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Workforce Bulletin - June 27, 2014

In This Issue:

 

 

Senate Passes Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act

On Wednesday, June 25, the Senate passed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (H.R. 803) by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 95 to 3, reauthorizing and overhauling the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) represents a compromise announced in late May, between the SKILLS Act (H.R. 803), which passed the House of Representatives in March 2013, and the Workforce Investment Act of 2013 (S. 1356), which passed the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee with a bipartisan vote of 18 to 3 in July of 2013.  H.R. 803 served as the legislative vehicle for the bipartisan bicameral compromise legislation, with senators adopting an amendment in the nature of a substitute by unanimous consent to the legislative agreement.

During the floor consideration of the bill, senators voted on three amendments to WIOA after an agreement between the Senate Majority and Minority was reached last week.  Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) offered an amendment that was rejected 33 to 63, which would have required governors to take corrective action in a local area after one year of poor performance.  Senators also rejected an amendment from Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) by a 40 to 58 vote that would have required timely evaluation reports for WIOA programs USDOL would lose 5 percent of its evaluation funding if the reports were late.  

The third amendment, known as the Manager’s amendment, was introduced by the Senate’s sponsors of the compromise agreement, Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Lamar Alexander (R-GA), and Tom Harkin (D-IA), and was the result of negotiations with Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), who had pushed for additional changes to the bill surrounding job-training programs focusing on industry-recognized credentials and allowing workforce programs authorized under the bill to have access to federal and state databases to improve program performance.  It was approved by voice vote.

The Manager’s Amendment would require state and local plans to outline how they will, “improve access to activities leading to a recognized postsecondary credential (including a credential that is an industry-recognized certificate or certification, portable, and stackable.”   The second provision of the amendment would require a report to Congress from the Comptroller General on existing federal and state databases and exchange agreements that would enhance and make more effective programs reauthorized under the bill.  After passage, the Senate’s sponsors of the bill urged the House to pass WIOA without delay, and send the bill to the President’s desk for his signature.

“Now that it has been approved by the Senate by an overwhelming majority, I urge the House of Representatives to take up and pass this bill swiftly so that the President can sign it into law. Giving workers the skills they need and employers the workforce they require are at the heart of this legislation, and I applaud my colleagues on the HELP Committee and on the House Education and the Workforce Committee for their perseverance and commitment to updating this critical law,” said Senator Tom Harkin.

The Chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN) and its Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training, Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC), applauded the Senate and urged their peers for in the House to pass the measure.

“I commend our colleagues in the Senate for passing our bipartisan, bicameral agreement. This compromise is the result of a long negotiation process, and I am delighted it has passed the Senate with strong bipartisan support. America's workers, employers, and taxpayers have waited long enough for Congress to deliver a more efficient, effective, and accountable workforce development system.  I am confident the House will send this bill to the president's desk without delay.  It's time to get the job done," said Chairman Kline. 

Leaders in the House Majority have indicated they would consider the Senate-passed legislation shortly after Congress returns from its Independence Day recess the week of July 7. 

If the bill passes the House, as is expected, the measure will then head to President Obama for signature, who indicated he would support the WIOA in a Statement of Administration Policy released shortly before the vote in the Senate.

“While this legislation does not address certain reforms that the Administration has pursued, such as the Workforce Innovation Fund, it represents an important bipartisan compromise that will help individuals, including people with disabilities, acquire the skills they need to succeed in the workforce and employers find the skilled workers they need to compete in the global economy. Ensuring that employment, education, and training programs are "job-driven"—designed to take business and workforce needs into account—is a critical aspect of helping workers enter the middle class and prosper. This bill would hold programs accountable for getting people into good jobs and providing education and training that is aligned with the skills employers need.”

NASWA has worked over the last five years to inform members in both the House and Senate on changes that need to be made in WIA reauthorization legislation.  NASWA sent a letter of support for WIOA on May 30 to Congress noting our support for some of the following provisions:

  • Reauthorizes workforce programs;
  • Retains the 15 percent WIA state allocation authorization;
  • Retains and improves the Wagner-Peyser Act;
  • Streamlines or eliminates existing programs, such as the Workforce Innovation Fund (WIF);
  • Restructures the Workforce Information Council (WIC);
  • Reduces the number of required members on state and local workforce boards;
  • Repeals the “sequence of services” provision; and
  • Applies common performance measures to all federal workforce programs.

