From the Ventura County Star | Lincolnshire-based Zebra Technologies Inc. is continuing to shed jobs at its Camarillo, Calif. plant in a planned shift of production to China by mid-year.
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States may ban credit checks on job applicants
Associated Press | It’s hard enough to find a job in this
economy, and now some people are facing another hurdle: Potential
employers are holding their credit histories against them.
With that mind, state legislators in Illinois and 15 other states have proposed bills to ban
credit checks on most job applicants, according to the National
Conference of State Legislatures. Hawaii and Washington already have such bans in place.
“We
are in the great recession and this creates a vicious cycle,” said Maryland Delegate Kirill Reznik, who drafted a bill being
considered in his state. “People lose their jobs, that naturally precipitates them getting
behind on bills, their credit scores go down, they are trying to find a
job to pay off the bills, and employers won’t hire them because of
their credit score.
GOP leader: Unemployment extension to pass
Assocated Press | The Senate’s second-ranking Republican leader
says he expects GOP lawmakers will vote to extend unemployment benefits
this week — derailing a fellow Republican’s objections and filibuster
on the issue.
Fifteen thousand out-of-work residents in Illinois — and and estimated 1 million in the nation – lost their unemployment benefits at
midnight Sunday because a filibuster on the Senate floor is blocking
legislation that would extend payments for 30 days.
Peerless Industries to move to Aurora, add 85 jobs
Associated Press | Peerless Industries, a manufacturer of audiovisual mounting solutions, plans to stay in Illinois and add at least 85 new jobs to its 405-person work force over the next three years.
Peerless will move from two campuses in Melrose Park to a single larger facility in Aurora beginning in May. Illinois provided a $2.9 million investment package to leverage nearly $17.5 million in private investment to facilitate the move.
Unemployment benefits to expire for 567K
McClatcy-Tribune News Service | Congress on failed to continue
funding to an extended benefits program for the unemployed that is set
to expire on Sunday. Bickering between Senate Democrats and Republicans centered on how to
pay for the $10 billion extension of benefits for one month.
Without a federal extension, an estimated 567,000 unemployed Americans
would lose their federally-paid benefits in March and April, and about
1 million people would lose those benefits by June, according to the
National Employment Law Project, a New York nonprofit that supports
policies to create good-paying jobs.
Study says layoffs lead to serious health problems
From the New York Times | A report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s director of research has found that death rates among high-seniority male workers jumped by 50 percent to 100 percent in the year after a job loss, depending on the worker’s age. Even 20 years later, deaths were 10 percent to 15 percent higher. The study, by the Chicago Fed’s Daniel G. Sullivan and Columbia University economist Till von Wachter, examined death records and earnings data in Pennsylvania during the recession of the early 1980s.
Get the full story: nytimes.com
Senate OKs jobs bill with tax breaks for new hires
Associated Press | Companies that hire the unemployed would
claim new tax breaks under a jobs-promoting bill the Senate passed
Wednesday, delivering President Barack Obama and Democrats a
much-needed victory.
The 70-28 vote sends the bill back to the House, which passed a far
more costly measure in December. Many in the House consider the Senate
bill too puny, but they may simply adopt it and send it to Obama in
order to get a win. Democratic leaders promise more so-called jobs
bills are on the way.
Illinois agencies hold job fair for veterans
Associated Press | Several state agencies say they’re hosting
job information fairs for veterans. The first event is today at the
Jesse Brown VA Center in Chicago.
Three others are scheduled this month in Chicago, Maywood and East St. Louis.
Boeing to lay off 1,000 workers
Associated Press | Boeing Co. says it is sending out layoff
notices to more than 1,000 people, most of them technology workers in
Washington state and California.
The notices that went out on Friday mean the workers are at risk for
being laid off April 23. The number of workers to be laid off could
shrink.
Sears to close eight stores by April
(Gary Gardiner/Bloomberg News)
| By Sandra M. Jones | Sears plans to close eight of its namesake stores by early April as parent Sears Holdings Corp.continues efforts to trim underperforming locations from its ranks.
The retailer intends to shutter four full-line department stores in Waycross, Ga., Columbia, Tenn., Wilson, N.C., and Houston. Another four Sears Essentials stores–a freestanding, big-box format that once had been pegged as Sears’ growth vehicle–will close in Plainfield, N.J., Carlton, N.J., West Bend, Wis., and Londonderry, N.H. |
See also • Kmart to shut down 2 Illinois stores |
Layoffs loom at Redbox
By Wailin Wong and Julie Wernau | Redbox, the DVD kiosk rental chain, said Thursday it is laying off 200
employees at its Downers Grove call center as the company shifts those
operations to an outside provider with operations in Texas and Canada.
“After considering a number of options, it was determined that using a
third party to manage our customer service operations was the best
business decision for the company,” Redbox, which is a unit of Coinstar
Inc., said in a statement. “This decision did not come easily, but it
was ultimately the best option for achieving the level of service we
need to provide our customers.”
Jobless claims jump unexpectedly
Associated Press | The number of newly laid-off workers filing
applications for unemployment benefits unexpectedly surged last week
after having fallen sharply in the previous week. The gain dampened
hopes about how quickly the labor market may improve this year.
The Labor Department said Thursday that first-time claims for
unemployment benefits rose by 31,000 to a seasonally adjusted 473,000.
With no Olympics, foundation money goes to jobs
By Kathy Bergen
| Now that Chicago no longer can look to a 2016 Olympics as a potential trigger for economic development, a consortium of foundations this week started down another path toward jobs programs for residents of the South and West Side neighborhoods that stood to benefit from a Summer Games.
The 2016 Olympics Fund for Chicago Neighborhoods board decided Tuesday that it will apply for federal stimulus money this spring in an attempt to swell its remaining $1.7 million into more than $5 million for work force development efforts, which it deemed the most critical need.
Fed: High unemployment could linger 2 years
The Fed said growth will pick up to between 3.4 and 4.5 percent next year. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Associated Press | Federal Reserve expects unemployment will
stay high during the next two years because recession-scarred Americans
are likely to stay cautious, making for only a moderate-paced economic
recovery.
Health insurer Humana plans to cut 1,400 jobs
Tribune staff and wire | Health insurer Humana says it will eliminate about 1,400 jobs as it pushes to save money and adjust to a smaller enrollment. It is not ruling out some cuts in Illinois, where it has 650 workers, a spokesman said.
