Two Minute Tips

Unemployment

Employees would rather quit than break their soul

Once you’ve heard it, it’s hard to forget the newest song released by Grammy Award Winner Beyoncé about alienation – and eventual redemption – from soul-crushing menial jobs. Whether it’s

Reporting lessons from May’s job numbers

Early in June 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the jobs numbers for May. The media rejoiced as though it were a brisk rain after a drought—which, in

Localizing state unemployment benefit claims

The CARES Act extends unemployment benefits to self-employed workers for the first time, but many states are scrambling to keep up with demand from furloughed workers, laid-off workers, freelancers impacted

Two story ideas for covering unemployment

The unemployment rate is one of the major indicators of a country’s healthy economy. There is a great deal of content available about unemployment and its implications in the U.S.

There's more than one unemployment figure each month. Here's how to dig into the report. (Image by "pixel2013" via pixabay CCO Public Domain)

Jobs number, part 2: Digging in

Proper reporting of the monthly employment report takes work. Read the BLS analysis. Along with notes and footnotes, it will explain factors which may have influenced the report. Report on

The monthly jobs number is transparent, and a little tricky. (Image by "skeeze" via pixabay, CCO Public Domain)

Jobs number, part 1: Transparency and trends

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Employment Situation Report for February on March 10, showing a healthy 235,000 gain in payroll employment. Asked what President Trump thought about the numbers,

In Ohio, a governor in the economic spotlight

Ohio Gov. John Kasich has seen his share of controversy since his election in 2009. Not long after, the state legislature voted to strip public employees of collective bargaining rights,

Getting the unemployment story right

Homey is back from vacation with the same mandate. As Yoda would say, “Butt, I will kick. Names, I will take.” As I write the unemployment report for August has

Microsoft layoff news prompts a look at job cuts

Word last week that Microsoft will be jettisoning 18,000 workers raises the specter of mass layoffs, a frequent occurrence several years ago but one we haven’t heard much about lately.

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