Listed below are resources and analyses of WIOA, including the full legislative text and statement of managers’ section-by-section analysis.  Over the coming weeks, NASWA will be developing additional materials.

  • NASWA’s summary of the legislation as it was introduced by the bipartisan bicameral group of lawmakers.
  • The statement of managers, including a section-by-section summary of the legislation, can be found here.
  • A summary of key improvements WIOA makes to current workforce development programs can be found here.
  • The Senate Floor debate, including amendments offered and adopted, can be found here.
  • WIOA, as amended passed by the Senate can be found here.

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Senators Reed and Heller Reintroduce EUC Reauthorization

On Tuesday, June 24, Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) and Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) introduced the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 2014 (S. 2532), the latest effort by the two senators to reauthorize the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC)  program, which expired at the end of 2013.

S. 2532 would provide a five month reauthorization of the program, providing prospective EUC benefits to eligible claimants for five months after the date of enactment.  The new legislation does not provide retroactive benefits.   Under S. 2532, individuals could qualify for EUC benefits under the following conditions:

  • An individual who has exhausted state unemployment benefits on or after the enactment date of the bill, would be eligible for EUC, and;
  • An individual who exhausted state unemployment benefits after the EUC program expired December 28, 2013, and is still unemployed on or after the enactment of the bill, would be eligible to receive EUC benefits.

The bill also maintains the preexisting EUC tier structure and extends the Reemployment and Eligibility Assessments (REAs) and Reemployment Services (RES) provisions.  The legislation also keeps the provision prohibiting individuals whose adjusted gross income is above $1 million from receiving EUC benefits.

It is uncertain when the bill would be brought to the Senate floor.  In his weekly press conference, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) indicated it would be up to the House to move a EUC reauthorization bill forward, “we need to  get some movement in the House, we’ve already passed an unemployment extension over here,” Senator Reid said.

House Speaker John Boehner -- this week -- reiterated his opposition to bringing a EUC reauthorization bill to the House floor without job creating proposals, “we will take a look at any plan that is fiscally-responsible, and does something to help create private-sector jobs,” said Speaker Boehner’s spokesman. 

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Registration for the 78th NASWA Annual Conference Now Available

NASWA and the Vermont Department of Labor are pleased to announce the 78th NASWA Annual Conference, which will be held September 17-19.  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/.

The Board of Directors will be meeting on Tuesday, September 16.  The Annual Conference will start Wednesday morning, September 17, and conclude prior to noon on Friday, September 19.  The Conference will be held at the Hilton Burlington Hotel on Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vermont.  Information to make hotel reservations is available on the Conference website. 

The Conference website includes an outline of the agenda.  The agenda will be further developed in the next several weeks.  Please make your plans now to attend the 78th NASWA Annual Conference in Burlington, Vermont.  Save the dates during the week of September 16-19.

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USDOL Awards $155 million in WIA Dislocated Worker National Reserve Funds to Implement Job Training Programs for States

On Thursday, June 26, the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) announced it had awarded approximately $155 million to 32 states, Puerto Rico and the Cherokee tribal nation in grants through the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Dislocated Worker National Reserve fund, through a new Job-Driven National Emergency Grant program intended to train workers who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own for jobs in high-demand industries.

According to the USDOL press release, the grants to states will, “help create or expand employer partnerships that provide opportunities for on-the-job training, Registered Apprenticeships or other occupational training that result in an industry-recognized credential.  Funding will also be used to provide services, such as career coaching and counseling, as well as assisting with job placement that help (sic) connect laid-off workers, including the long-term unemployed, with available jobs.”

