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04/30/2021 08:18 AM EDT
TGIF, Illinois. I’m making pastitsio and dyeing red eggs this weekend. Happy Easter to all who celebrate.
TOP TALKER
Bruce Rauner, photographed during the 2018 gubernatorial campaign, looks back on his embattled time in Springfield, saying politics is “brutally hard it’s nasty, it’s dirty and ugly. | Getty Image
ROCKFORD People seeking help with jobless claims should have in-person access to local employment offices, according to a group of state representatives from the area.
A resolution filed by state Rep. Joe Sosnowski, R-Rockford, calls on the Illinois Department of Employment Security to reopen employment offices across the state that have been shut down since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
IDES offices can safely reopen using COVID-19 public health guidelines, including social distancing and the wearing of masks or face coverings, Sosnowski said.
“At this point, there is no justifiable reason why essential government services like those provided by IDES cannot resume in-person to serve working families whose livelihoods have been impacted by the pandemic,” he said. “We’re talking about helping folks deal with unemployment claims or modifications and other issues, including fraud.”
WGLT
The Bloomington-Normal area labor market had 5% percent unemployment last month. The state Department of Employment Security reports the March figure is nearly two points higher than for the same month last year.
The year-over-year difference narrowed compared with February, which reflects the start of the pandemic in March of last year. Annual comparisons for the next several months will likely not be as starkly different.
About 86,400 people had jobs last month in the Twin City area. That s down about 5,500 positions from March 2020. The February drop in jobs was 6,300, suggesting the last half of March saw about 800 jobs disappear in Bloomington-Normal as the pandemic shut down society.
Sununu lifts moratorium on job-search requirement for unemployment benefits
April 22, 2021
Granite Staters collecting unemployment will have to once again start showing they are actively looking for work starting May 23, Gov. Chris Sununu announced Thursday,
The announcement at his weekly press conference came four days after the Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire sent him a letter urging him to do just that.
“The economy has come roaring back,” said Sununu, adding that there are “tens of thousands of high-=paying jobs” available around the state.
Before the pandemic, the Department of Employment Security required that people getting unemployment benefits also actively actively seek employment, and they had to document that job search by naming the businesses where they submitted applications.
Governor urged to restore job-search requirement for unemployment benefits
In letter, BIA points to ongoing workforce shortage
April 22, 2021
The Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire is urging Gov. Chris Sununu to again require that unemployed individuals search for work in order to receive benefits – something it hopes will ease an acute workforce shortage.
Before the pandemic, most people getting unemployment benefits were required to actively seek work. They completed a continuing claim form with the names, addresses phone numbers of the employers contacted, the method of contact, the type of work sought and the results of the search. The Department of Employment Security didn’t spell out how many employers had to be contacted, but the form leaves room for four a week.