Unemployment

Seasonally Adjusted Data

October 15, 2009 -- In the week ending Oct. 10, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 514,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 524,000. The 4-week moving average was 531,500, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's revised average of 540,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.5 percent for the week ending Oct. 3, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's revised rate of 4.6 percent.    » read more »

10/15/2009 -- WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today certified the release of $84,979,841 in unemployment insurance (UI) modernization incentive funds to the state of Colorado. The state qualified for the remaining two-thirds of its share of funds available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) by making it easier for unemployed workers seeking part-time work and those unemployed for compelling family reasons to be eligible for benefits.    » read more »

October 14, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C.- Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today that the Bureau of Reclamation has awarded American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding to additional tribes to help improve infrastructure and water supplies while bringing jobs to Indian country.

Today’s announcements apply to five tribes that will receive a total of $47 million-the Three Affiliated Tribes of North Dakota; the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota; and the Navajo Nation in New Mexico. Reclamation previously has awarded $97 million and will award a total of $157 million in recovery funding to tribes for their water systems.    » read more »

In radio address, governor says program achieves goal 10 months ahead of schedule

October 16, 2009 -- LANSING - In her weekly radio address, Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today celebrated a milestone in the state's No Worker Left Behind program: more than 100,000 people have now enrolled in the job-training program.

"We launched No Worker Left Behind in August 2007 as part of our plan to transform Michigan's economy," Granholm said. "No Worker Left Behind provides qualifying participants two years of free tuition up to $10,000 at any Michigan community college, university, or other approved training program."    » read more »

Oct. 15, 2009 -- Colorado Governor Bill Ritter Jr. today announced the release of new reports that outline how funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are being used in every county across Colorado. The 64 reports can be found here and are the first of several new sources of data that will be released in the next few weeks to help Coloradans track Recovery Act dollars.    » read more »

State Report on Recovery Contracting Shows Significant Investment, Job Creation

Washington, Oct 15, 2009 -- Members of Maryland’s Congressional Delegation issued the following statement today after the Obama Administration released preliminary Recovery Act reporting on federal contracting for each state.

The data reports that Maryland contractors have been awarded a total of $590 million and have directly saved or created approximately 965 private sector jobs. Today’s numbers are the first to be issued by the independent Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, and are a preview of the comprehensive Recovery Act report to be released on October 30th.    » read more »

October 16, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. John Spratt (D-SC) issued the following statement today on the failure of the State of South Carolina to enact legislation allowing for 20 additional weeks of unemployment benefits.

"When my staff and I discovered in an analysis we conducted that the State of South Carolina had failed to enact legislation to allow for 20 additional weeks of unemployment benefits – 100% federally funded through the Recovery Act – I was astounded.    » read more »

October 16, 2009 -- CHICAGO, IL – Fifty thousand unemployed workers in Illinois will lose their unemployment benefits by the end of the year if legislation to extend those benefits isn’t approved by Congress, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said today.

The extension would provide benefits for an additional 14 weeks for jobless workers in all 50 states, and would add six weeks of insurance for jobless workers in states with unemployment above 8.5%, which includes Illinois. The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation authorizing the extension, and the Senate will continue debating the legislation next week.    » read more »

Oct. 15, 2009 -- CHARLESTON -- West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin, along with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the West Virginia Division of Highways, this week announced the awarding of 26 projects as part of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act totaling approximately $6.3 million.

These grants will provide West Virginia communities with funding assistance for the design and development of non-traditional projects such as improving safety for pedestrians and bicyclists through the construction of sidewalks and trails.

Listed by county, grant recipients for 2009 ARRA funding include:

BERKELEY
$329,000 to the City of Martinsburg for the Martinsburg Town Square Pedestrian Plaza

BROOKE
$200,000 to the City of Wellsburg for the Wellsburg Sidewalks 2009    » read more »

Rhode Island Governor Donald L. Carcieri and the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources (OER) today issued contracts to the state’s seven regional Community Action Program Agencies (CAP agencies) to distribute $12.2 million for the statewide Weatherization Program, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Under the Recovery Act, Rhode Island will received $20 million in weatherization funds.    » read more »

Oct. 15, 2009 -- Harrisburg – The commonwealth’s first Citizens’ Update on its Recovery Act spending and programs is now available at www.recovery.pa.gov, Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell said today.

The report, produced by the state’s Office of Accountability, provides a user-friendly narrative that expands on the required quarterly federal reports the commonwealth submitted on Oct. 9.

“Pennsylvania is among the top 10 states in terms of putting its Recovery transportation funds to use,” Rendell said. “We also want to be among the best in transparency. That means providing timely and easy-to-understand information to our citizens about how we are investing Recovery dollars. The Citizens’ Update is part of doing just that.”    » read more »

U.S. Treasury’s tax credit exchange funds to restart 10 projects, create jobs

BOSTON – October 15, 2009 – As part of the Patrick-Murray Administration’s Massachusetts Recovery Plan to secure the state’s economic future, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick today announced that the state will utilize $50.3 million in federal recovery funds to create hundreds of jobs and revive affordable housing developments stalled throughout the Commonwealth due to the lack of equity available in low-income housing tax credit markets.    » read more »

Businesses Also Eligible for Solar Thermal Grants

October 14, 2009 -- Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced the state is dedicating $4 million in federal stimulus funds to help homeowners and businesses pay for the installation of solar-powered hot water heating systems, an investment that will lower utility bills and promote the use of alternative fuels.

“I am proud of Connecticut’s leadership in promoting and using greener, cleaner technology,” Governor Rell said. “This incentive will help hundreds of families and businesses make the switch to renewable energy by saving them money on installation costs and ultimately their hot water bills. It would also be a much-needed boost in business for those who sell and install these systems.”    » read more »

Funding Provided by the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act

Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor and U.S. Representatives Marion Berry (AR-01), Vic Snyder (AR-02), and Mike Ross (AR-04) today announced $5.1 million for forest service projects in Arkansas. The funds are allocated through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and provided by the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act.    » read more »

October 15, 2009 -- (Washington, DC) -- Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-Wisc.) today announced that three Milwaukee research facilities will receive a combined $3,940,596 in Recovery Act dollars to fund cutting-edge medical research in the Milwaukee area.

The grants are provided through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Marquette University will receive $2,003,655 to fund nine research projects, the BloodCenter of Wisconsin will receive $1,123,553 to fund five projects and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee will receive $813,388 to fund four projects.    » read more »