Additionally, USDOL awarded grants to states for proposals to develop partnerships between workforce and industry organizations and align services with other federal, state or local programs, such as Unemployment Insurance, WIA, and Trade Adjustment Assistance.   USDOL also awarded additional funding of up to $175,000 to states to assist dislocated workers in the following ways:

  • Increasing consumer access to training outcomes and information.
  • Developing effective electronic employment tools.
  • Expanding employer engagement, and
  • Enhancing customer and employer satisfaction.

For a full list of grantees and award amounts, visit http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ETA20141235.htm.

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NASWA and DirectEmployers Announce 10 Year Extension of Public-Private Partnership

At the June Board of Directors’ Meeting, NASWA announced a ten-year extension to its ongoing partnership with DirectEmployers Association and their joint collaboration, the National Labor Exchange (NLX). The partnership extension, now continuing through June 2027, strengthens the NLX and underlines the value the initiative brings to government, job seekers, and employers alike.

Established in 2007, the NLX is a public-private partnership aiming to collect all available, real job openings appearing on the internet.  Unlike other job aggregators, the NLX does not include duplicate job orders, because NLX information is only acquired from an employer’s corporate website or a state job bank.  As a result, job seekers experience a faster connection to authentic job openings and have a better user-experience.  Moreover, job seekers will not encounter “dead job links” because the NLX is refreshed daily.  They can also be assured all participating employers are authentic because the NLX validates all employers. 

Since its inception, the NLX has made available over 40 million unique job openings from over one million employers.  The NLX outlets include state job banks, government portals and the my.jobs network.  Currently, the NLX has close to 1.7 million jobs on a daily basis, gathered from 16,000 corporate career sites and state job banks. 

The NLX partnership also allows DirectEmployers to assist its member companies in meeting the OFCCP’s Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) job listing requirements. This provides a seamless method for federal contractors of all sizes, to meet federal job listing and delivery standards while providing a cost-effective solution to help reach a diverse workforce. 

Since forming the NLX alliance, NASWA and DirectEmployers have worked closely reaching the following milestones:

  • Signed NLX participation agreements with all 50 states, along with DC, Puerto Rico and Guam.
  • Engaged all publically-funded state job banks to exchange job openings on a daily basis.
  • Provided job openings to US Department of Labor and the Veterans Administration sponsored sites including American Job Center; CareerOneStop; eBenefits Veterans Employment Center; My Next Move; My Next Move for Veterans; MySkillsMyFuture; and VetSuccess.gov.
  • Provided no-cost job spidering services to over 16,000 employers.
  • Hosted five state job banks at no-cost: New York, Connecticut, Nevada, Guam and Puerto Rico.
  • Provided state workforce agencies job banks with search engine optimized, social media integrated and mobile-ready my.jobs microsites increasing job seeker traffic.
  • Signed alliance with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s -- Hiring Our Heroes program to support the Foundation’s online job search tool, Fast Track.

If your state would like more information regarding the National Labor Exchange, please contact NASWA Assistant Executive Director and NLX Director Pam Gerassimides at pgerassimides@naswa.org or NASWA NLX Operations Manager Charlie Terrell at cterrell@naswa.org.

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NASWA Committee Wrap Up: Veterans Affairs and NLX Operations Committees

NASWA Veterans Affairs Committee holds Third and Final Meeting of the Association Year in DC

On June 10-11, the NASWA Veterans Affairs Committee met in Washington, D.C., for its third meeting of the 2014 Association year.  The meeting opened with an introduction and welcome by NASWA’s Veterans Affairs Committee Chair, Charles Fogarty, Director of the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, and Vice-Chair Bryan Moore, Director, Office of Workforce Division; Louisiana Workforce Commission.  Tom Luparello, Interim Director of the D.C. Department of Employment Services, and Lane Williams, new DVET for DC (formerly a Committee member representing Maryland) welcomed the Committee members to Washington, D.C.

Terry Gerton, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS), U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) gave a presentation covering various topics:  Veteran unemployment statistics; connecting employers and veterans; role of the American Jobs Centers (AJC); and discussed the newly released guidance from VETS and the Employment and Training Administration regarding the refocus of the Jobs for Veterans State Grants (JVSG). 

