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NPR
Help Wanted: Where Are The Workers?
Marianne LeBlanc stages in-person corporate events. But those jobs disappeared during the pandemic and have been slow to return.

Millions Will Lose Unemployment Benefits. That Doesn't Mean They'll Return To Work

Sep 01, 2021
Enhanced unemployment benefits launched during the pandemic expire next week, cutting a vital lifeline for millions of jobless Americans. Research suggests most will not find work right away.
NPR
The Coronavirus Crisis
A "Help Wanted" sign is posted beside coronavirus health safety guidelines at a restaurant in Los Angeles on May 28. Businesses are desperate for workers even as millions remain unemployed. Republican governors blame a major unemployment benefit passed d

A Lifeline For The Unemployed Is About To End In Half Of U.S. Here's What's At Stake

Jun 07, 2021
Republican governors are moving to end $300-a-week pandemic payments for the unemployed in a controversial effort to push people back to work. Four states are set to end them this week.
NPR
The Coronavirus Crisis
President Biden challenged those who call his stimulus plan too big: "Let me ask them a rhetorical question: What would you have me cut?"

Biden's $1.9 Trillion Rescue Plan: Vital Medicine Or Costly Overkill?

Feb 26, 2021
Backers of the president's ambitious stimulus plan say it will help struggling families and businesses, but critics say it goes too far.
KNPR
Newscast headlines

Judge: Nevada Jobless Office In Contempt In Gig Workers Case

Dec 07, 2020

RENO, Nev. (AP) — A Nevada judge held the state unemployment office in contempt and gave it until the end of the month to comply with his July court order to resume paying pandemic relief benefits to almost 9,500 out-of-work gig and contract workers.

NPR
The Coronavirus Crisis
Todd Anderson is a single dad raising four children in Mackinaw City, Mich. "I'm pretty honest and open with them," he says. "They know we're in a spot right now."

12 Million To Lose Jobless Benefits The Day After Christmas Unless Congress Acts

Nov 19, 2020
If Congress doesn't compromise and pass another relief bill, a new study finds a staggering number of Americans will lose a critical financial lifeline as the pandemic worsens.
NPR
The Coronavirus Crisis
Hundreds of unemployed Kentucky residents wait in long lines outside the Kentucky Career Center in Frankfort for help with their unemployment claims on June 19. New research shows savings built up by the jobless are starting to run out.

'I'm Still Unemployed': Millions In Dire Situation As Savings Start To Run Out

Oct 17, 2020
Many unemployed Americans have been tapping into their savings to pay bills. But those savings are going fast, and hopes for a new round of pandemic relief before the election are fading.
NPR
The Coronavirus Crisis
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem meets with President Trump and Vice President Pence at the White House in December. This month, she was one of the first governors to reject the president's offer of additional unemployment assistance.

Expired Jobless Benefits Cost Economy Billions, But Some States Reject Trump's Aid

Aug 19, 2020
The expiration of emergency jobless benefits is draining $15 billion a week from the U.S. economy. President Trump has offered to replace half that money, but states have been slow to accept.
NPR
Politics
President Trump signs executive actions regarding coronavirus economic relief during a news conference in Bedminster, N.J., on Saturday. A number of lawmakers are criticizing the measures' substance and constitutionality.

Democrats Slam Trump's Executive Actions, Critiquing Both Substance And Legality

Aug 09, 2020
One expert told NPR that the unemployment measure is particularly controversial because it is "using appropriated funds by Congress in ways that Congress might not have intended."
KNPR
Newscast headlines

Nevada Law Expands Some Jobless Benefits, Targets Backlog

Aug 06, 2020

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Gov. Steve Sisolak has signed a law giving state unemployment officials more flexibility to attack a backlog of jobless claims.

NPR
Coronavirus Live Updates
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, here in June, said this week that the state's troubled unemployment portal was designed to discourage people applying for benefits. The portal launched in 2013 under then-Gov. Rick Scott, now a U.S. senator.

Gov. Says Florida's Unemployment System Was Designed To Create 'Pointless Roadblocks'

Aug 06, 2020
Gov. Ron DeSantis says the portal was designed to frustrate users, "so people just say, oh, the hell with it, I'm not going to do that." Florida has been among the slowest states to process claims.
NPR
Analysis
As the pandemic wreaks havoc in the U.S., snatching millions of jobs, the $600 weekly pandemic unemployment payments have single-handedly changed the economic equation in America.

$600 A Week: Poverty Remedy Or Job Slayer?

