Joseph Wood went to buy gas in Ventura in anticipation of driving up the coast to visit his children this week. The 39-year-old gig driver knew he had money on a debit card connected to his unemployment payments when his purchase was declined. Unable to fill up his tank, he...
US Job Postings Edge Lower, to 6.49 Million
WASHINGTON — U.S. employers advertised slightly fewer jobs in August as hiring ticked up modestly. The number of U.S. job postings on the last business day of August dipped to 6.49 million, down from 6.7 million in July, the Labor Department said Tuesday. Those postings are off more than a...
US Hiring Slows for 3rd Month in Sign of Struggling Economy
WASHINGTON — America’s employers added 661,000 jobs in September, the third straight month of slower hiring and evidence from the final jobs report before the presidential election that the economic recovery has weakened. With September’s hiring gain, the economy has recovered only slightly more than half the 22 million jobs...
US Layoffs Remain Elevated as 837,000 Seek Jobless Aid
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits declined last week to a still-high 837,000, evidence that the economy is struggling to sustain a tentative recovery that began this summer. The Labor Department's report, released Thursday, suggests that companies are still cutting a historically high number of jobs, though the...
Disney to Lay off 28,000 at Its Parks in California, Florida
ORLANDO, Fla. — Squeezed by limits on attendance at its theme parks and other restrictions due to the pandemic, The Walt Disney Co. said Tuesday it planned to lay off 28,000 workers in its parks division in California and Florida. Two-thirds of the planned layoffs involve part-time workers but they...
Jobless Claims at 870,000 as Fraud and Backlogs Cloud Data
WASHINGTON — The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment aid rose slightly last week to 870,000, a historically high figure that shows that the viral pandemic is still squeezing restaurants, airlines, hotels and many other businesses six months after it first erupted. The figure coincides with evidence that some newly...
Walters: California’s Job Numbers Aren’t Good
At first glance, California’s monthly employment numbers, released last Friday, appear to indicate steady recovery from the very severe pandemic-spawned recession. California’s unemployment rate declined from 13.5% in July to 11.4% in August, reflecting a nearly 300,000 gain in employment. A closer look at the data tells another story. Much of...
California Jobless Rate Falls With Help of Temporary Jobs
SACRAMENTO — A raft of temporary government jobs for the U.S. Census boosted California's economic picture in August as the state added 101,900 jobs and saw its unemployment rate — now at 11.4% — fall below the high-water mark of the Great Recession for the first time since March. But...
Over 40 Arrested for Fraud of California COVID Unemployment Benefits
Investigators unraveling an identity fraud scheme targeting California’s unemployment system have arrested 44 people in Beverly Hills this month alone, officials said Thursday. More arrests are expected as the California Employment Development Department and federal authorities investigate reports of people receiving unsolicited letters, some with debit cards, from the state’s...
$300 Unemployment Boost Ends After This Week
The temporary $300-a-week unemployment insurance boost implemented by President Donald Trump is about to end, with no extension in sight. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Thursday in an email to The Associated Press that it has distributed $30 billion of the $44 billion it had set aside for the...