The first new wind technicians to pass through Avangrid’s National Training Center in Sherman County, Oregon. (Credit: Avangrid) Listen (Runtime 1:02) Read When Juan Flores started his first job fixing […]Read More
Months after a nearly century-old paper mill closed in Tacoma, the same company, WestRock, is closing a packaging plant in Seattle. About 87 employees at the Seattle plant will lose their jobs come March, when the plant closes. The company notified the Washington State Employment Security Department of the layoffs on Jan. 19. Read More
With the impending closure of the WestRock Paper Mill in Tacoma, about 400 workers could be displaced.
“It's really significant,” said Chelsea Mason-Placek, who is the workforce development director for the Washington State Labor Council. “This is a much larger layoff than we typically see.”Read More
Washington Governor Jay Inslee visited Washington State University's Pullman campus on Thursday. He spoke with Northwest Public Broadcasting's Mary Ellen Pitney on climate-related issues including building more electric car charging stations, helping towns become fire resistant and recovery efforts in Malden, three years after that Labor Day fire.Read More
The Move Ahead Washington transportation package was announced February 8.Read More
Those collecting unemployment benefits under the American Rescue Plan must accept "suitable" employment when offered, President Biden said Monday, responding to last week's underwhelming April jobs report.Read More
Hiring picked up steam in February as a winter wave of coronavirus infections eased and consumers spent more freely. U.S. employers added 379,000 jobs in February, while the unemployment rate dipped to 6.2%.Read More
U.S. employers added just 245,000 jobs last month as the runaway pandemic continued to weigh on hiring. The unemployment rate fell to 6.7% from 6.9% in October.Read More
You can add a new term to your lexicon: "Zoom towns." These are scenic places experiencing a surge of house hunters. Booming demand comes from workers freed by the pandemic to work from home long term.Read More
"To our departing 13,000 family members: thank you for your dedication and we look forward to welcoming you back," United told employees, as CARES Act payroll aid was set to expire.Read More
President Trump has directed the Treasury Department to stop collecting payroll taxes this fall in an effort to boost workers' paychecks. But the move is temporary, and could spark headaches in 2021.Read More
More than 1 in 4 U.S. workers have lost their jobs since coronavirus shutdowns began. Last week, an additional 2.1 million people filed for unemployment benefits.Read More
The current estimated unemployment rate far exceeds the 10 percent peak reached in the Great Recession in 2009. It is the most devastating loss of jobs since the Great Depression, when economists estimate the unemployment rate reached 25 percent in 1933. Read More
Another 3.8 million people filed claims for unemployment last week, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to weigh on the U.S. job market. That brought the total for the past 6 weeks to 30.3 million.Read More
The number of people forced out of work during the coronavirus lockdown keeps soaring. Last week, 4.4 million people filed for jobless benefits, boosting the total since last month to 26 million.Read More
Airbus and Boeing halt production of its jets because of the coronavirus. Orders for new planes have fallen as air travel has plummeted due to the pandemic.Read More
This time frame is longer than the estimate that Treasury Secretary Mnuchin gave when he negotiated the program for cash payments with congressional leaders. Read More
The federal government is throwing $2 trillion at the coronavirus problem. Banks and other lenders are doing things to assist people on top of that. Here's your survival kit for how to get the help that's available and be in the best financial shape possible as you weather this storm.Read More
Under the plan, single people earning incomes below $75,000 will receive as much as $1,200. The White House says it will issue funds in three weeks but experts say it could take months for some.Read More
The state Dept. of Ecology will bring the student crews back next summer. But the agency will will hire more adult crews, ages 18 and up, to pick up litter. There won’t be as many openings as with youth workers because the adults will work longer than three weeks. Read More
Gov. Jay Inslee says people should prepare to stay home beyond the initial April 6 order, as officials work to flatten the COVID-19 curve.Read More
Like many decades-old businesses, Yakima and Seattle-based PaintSmith has had experience with layoffs. After the 2008 recession, the company went from 80 employees to just 10. It taught Smith that his company can survive financial downturns. Read More
Mirroring the national trend, Washington, Idaho and Oregon are experiencing an unprecedented spike in unemployment claims caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.Read More
Economists warned that business and consumer caution about the virus is likely to weigh on job growth in the months to come.Read More
Women now hold just over half of all payroll jobs in America, for only the second time in history. Read More
In the last few decades, many high-paying jobs that are mostly done by men – like manufacturing – have contracted or disappeared. At the same time, many jobs in fields dominated by women – like education and health care – have significantly increased.Read More
An index of manufacturing activity released on Tuesday showed the factory sector contracting for the second consecutive month. Factories shed 2,000 jobs in September.Read More
The U.S. economy is slowing down, but it keeps creating jobs at a healthy pace. Employers added 164,000 jobs last month — as analysts had projected — and the unemployment rate held steady at 3.7%.Read More
Amazon plans to invest $700 million to train a third of its U.S. workforce for higher-skilled jobs. The company acknowledged that workers could use their new skills to seek jobs outside Amazon.Read More
At a time when the United States is enjoying the lowest unemployment rate in a half-century, California's Imperial Valley suffers from a shortage of good jobs.Read More
Job growth rebounded strongly last month as employers added 224,000 jobs. That followed a disappointing May when employers added just 72,000 jobs.Read More
This year U.S. women who graduated from college will likely make up a majority of adults with degrees in the labor force. The increase could signal greater earning potential for women in the future.Read More
After Buzzfeed, Gannett and Verizon's media group announced job losses this week, journalists across the country banded together to offer support. Read More
The automaker says it is not yet clear how many people will lose their jobs. The cuts come during a time of turmoil for the car industry, as automakers invest heavily in new technology. Read More
Millions of American workers will see pay raises in the new year due to minimum-wage increases in 20 states and 21 cities.Read More
Construction begins soon in eastern Oregon for the first commercial-scale "torrefaction" facility in the country. If you don't know what that word means, you're in good company. But the process itself isn't all that exotic. Think of how your coffee beans get crispy.Read More
The government's June jobs report beat expectations with another 213,000 jobs added. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4 percent with more people entering the workforce.Read More
The National Weather Service, already understaffed, would lose at least 200 positions in the White House's proposed budget for fiscal year 2019.Read More
