Workforce Bulletin - August 1, 2014
In This Issue:
- Congress Leaves for August Recess, Continuing Resolution Expected in September for FY 2015
- Unemployment Rate Little Changed at 6.2 Percent in July, Nonfarm Jobs Rose by 209,000
- Unemployment Insurance Initial Claims and Continued Claims Increase, Four-Week Average Hits Lowest Levels since 2006
- Register Today for the 78th NASWA Annual Conference, Early Registration Ends August 12th!
- Early Registration for NASWA Equal Opportunity in the Workforce System 2014 Now Available!
- Register and Make your Hotel Reservations for the UI Directors Conference Today!
- State Administrators Requested to Vote on NASWA/CESER Bylaw Changes for State Information Data Exchange System (SIDES) Governance
- NASWA Proxy Vote Form Available for State Administrators not attending Annual Conference for NASWA Business Session
- Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Kansas City and Heldrich Center for Workforce Development to Host Conference on Workforce Development Policy
- NASWA Gains New Company to Affiliate Program
- Notices, Advisories and Reports
Congress Leaves for August Recess, Continuing Resolution Expected in September for FY 2015
Congress adjourned for its annual August recess this week, departing Washington without passing any of the 12 annual appropriations bills before the new fiscal year begins October 1. With the House of Representatives scheduled to be in session for only 11 legislative working days between their return on September 8 and the November Congressional mid-term elections, leaders in both the House and Senate are looking towards a short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the federal government operating at the start of the new Fiscal Year (FY) on October 1, 2014.
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), in a press conference last week said the House would take up a two-month CR when lawmakers return in September to provide level funding at the beginning of FY 2015. The short-term CR will set the stage for a lame-duck (post-election) session of Congress where lawmakers might negotiate either a FY 2015 omnibus appropriations bill before the end of the year or another short-term CR into the 114th session of Congress beginning in 2015.
Senate leaders also have acknowledged a short-term CR would be needed until after the Congressional mid-term elections in November. Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), Education (ED) and Related Agencies Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) said this week he hopes that some of the work on the Labor, HHS, and Education Subcommittee will be used during negotiations with the House in December.
Senate Committee on Appropriations Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) released the draft text and committee reports on August 24 for the Labor, HHS, and Education appropriations bill, which would provide the starting positions in any potential omnibus bill talks between the House and Senate.
Unemployment Rate Little Changed at 6.2 Percent in July, Nonfarm Jobs Rose by 209,00
The nation’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.2 percent in July, one-tenth of one percentage point lower than in June. At 9.7 million, the number of unemployed persons has declined by 1.7 million (or 15.2 percent) since July 2013.
Total nonfarm payroll jobs increased by 209,000 in July to 139,004,000. Gains were widespread. Incorporating the revisions for May and June, monthly job gains have averaged 245,000 over the past 3 months. Over the prior 12 months, monthly job gains averaged 209,000 per month. Private sector businesses added 198,000 jobs, and the public sector added 11,000 jobs in July.
Civilian labor force increased by 329,000 in July to 156,023,000, similar to the level of 12 months earlier. The civilian labor force participation rate (representing the percentage share of the working-age population participating in the labor force) was 62.9 percent in July and has shown little improvement in recent years and compares to figures in early 1978.
Additional information and the full Employment Situation from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is available here.
Unemployment Insurance Initial Claims and Continued Claims Increase, Four-Week Average Hits Lowest Levels since 2006
The U.S. Department of Labor reported for the week ending July 26, 2014 seasonally adjusted unemployment insurance initial claims increased from the previous week’s revised figure.
Seasonally adjusted initial claims increased by 23,000 to 302,000 from last week’s revised figure of 279,000. The 4-week moving average was 297,250, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week's revised average of 300,750. The unadjusted initial claims level totaled 257,210, down 29,839 from the previous week, and down 24,482 from the level of 281,692 for a comparable week in 2013.
