Author Archive for: pkhambadza

Workers line up the newly-opened division office of the State Employment Service in San Francisco, CA to receive unemployment benefits in 1938. (Library of Congress) Ninety years ago this month, the state of Wisconsin made history by creating the nation’s first unemployment insurance system. That law was the product, in part, of years of work from a married pair of

Many people imagine human trafficking is a problem from another time or another country – but it’s all too common in the United States, and involves products that people use every day. Recently, the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor participated in a transnational, multi-year investigation that freed more than 100 trafficked workers and resulted in

Nicole Counter was thrilled to start working at Amherst Madison Real Estate and Wilson Homes in Boise, Idaho, in 2020. Hired as an executive assistant, Nichole was excited about her future with the company. She hoped to become a real estate agent and felt proud to work at one of Idaho’s largest real estate brokerage firms. A few months before

In 2020,the Department of Labor’sOffice of the Chief Information Officerrose to meet theITchallengesposed by theglobal pandemic with resilience and innovation.In 2021,wecontinued to buildon that successto powerhistoricdigitalimprovementsand stabilityfor thedepartment’s IT needs.Here are a few of the ways OCIO upgraded the digital landscape for America’s workforce: We streamlinedresponse times andimprovedaccess to data.For example, wemadecertificationdata more accessible to employees involved inemployment-based visas. We

The employment landscape looks much betterfor workers now than it did a year ago, as the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ December jobs report shows. Although the December data predates most Omicron impacts on the labor market, it is encouraging to see that employment continues to increase and the overall unemployment rate has continued to tick down. In December the unemployment

Workers at the El Monte sweatshop toiled long hours inside a converted garage and lived in crowded quarters. Photos by Paul Chang. In 1995, federal agents found 72 Thai nationals working in slave-like conditions in El Monte, California. They were recruited from rural villages throughout Thailand through promises of a better life – but after arriving in the United States,

There’s no question about it: @POTUS’ economic plan is delivering a historic recovery. pic.twitter.com/GJO75SMdb2 — Secretary Marty Walsh (@SecMartyWalsh) January 7, 2022 Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reportedthe American economy added 199,000 jobs in the month of December, and the unemployment rate was 3.9%, down from 4.2%in November. This marks thefirsttime unemployment has been under4% since the pandemic began,

These are dark, cold days, but every week brings more sunlight – and there’s even more cause for optimism in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest jobs report. We added 6.4 million new jobs in 2021 and the unemployment rate has dropped to 3.9%. Here are five more numbers to pay attention to from the December jobs report. 3.9% unemployment

For many people, the only thing that comes to mind when they think about the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act and the Office of Labor-Management Standards is union reporting requirements. But management is an equally important part of our reporting and disclosure program. There’s a reason management is part of the agency’s and the act’s name. When Congress enacted the

In October 2021, Secretary Marty Walsh traveled to Rochester Hills, Michigan,to meet with students, small business owners and employers on the future of workforce development. He visited Lava Mountain Coffee, a small coffee shop that centers on inclusivity and accessibility. We caught up with owner Ziad Kassab and asked him to share more about his business. Pictured: Ziad Kassab (top