National Labor Exchange (NLX) Operations Committee Meets in Chicago

On May 28-29, the NLX Operations Committee held its second meeting of the 2014 Association year in Chicago, Illinois.  The Committee is made up of 10 state workforce agency members and 10 employer members from DirectEmployers Association.  Representatives from nine state agencies, including Iowa, Colorado, Texas, California, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and the host state of Illinois attended.  From the employer member side, representatives from Camber Corporation, KPMG LLP, United Airlines, and Penske Truck Leasing attended.

During the two-day meeting, the Committee discussed expanding partnerships with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  States and employers also discussed the rollout of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) regulations and its impact on employers and states.  The meeting included presentations from several USDOL officials from VETS and OFCCP.  The NLX Operations Committee shared a joint session with the NASWA Employment and Training Committee via teleconference to discuss reporting issues and new compliance regulations.

Committee members also discussed the planning for the 2015 NASWA Veterans Conference and established a subcommittee to focus on the planning.

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Make your Nominations for the 2014 Salute to Leadership Awards Today - Deadline to Nominate is July 8th

NASWA is currently accepting nominations for the awards listed below, which will be presented at the 78th NASWA Annual Conference in Burlington, Vermont.  To nominate an individual or state for an award at this year's Annual Conference, simply login to NASWA's website with your user name and password, and follow the links below to make your nominations.  Nominations not fully completed can be completed at a later date, as long you are logged into a NASWA account.

The deadline for making nominations for this year’s NASWA Salute to Leadership Awards is quickly approaching, with nominations due Tuesday, July 8.

NASWA is currently accepting nominations for the following awards:

  • The Merrill Baumgardner Award  is presented annually to an individual who has demonstrated excellence in the field of information technology in a state workforce agency. 
  • The James F. Walls Team Award  honors a local office, one-stop center, central office division or unit, or a special team (established or ad-hoc) which demonstrates extraordinary service in its assignment area, functions, local community or area.
  • The Eagle Award honors individuals who soar to new heights in their efforts to serve employers and workers in the United States.  Recipients of this honor are recognized for their contribution to workforce development, unemployment insurance, employment, or labor market information services.
  • The Mark Sanders Award for Exceptional Service to Disabled Veterans recognizes the efforts of an entire local office/one-stop center, not just a Veterans' unit or Veterans' staff, whose efforts demonstrate “exceptional” service and dedication to improving employment opportunities for Disabled Veterans and, whose contributions involving Disabled Veterans extend to the local community at large.
  • The NASWA National Business of the Year Award  recognizes a business that demonstrates outstanding accomplishments resulting in a positive impact on its workforce, industry and community.  Recipients of this Award are also recognized for the business’ support and use of the state or local public workforce system. Contributions to the system are recognized whether they are in workforce development, unemployment insurance, employment, or labor market information services.
  • The State Excellence Award for Leadership (SEAL) Award honors a state, not an individual, for a workforce related program, project or initiative, which addresses an issue or challenge. The program, project, or initiative should be innovative, a new way to address an issue or challenge, or results in significant improvement of service or performance. Changes in existing programs, projects or initiatives, which result in significant improvement of services or performance, is acceptable.
  • The Vladimir Chavrid Memorial Award recognizes excellence in the field of Labor Market Information (LMI) and Employment Security operations research. The recipient should have made sustained and significant contributions to the operation and understanding of LMI.
  • The William J. Harris Equal Opportunity Award recognizes excellence each year in the field of equal opportunity (EO) and to honor a state workforce agency administrator and the EO workforce agency director/officer for outstanding accomplishments within the agency.

To nominate an individual or state for any of the above listed awards, either click the respective hyperlink above or visit NASWA’s Award homepage at http://naswa.org/about/index.cfm?action=awards. 

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2016 NASWA 80th Annual Conference Host State Bids Now Accepted

Solicitations for bids from states interested in hosting the 2016 NASWA 80th Annual Conference are now being accepted.  Bids will be reviewed and a host state will be selected at the 78th Annual Conference in Burlington, Vermont by the NASWA Board of Directors.

