Department of Labor
| 8:30AM 1/31/2011
New forecasts show that the worst may be over for the construction industry, which was hit harder by the Great Recession than any other sector, as construction projects slowly resume. Some 27% of construction firms say they plan to add staff this year, while only 20% plan to cut jobs.
| 6:30AM 12/22/2010
If the stock market reflected the entire economy, happy days would surely be here again. But, alas, it reflects just the profit potential of public companies. And for millions of unemployed Americans, that's proving to be no help at all.
| 8:35AM 11/05/2010
The jobs market gained steam in October as companies added 151,000 jobs - the largest amount since May. Despite the better-than-expected gains, the unemployment rate remained steady at 9.6%.
| 3:35PM 10/28/2010
U.S. nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses fell about 8% last year, as manufacturers had the largest one-year percentage drop in such incidents in at least six years, the U.S. Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said Thursday.
| 12:20PM 9/05/2010
Labor Day isn't just about rounding out the summer season with a nice three-day weekend, of course. It's a "national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country", notes the Labor Department, and has been a national holiday for over 100 years. In that vein, here's a roundup of recent labor-oriented legal news:
| 9:15PM 7/28/2010
After falling for three straight months, unemployment rates rose in most U.S. metropolitan areas in June. Is this growing joblessness more evidence of a double-dip recession?
| 7:25AM 7/16/2010
New rules mean that companies that provide 401(k) plans and services to employers will have to spell out their fees.
More than 10 different types of fees and expenses can be charged against a 401(k) account for services such as record-keeping and administration, according to the Associated Press....
| 2:30PM 5/05/2010
At the risk of beating what by now might seem like a dead horse, I can't help but revisit the subject of unpaid internships this week – especially now that I've taken a closer look at the guidelines issued by the Department of Labor on the subject.
Probably because I work with students all...
| 6:15PM 3/17/2010
Poverty is growing in the recession, with nearly 40 million Americans living at or below the official poverty level in 2008. That figure includes more than 14 million children and a growing class of "working poor."
| 12:00PM 12/13/2009
Although it seems like toting up the numbers should be fairly straightforward, it turns out to be a complicated calculation, thanks to several inherent difficulties. For starters, unemployment is a snapshot of a moving target.