UI continued claims, seasonally adjusted, for the week ending July 19, 2014, were 2,539,000 up 31,000 from the previous week’s revised figure. The 4-week moving average decreased 9,000 to 2,535,250 from the prior week’s revised figure of 2,544,250.
The total number of individuals claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending July 12, 2014 was 2,618,115, an increase of 6,244 from the prior week. Regular state continued claims increased by 5,036, and EB decreased by 231. During the week of July 12, 2014, continued claims for ex-federal employees stood at 14,579 up 1,695 from the prior week, and for newly discharged veterans, 24,086 up 577 from the prior week.
The chart below shows the decline in continued claims since the peak in 2009, at the height of the Great Recession. This chart also shows the Average Weekly Insured Unemployment (AWIU) level that is included in the President’s Budget as an important driver of UI Administrative funding. The current workload levels are below the AWIU level for both FY 2014 and FY 2015.
Register Today for the 78th NASWA Annual Conference, Early Registration Ends August 12th!
Register and Make your Hotel Reservations Today!
State workforce development and unemployment insurance professionals planning on attending the 78th Annual NASWA Conference, September 17-19 in Burlington, Vermont are encouraged to register for the Conference before the early registration rate of $425 ends on Tuesday, August 12. After the early registration period, general registration will be $475 for NASWA members. The 78th Annual NASWA Conference will be preceded by the NASWA Board of Directors’ Meeting on September 16, which all state administrators are encouraged to attend.
In addition to early registration ending on Tuesday, August 12, those planning on attending should make their hotel reservations as soon as possible. NASWA’s Annual Conference will be held at the Hilton Burlington Hotel on Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vermont, however the Hilton Burlington has already sold out.
NASWA and the Vermont Department of Labor have made additional accommodations for Conference attendees at the Courtyard Burlington Harbor Hotel, which is located directly next to the Hilton Burlington Hotel. Room reservation can be made via the on-line reservations link or by calling 802-864-4700 at the government per diem rate of $169 plus tax during the Conference dates of September 16-19. NASWA’s encourages attendees to make reservations at the Courtyard Burlington Harbor Hotel by Friday, August 22 to ensure the government per diem rate.
78th Annual NASWA Conference Speaker Profile – Roger C. Tutterow, Ph.D., Mercer University
NASWA has also posted a more fully developed agenda for the 78th Annual NASWA Conference, with a number of speakers already confirmed for this year’s Conference. Serving as the opening plenary speaker for this year’s Conference will be Roger C. Tutterow, Ph.D., Professor of Economics, Stetson School of Business, Mercer University, Atlanta, Georgia, who will speak on the economic and employment situation and outlook in the United States.
Dr. Tutterow holds a B.S. in Decision Science from Berry College and a M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from Georgia State University. Prior to joining Mercer University, Dr. Tutterow held faculty and administrative appointments at West Virginia University, Georgia State University and Kennesaw State University. He has also served as a visiting professor at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and at the Institute for Industrial Policy Studies in Seoul, South Korea.
In addition to his work in academia, Dr. Tutterow has served as a consultant on economic, financial and statistical issues for corporate clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to closely-held businesses. He has provided expert testimony on economic, financial and statistical matters in state & federal court and before the Georgia Public Service Commission. Dr. Tutterow has given several hundred speeches to professional and civic groups on various topics in the economic, business and political arenas.
Other plenary and workshop topics will focus on challenges the workforce system is facing through a panel of state workforce agency administrators, implementation of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), workshops on unemployment insurance information technology modernization, and more. NASWA also will be electing new members to the Board of Directors Executive Committee, the Regional Directors and Alternates for the full Board, and NASWA members will vote on new policy resolutions during the Thursday morning business session.
For more information about the Conference as well as attendee, sponsor, exhibitor and vendor registration, please visit the Conference website at http://www.naswa.org/meetings/vermont/.
Early Registration for NASWA Equal Opportunity in the Workforce System 2014 Now Available!