Jul 27, 2020
The $600 weekly pandemic unemployment payments have single-handedly changed the economic equation in America as people earn more staying home than they did in the jobs they lost.
KNPR
KNPR's State of Nevada

As $600 Benefit Ends, What Will Happen To Nevada's Unemployed?

Jul 22, 2020

This was the last week Nevadans will get an extra $600 per week in unemployment benefits from the federal government.

NPR
The Coronavirus Crisis
As coronavirus cases persist and some states even backtrack their reopening plans, essential workers have flooded social media with calls for hazard pay.

When Essential Workers Earn Less Than The Jobless: 'We Put The Country On Our Back'

Jul 01, 2020
Congress has yet to pass a measure that would ensure a pay boost for people who have been asked to keep going to work during the coronavirus pandemic shutdowns.
NPR
The Coronavirus Crisis
Millions of Uber drivers and other people who make a living from gig work are temporarily eligible for unemployment benefits. But the money has been slow to arrive.

'We Can't Take Your Call': Uber Drivers, Other Gig Workers Struggle For Unemployment

May 19, 2020
Gig workers are now eligible for unemployment benefits, but states have been slow to update their systems to accept claims. That's left many workers waiting weeks for help.
KNPR
Newscast headlines

Nevada Jobless Level Nears 20%; Extended Benefits Triggered

May 04, 2020

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Unemployment benefits are being extended for a second 13 weeks in Nevada, where a wave of workers idled by casino and business closures in response to the coronavirus outbreak has spiked the state jobless figure to almost 20%.

NPR
The Coronavirus Crisis
Kersha Cartwright, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Labor, said the office "is encouraging employees to work with their employers on a safe return-to-work plan."

As Governors Urge Businesses To Reopen, Workers May Be Pushed Off Unemployment

Apr 28, 2020
Employees who refuse to return to work out of concern for their safety will lose state and federal benefits. It's a predicament millions will soon face as lawmakers set to restart their economies.
KNPR
Newscast headlines

Nevada's March Unemployment Rate Highest In Years

Apr 16, 2020

Last month, Nevada’s unemployment rate was the highest in years, following business closures caused by coronavirus concerns. 

An estimated 6.3 percent of Nevada’s workforce was unemployed in March the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation reported Wednesday.

KNPR
Newscast headlines

Employment Office Rolls Out New Call Center

Apr 15, 2020

The Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation announced it has created a new call center for people seeking general information about unemployment benefits.

KNPR
Newscast headlines

Gov. Sisolak Updates Unemployment Rules

Apr 15, 2020

Governor Steve Sisolak announced updates to unemployment benefits for the thousands of Nevadans who have filed.

The governor told the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation to backdate all unemployment claims to the earliest date that someone was eligible. 

NPR
The Coronavirus Crisis
The economic rescue package passed by the Senate this week would let gig workers and other self-employed people seek unemployment benefits they wouldn't normally qualify for.

Gig Workers Would Get Unemployment Safety Net In Rescue Package

Mar 27, 2020
Uber drivers, Airbnb hosts and other gig workers who have lost their livelihoods because of the coronavirus pandemic would get some relief under the proposed new $2 trillion federal rescue package.
NPR
Coronavirus Live Updates
A "closed" sign is posted at the entrance of a New York State Department of Labor office in Brooklyn. With millions of people filing for unemployment benefits, state employment agencies have been overwhelmed around the country.

Advice On Filing For Unemployment Benefits: Document Everything And Be Persistent

Mar 26, 2020
The number of jobless claims hit an all-time record, with 3.3 million claims in the last week alone. With so many people filing, there are glitches. Experts offer suggestions on how to get through.
NPR
The Coronavirus Crisis
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell leaves the Senate floor on Wednesday as the U.S. Senate was poised to pass a massive relief package for Americans and businesses ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic.

What's In It For You? $1,200 Checks, 13 Weeks Of Unemployment Payments And More

Mar 25, 2020
Congress has announced agreement on a $2 trillion economic relief package for the effects of COVID-19. Most households will get a relief check, and unemployment insurance has been greatly expanded.
KNPR
Newscast headlines

Utah Says It Is Owed Millions In Unemployment Benefits From Government Shutdown

Jan 31, 2019

The state of Utah is reporting it needs to recoup millions of dollars in unemployment benefits resulting from the government shutdown.

KNPR
KNPR's State of Nevada

Over 50 and Out of Work

Aug 13, 2012
Studies say the longer you’ve been unemployed, the harder it is to find work.
KNPR
KNPR's State of Nevada

Voices of the Unemployed: Jennifer McGrath

Aug 25, 2010
Jennifer McGrath has two kids, no job, and no money for food. Her employer laid her off when he closed shop, and she's been jobless for more than a year.

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