Administrators who are interested in hosting NASWA’s 80th Annual Conference are invited to present their bids at the Annual Conference beginning with the Board of Directors’ Meeting on Tuesday, September 16, 2014.  The final vote determining the location of the 2016 Annual Conference will be determined by the eligible voting members of the Association at the Business Session on Thursday morning, September 18.

If your state is interested in bidding, please inform NASWA by Tuesday, July 16, 2014.  If you need assistance with hotel arrangements and conference logistics, please contact your local Convention Visitors Bureau or local Chamber of Commerce.  All bids should be directed to NASWA Deputy Executive Director Bob Simoneau at bsimoneau@naswa.org  or 202-434-8021.  For an outline of specific information for a state’s presentation to the Association is available here.

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NASWA 2013 Annual Report Now Available!

NASWA’s 2013 Annual Report is now available on the NASWA website.  The Annual Report provides detailed information on NASWA’s mission, organization, goals, activities and accomplishments during the 2013 Association year.  This document serves as a comprehensive resource for state workforce agency administrators and workforce agency employees to take full advantage of the benefits of NASWA membership.   The NASWA 2013 Annual Report highlights the following accomplishments surrounding its strategic goals and initiatives in 2013:

Policy Development

NASWA furthered its strategic goal of strengthening policy-making efforts and developing strategies for addressing sequestration as NASWA surveyed states on the effect of sequestration on Unemployment Insurance (UI), Workforce Investment Act (WIA), and Wagner-Peyser Act programs, and communicated these challenges to the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL). NASWA also worked to educate members of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations on restoring the WIA 15 percent state allocation for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014, and the vital role these funds serve in providing oversight and technical assistance to local workforce areas.

Member Engagement

NASWA’s continuing goal of facilitating information exchange among its members was strengthened with NASWA hosting five conferences, along with 20 committee meetings, providing forums for states to communicate with federal partners on current challenges facing the workforce system.  The NASWA and ITSC websites also provided a comprehensive library of online resources spanning UI and workforce programs on the latest developments, guidance and best practices.

Customer Engagement

NASWA increased the engagement of its stakeholders and customers by providing over 8.8 million currently available, unique job listings from verified employers on over 40,000 job search websites through the National Labor Exchange (NLX), a public-private partnership between employers and states.  NASWA also renewed its partnership with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) facilitating the distribution of over 250,000 English and Spanish brochures to 32 states, providing a resource for jobseekers on managing their personal finances during periods of unemployment.

USDOL Relationships

NASWA continued to enhance its relationship with the Employment and Training Administration (ETA), raising state issues to the federal level, as NASWA serves as the primary forum for states to collectively engage with USDOL.  NASWA, USDOL and states worked to develop online tools and resources, including the UI-Workforce Connectivity Project, which seeks to create a real-time Integrated Workforce Registration (IWR) system online that would serve as the entry to all reemployment services.   The NLX also serves as the job listing provider for USDOL’s online search resources including the online American Job Center, CareerOne Stop and MySkillsMyFuture.

Also included in the NASWA 2013 Annual Report is an appendix with an updated state administrator directory as of June 2014, information on the structure of the workforce system and federal workforce funding and performance results for 2013.  Hard copies of the NASWA 2013 Annual Report will be mailed to Administrators in the next few weeks.  To view past Annual Reports, visit http://naswa.org/about/index.cfm?action=annualreport.

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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, 2014, 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.  States 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.  States attending this year’s conference should take advantage of the early bird savings.

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NASWA Executive Director Receives J. Eldred Hill Award at UWC National UI Issues Conference

Last week, NASWA Executive Director Rich Hobbie received the J. Eldred Hill Award at the 2014 UWC National UI Issues Conference held in Savannah, Georgia.   The award is named after J. Eldred Hill, Jr., former president of UWC (then UBA), and is given to an individual for excellence in the public policy arena in service to the employer community.

