald Trump's nominee for labor secretary. The fast food executive says in a statement provided to the AP that he was "honored to have been considered by President Donald Trump to lead the Department of Labor and put America's...

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