Vermont unemployment rate falls to 2.9 percent
The Vermont seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate fell again and at 2.9 percent in March is back under 3 percent for the first time since just before the pandemic hit in early 2020. The rate reflects a decrease of one-tenth of one percentage point from the prior month’s revised estimate of 3.0 percent. Vermont now is tied for the lowest rate in the nation with three Western states. There are still over 28,000 filing unemployment claims in Vermont. While this about a third the number of filers from the peak of the pandemic, it is still historically high. Ongoing claims typically would be under 6,000. The pandemic numbers also include new programs like the PUA, which in recent weeks has accounted for almost 9,000 claims.
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Vermont Business Magazine Imaging Technologists at Vermont’s largest Hospital, the University of Vermont Medical Center, voted overwhelmingly to join the Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals-AFT-Vermont. The final vote count was 123-32 in favor of unionizing.
The 230 technologists include sonographers, cardiac technicians, interventional radiologists, and technologists working within CT Scan, MRI, Diagnostic Xray, Nuclear Medicine, and Mammography. This group joins the other 2,400 nurses and technicians currently members of the VFNHP-AFT Vermont, the largest and fastest-growing healthcare union in the state.
The technologists began their drive for representation on the heels of the cyberattack and in response to the pandemic. “This has been the worst year that we have ever experienced,” said Alida Aiello, a technologist with 10 years invested into UVMMC, “but we have been asking for years for changes to be made that would improve our