In presenting Mr. Hobbie with the J. Eldred Hill Award, UWC President Doug Holmes had the following congratulatory remarks:

“Rich Hobbie is one of a small number of individuals in the long history of the UI program who have had a significant national impact on the Unemployment Insurance system.  From his days as a researcher at the Congressional Research Service, to his service on the House Ways and Means committee staff to serving as UI Director for NASWA, to his current job as Executive Director at NASWA, Rich has distinguished himself as a strong advocate for a sound UI system.”

In February of this year, Rich Hobbie announced he would be retiring as NASWA Executive Director effective October 1, 2014.

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Notices, Advisories and Reports

USDOL Directives & Releases

June 26, 2014: ETA reported for the week ending June 21, seasonally adjusted unemployment insurance initial claims decreased from the previous week’s revised figure.   Seasonally adjusted initial claims decreased by 2,000 to 312,000 from last week’s revised figure of 314,000.  The 4-week moving average was 314,250, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's revised average of 312,250.  The unadjusted initial claims level totaled 304,169 up 2,832 from the previous week.  UI continued claims, seasonally adjusted, for the week ending June 14 were 2,571,000 up 12,000 from the previous week’s revised figure.  The 4-week moving average decreased 13,000 to 2,587,000 from the prior week’s revised figure of 2,600,000.

June 26, 2014: ETA announced the availability of $1,850,000 to fund a cooperative agreement to manage and operate the National Employer Policy, Research and Technical Assistance Center on the Employment of People with Disabilities.

The center will increase the commitment and capacity of employers to recruit, hire, retain and advance people with disabilities by analyzing employer research, policies and practices related to disability employment; researching effective employer engagement strategies; and developing and providing outreach and technical assistance to targeted employers, such as federal agencies, federal contractors, small businesses and state governments.

June 26, 2014: ETA announced the availability of $2,083,300 for two cooperative agreements to improve post-secondary education and employment opportunities for youth with disabilities through the Pathways to Careers: Community Colleges for Youth and Young Adults with Disabilities Demonstration Project.  Each cooperative agreement may receive up to $1,041,650 to fund a pilot project that will build the capacity of community colleges to meet the educational and career development needs of youth with disabilities, including those with significant disabilities. The pilots will provide for researching, developing, testing and evaluating innovative systems to deliver inclusive integrated education and career development services.

June 25, 2014:  ETA released Unemployment Insurance Program Letter No. 16-14  to make state workforce agencies aware that employees of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) are covered under the Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees program.

 

June 25, 2014: ETA issued Unemployment Insurance Program Letter No. 15-14 transmitting the subject computation for state workforce agencies to use in computing minimum disaster unemployment assistance (DUA) amounts for all major disasters declared during the fourth quarter of FY 2014.

June 24, 2014: ETA announced it had awarded $1,938,182 in grants to help women through the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations program, an initiative designed to recruit, train and retain women in high-skill occupations in advanced manufacturing, transportation, energy, construction, information technology and other industries.  Grantees will use the funds awarded today to develop Regional Multi-State Technical Assistance Resource Centers that will support women entering into nontraditional occupations.

June 24, 2014: ETA announced it had awarded $68,745,912 to 37 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia to implement or continue re-employment and eligibility assessments for unemployment insurance beneficiaries.  The assessments include the development of an individual reemployment plan for each claimant; the provision of labor market information that is appropriate to the claimant's location, job skills and employment prospects; a complete review of the claimant's eligibility for UI benefits; and a referral to the relevant re-employment or training services provided by the American Job Center.  A listing of states and the amount awarded is available at http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ETA20141212.htm.

Bureau of Labor Statistics Reports

June 20, 2014: BLS issued its Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary for the month of May 2014. Regional and state unemployment rates were little changed in May.  Twenty states had unemployment rate decreases from April, 16 states had increases and 14 states and the District of Columbia had no change.  Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia registered unemployment rate decreases from a year earlier, and one state had an increase.  Nonfarm payrolls increased in 36 states and the District of Columbia and decreased in 14 states.

Editor’s Note: Due to the Independence Holiday next week, the next edition of the Workforce Bulletin will be published July 11th. 

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Articles were contributed by Tim Griffith, Josie Link and Marc Katz.