NASWA's Equal Opportunity Committee will be hosting Equal Opportunity in the Workforce System 2014, October 29-31 in Washington, DC, providing useful training workshops for state and local workforce agency staff to help meet their equal opportunity responsibilities.
Equal Opportunity in the Workforce System 2014 will be held at The Liaison hotel on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. A block of rooms has been secured at The Liaison at the government per diem rate of $219 per night. Hotel reservations can be made online or via telephone by calling (866) 233-4642. The reservation rate code or group ID code is NAOSTW. You must make your reservations by Friday, September 26, to be assured of accommodations and the group rate.
State workforce officials and equal opportunity professionals planning to attend the Conference are encouraged to register before the early registration rate of $170 ends on September 9. After the early registration period, general registration will be $200 for NASWA members and other non-vendors.
For additional information on the Conference Agenda, Registration and other Conference items, please visit the NASWA website for the conference at http://www.naswa.org/meetings/eo2014.
Register and Make your Hotel Reservations for the UI Directors Conference Today!
NASWA and the Utah Department of Workforce Services are pleased to invite states to the 2014 NASWA National Unemployment Insurance (UI) Directors' Conference and IT/Legal Issues Forum. The Conference will be held October 20-23, at the Radisson Hotel Downtown, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
NASWA expects the hotel room block to sell out well before the reservation cut-off date of September 20. Once the block is full, conference attendees will have to use the overflow hotels which are located several blocks from the Radisson Hotel. State officials planning on attending this year’s conference are encouraged to make hotel reservations today before the room block is sold out.
Early registration ends August 29. State officials attending this year’s conference should take advantage of the early bird savings. For additional information on the Conference Agenda, Registration and other Conference items, please visit the NASWA website for the conference at http://www.naswa.org/meetings/uidir2014/?action=home.
State Administrators Requested to Vote on NASWA/CESER Bylaw Changes for State Information Data Exchange System (SIDES) Governance
NASWA is requesting state workforce agency administrators to cast one and only one vote on changes to the Bylaws of NASWA and its Center for Employment Security Education and Research (CESER). The changes would eliminate the Executive Committee of the State Information Data Exchange System (SIDES) and reassign its duties to the Information Technology Support Center (ITSC) Steering Committee. At its last meeting on June 5, the NASWA Board of Directors approved these changes for a vote of the Association.
A ballot is available online for state administrators to use, including a one-page comparison of the current and proposed Bylaw language.
To access the ballot, visit: http://naswa.org/assets/utilities/serve.cfm?gid=9109E485-7EEC-4CD2-B604-6FC7DA6111A2.
NASWA asks that one NASWA state administrator in each state complete the ballot and vote in response to the Board of Directors request. Votes should be sent to NASWA Executive Director Rich Hobbie at rhobbie@naswa.org no later than close of business Tuesday, August 12.
NASWA Proxy Vote Form Available for State Administrators not attending Annual Conference for NASWA Business Session
NASWA Executive Director Rich Hobbie on Friday, August 1, sent a memo to state workforce agency administrators providing voting instructions and proxy designation procedures for state administrators who will not be attending the Business Session during NASWA’s Annual Conference on September 18.
Each state only has one vote under the NASWA Bylaws. State administrators unable to attend the Conference are encouraged to send a signed proxy vote form to NASWA Executive Director Rich Hobbie at rhobbie@naswa.org in order for full participation by states in the election of officers to NASWA’s Executive Committee, Board of Directors, voting on Association resolutions and policy statements, and selecting the site for the 2016 Annual Conference.
NASWA Business Session Proxy Form - http://naswa.org/assets/utilities/serve.cfm?gid=DA669AD9-1175-4B89-B2E6-7DFD976B2395.
Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Kansas City and Heldrich Center for Workforce Development to Host Conference on Workforce Development Policy
Interested in the labor market and U.S. workforce development policy? Register for the Transforming U.S. Workforce Development Polices for the 21st Century conference on October 15–17. The Atlanta and Kansas City Federal Reserve Banks and the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University are conference cosponsors. The event takes place in downtown New Brunswick, NJ, which is easily accessible by public transportation. At the conference, national experts will share their perspectives on transformative education and workforce development strategies and policies. Some highlights include:
- An esteemed panel of experts from Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, W.E. Upjohn Institute, and MDRC will discuss measuring success through research, evaluation, and data in the workforce development field.
- Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart and Kansas City Fed President Esther George will provide comments on the current state of the workforce system and implications for monetary policy.
- Policymakers will give their perspectives on key issues facing American workers, education and training institutions, and local communities, and the policies they are embracing to respond to current labor market issues.
For more information about the Conference, visit http://www.frbatlanta.org/news/conferences/2014workforce.cfm
NASWA Gains New Company to Affiliate Program
NASWA has gained a new organization to its Affiliate program this week with Manhattan Strategy Group joining the program. Manhattan Strategy Group (MSG) is a management consulting firm with a proven record of service to public and private sector organizations. For more than a decade MSG has enabled clients to achieve and sustain business performance excellence, improve policy and programmatic decision-making, meet growth and performance milestones, optimize operational performance, and effectively manage people, process and technology. For more information on Manhattan Strategy Group, visit http://www.manhattanstrategy.com/default.aspx.
A NASWA Affiliation is available to parties interested in the Workforce Investment System, such as workforce professionals, economic developers, and educators and business persons. NASWA does not endorse the goods and services produced by affiliates. The NASWA affiliate package includes the following benefits:
- Access to NASWA's national information network to support your organization's efforts;
- Access to NASWA membership lists via the NASWA web site (phone and fax numbers not provided);
- Automatic e-mail notifications when new information is posted on NASWA's web site;
- Access to NASWA's weekly newsletter the, "Workforce Bulletin;"
- Receipt of "NewsWire" three times a week;
- FREE advertising opportunities in "NewsWire" and on the NASWA home page.
- Priority posting of your organization's position announcements on NASWA's Classified Ad page;
- Networking opportunities with federal and state workforce investment leaders as well as workforce development professionals in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam.
To find out more information about NASWA’s Affiliate program, click here.
Notices, Advisories and Reports
USDOL Directives & Releases
August 1, 2014: USDOL issued a notice in the Federal Register, soliciting comments concerning the collection of data about the Youth Career Connect grant program.
July 30, 2014: ETA issued Training and Employment Guidance Letter No.03-14 communicating the vision for an integrated, effective, job-driven workforce system; sharing the Vice President Joe Biden's job-driven training report, the results of the Vice President's review of Federal job training and education programs; describing the seven key elements of job-driven employment and training programs; providing informational resources; and encouraging states and local workforce investment areas, DOL grantees, and strategic partners to integrate these elements in their strategic planning and program operations.
July 29, 2014: ETA issued Unemployment Insurance Program Letter No. 20-14 providing State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) guidelines and key dates for the completion of IPIA 2014 UI BAM paid and denied claims sample cases and the publication of IPIA 2014 BAM data.
July 29, 2014: ETA released Unemployment Insurance Program Letter No. 19-14 providing preliminary FY 2015 dollar and staff year base resource planning targets for UI operations to be used in planning and developing State Quality Service Plans (SQSP); General guidelines for FY 2015 resource planning; and an explanation of how the Department of Labor (Department) allocates base resources among states.
Bureau of Labor Statistics Reports
July 30, 2014: The Bureau of Labor Statistics issued its Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment- June 2014 Report, reporting unemployment rates were lower in June than a year earlier in 359 of the 372 metropolitan areas, higher in 10 areas, and unchanged in 3 areas. Ten areas had jobless rates of at least 10.0 percent and 74 areas had rates of less than 5.0 percent. Nonfarm payroll employment increased over the year in 307 metropolitan areas, decreased in 55 areas, and was unchanged in 10 areas.
Articles were contributed by Tim Griffith, Jim Van Erden, Hillary Hewko and Don Wehbey.
