Workforce Bulletin - January 10, 2014
This edition of Workforce Bulletin contains articles including:
Congress Likely to Pass Short-Term Spending Measure while Completing Details of Omnibus Appropriations Bill
To avoid another government shutdown, the Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, Harold Rogers (R-KY), has proposed a three-day continuing resolution (CR) that would keep the federal government open beyond January 15th, while allowing for extra time for Congressional leaders to complete a $1.012 trillion omnibus appropriations package that would fund agencies through September 30, 2014. It is expected the short-term CR would last through January 18 and the House is expected to pass it on Monday.
Senate Unable to Reach Agreement on EUC Extension
Late Thursday, legislation to extend the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act (EUC08) stalled in the Senate due to disagreements between the Majority and Minority on the best way to pay for the benefits, how the program should be structured, and how much time Senators could debate and amend the legislation.
NASWA Members Brief House Committee on Ways and Means Members on UI Administration Funding and Reemployment Reform Proposals
On Thursday, January 9th, over 60 members from NASWA’s Administration and Finance, and Unemployment Insurance (UI) Committees representing 33 states and the District of Columbia traveled to Capitol Hill to meet with members of the House Majority on the House Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Human Resources.
Registration and Hotel Reservations for 2014 NASWA Winter Policy Forum Now Available
Online registration and hotel reservations are now available for the upcoming 2014 NASWA Winter Policy Forum held in Washington, D.C., February 20-21, 2014 at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill.
Unemployment Rate Declined to 6.7 Percent in December, But Nonfarm Jobs Edged up by Only 74,000 in December
The nation’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined to 6.7 percent in December from 7 percent in November. This is the lowest the jobless rate has been since reaching a high of 10 percent in October 2009 and compares to monthly rates of the latter part of 2008.
Unemployment Insurance Initial Claims Decrease, Continued Claims Increase
The U.S. Department of Labor reported for the week ending January 4, 2014 seasonally adjusted unemployment insurance initial claims decreased from the previous week’s revised figure.
NASWA and FINRA Partner to Provide Job Dislocation Resource to State Workforce Agencies
With assistance from NASWA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has updated a brochure that provides unbiased financial advice for dislocated workers, titled, Job Dislocation: Making Smart Financial Choices after a Job Loss. Through this partnership, FINRA is again printing 300,000 or more copies of this brochure and will ship copies to every state, free of charge to give out to unemployed individuals.
NASWA President Mark Henry Appoints New Committee Members to Odd Numbered NASWA Regions
At the beginning of every Association year, state administrators from odd and even NASWA regions alternate in nominating agency staff members to the seven standing NASWA Committees. For the 2013-2014 Association year, NASWA Executive Director Rich Hobbie called on state administrators from the odd regions to nominate state staff members, which were then reviewed and approved by NASWA President Mark Henry (MS).
Deputy Secretary Seth Harris Departs from USDOL
After more than four years as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) and six months as Acting Secretary, Seth Harris announced he will be leaving USDOL next Wednesday, January 15th.
JP Morgan Chase Beginning a Phaseout of Prepaid Card Business
JP Morgan Chase announced in a press release on Thursday, January 9th it is exploring the sale of its prepaid card business. According to the statement, JP Morgan Chase’s prepaid card business includes, “all Corporate, U.S. Public Sector and Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) programs, as well as Health Savings Accounts (HSA).”
NASWA Gains Two New Affiliate Organizations
NASWA gained two new organizations to its Affiliate program this week with the Universal Technical Institute and Sagitec becoming the latest organizations to join the program.
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