News & Public Affairs

Florida to forfeit $444M in unemployment stimulus money listen

04/28/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Legislature, unemployment, politics

With just days before the legislative session ends, it is becoming likely the state of Florida will reject $444 million dollars in federal stimulus aid.

GOP lawmakers say they do not want to increase the burden on the state’s unemployment trust fund when its running out of money.

Gov. Charlie Crist has said he supports a law to draw the extra federal money, but a bill sponsored by Jacksonville Sen. Tony Hill that would do so appears to be all but dead in the Legislature.

This morni...

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Florida's unemployment rate ties record high listen

04/17/09 Seán Kinane
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Tags: Economy, economic stimulus package, unemployment

More Floridians are losing their jobs, according to data released today. Rebecca Rust, the chief economist with the Agency for Workforce Innovation, says that seasonally adjusted March 2009 labor statistics for the state of Florida are even worse than the previous month.

“The unemployment rate for Florida is now 9.7 for March. … This represents 893,000 jobless Floridians.”

Rust says Florida’s unemployment rate is still higher than the country as a whole.

The last time Florida’s unemp...

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Senator: Unemployed should take drug tests for benefits listen

03/12/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Politics, economy, Legislature, unemployment

Unemployment is now at a 16-year high in Florida, as the Sunshine State has lost more than 355,000 jobs over the past year.

For many who have lost a job, it’s a blow to the ego to have to ask for government assistance. But if one bay area legislator has his way, they may have to submit more than their personal information and their pride to collect unemployment.

Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, has introduced a bill that would require random testing for one of every 10 people who apply...

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Career Fair participants on looking for a job in the current economy listen

02/06/09 Seán Kinane
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Tags: Economy, job market, unemployment

This morning CareerBuilder.com hosted a career fair at the DoubleTree Hotel on West Cypress St. in Tampa.

WMNF asked job seekers what it’s like to look for employment in the current economy.

“It kind of sucks."

"It doesn’t look very promising at the moment.”

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Hopefuls seek work at St. Pete job fair listen

09/22/08 Seán Kinane
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Tags: Economy, jobs, unemployment

Inside the Coliseum in St. Petersburg today, a job fair brought together people looking for work and 38 companies or government agencies that are either hiring or offering employment services.

With unemployment numbers across the country and especially in the bay area at their highest levels in years, many of the job seekers were determined to find positions, but aware of the challenges of the current economy.

Nearly a year ago, the company Neil Schipper worked for went into bankruptc...

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Unemployment rate at 5-year high listen

09/05/08 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Unemployment, economy, economic stimulus

The unemployment rate jumped to 6.1 percent in August, its highest level in five years.

Employers cut 84,000 jobs last month, more than economists had expected, and the Labor Department said that more jobs were lost in June and July than previously thought.

Jared Bernstein is a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute and an economic advisor to Barack Obama. Bernstein said the engine of job growth hasn’t just stalled, but gone in reverse.

Robert Dye, a senior economist with ...

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Job Fair St. Pete following financial bailouts

Seán Kinane
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Tags: Economy, jobs, unemployment

Inside the Coliseum in St. Petersburg today, a job fair brought together people looking for work and 38 companies or government agencies that are either hiring or offering employment services.

With unemployment numbers across the country, and especially in the bay area at their highest levels in years, many of the job seekers were determined to find positions but aware of the challenges of the current economy.

Nearly a year ago, the company Neil Schipper worked for declared bankruptcy...

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