Unemployment News

Unemployment Falls in Two-Thirds of States

Apr 19, 2011 - 11:46 AM |AP

WASHINGTON -- The unemployment rate fell in two-thirds of the nation's states last month, the latest evidence that the strengthening economy is encouraging many employers to boost hiring. The Labor...

More People Apply for Unemployment Benefits, Reversing Trend

Apr 14, 2011 - 9:12 AM |AP

WASHINGTON -- More people applied for unemployment benefits last week, the first increase in three weeks. Still, the broader trend points to a slowly healing jobs market. The government says...

Job Openings Rise to Highest Point Since September 2008

Apr 13, 2011 - 11:30 AM |AP

WASHINGTON -- Businesses in February posted the largest number of job openings in more than two years, evidence that hiring is picking up as the economy grows. The Labor Department said Wednesday...

Unemployment Rate Falls to 8.8 Percent, a 2-Year Low

Apr 1, 2011 - 10:15 AM |AP

Paul Sancya, AP

WASHINGTON -- The unemployment rate fell to a two-year low of 8.8 percent in March, capping the strongest two months of hiring since before the recession began. The economy added 216,000 jobs last...

Michigan Governor Signs Cut in Unemployment Benefits

Mar 28, 2011 - 7:18 PM |AP

Ricardo Thomas, AP / The Detroit News

LANSING, Mich. -- Gov. Rick Snyder on Monday made Michigan the first state in the country to lower the number of weeks jobless workers can get state benefits, a trend other cash-strapped states may...

Despite Employment Perils, US Is Finally Hiring -- for These Jobs

Mar 4, 2011 - 1:17 PM |AOL News

The jobs may finally be coming back. After a financial crisis and recession that knocked more than 8.5 million people out of work and a faltering economic recovery that couldn't even produce enough...

Jobs Market Convalescence Could Take a Long Time

Mar 3, 2011 - 5:06 PM |AOL News

Getty Images

The U.S. jobs market may finally be on the verge of an actual recovery, but expect it to come back with a whimper rather than a bang. The Labor Department today said the number of people who filed...

Bernanke: Mideast Threat to US Economy Is Mild -- For Now

Mar 1, 2011 - 12:29 PM |AOL News

Alex Brandon, AP

The spike in fuel prices, sparked by Mideast turmoil, currently poses only a mild threat of broader inflation because the ailing U.S. jobs market has kept a lid on wages, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben...

Wisconsin Protests Divide Neighbors, Friends, Families

Feb 25, 2011 - 2:30 PM |AOL News

Getty Images

MILWAUKEE -- Brittany Bowes is a public school teacher who has joined the tens of thousands of people protesting in Madison, spending three days at the Capitol to make her voice heard -- much to her...

Providence, RI, School Board Votes to Lay Off All Teachers

Feb 25, 2011 - 2:02 PM |AOL News

The Providence School Board has voted 4-3 to send dismissal notices to all of the Rhode Island school district's 1,926 teachers. Thursday night's meeting was held in a school gymnasium to...

Revolts From Wisconsin to Libya Pose Economic Threats

Feb 22, 2011 - 5:41 PM |AOL News

Getty Images / AP

Americans are more confident about the state of the economy than at any point in the past three years. But the world may soon burst their bubble. The Conference Board said today that its consumer...

Unions Suffer Historically Low Support From Americans

Feb 17, 2011 - 7:50 PM |AOL News

Ramin Talaie, Getty Images

Fewer and fewer Americans are looking for the union label. At a time when state worker unions are under assault by Republican legislators in Wisconsin, when states and municipalities are resorting...