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NYT: Milions of Unemployed Face Years without Jobs

A discussion of long-term unemployment

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Announcing the 2010 Heartland Conference - take part in the discussion!

The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA) Region 5, in conjunction with the Great Lakes Employment and Training Association (GLETA), is hosting the Heartland Conference to be held April 7-9, 2010 in Chicago, IL at the downtown Hyatt Regency Hotel. Don't miss the opportunity to connect with Heartland 2010 presenters and participants. We will be posting many of our upcoming Conference sessions. Share your ideas and best practices, post your comments and help build an interactive learning community. STAY TUNED, TAKE PART IN THE DISCUSSION & REGISTER TODAY!

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The U.S. Department of Labor Announces the Results of its “Tools for America's Job Seekers Challenge”

Finding a job in today's economy is hard work, and job seekers need to have the best tools at their fingertips. To help uncover new and effective on-line job search and career advancement tools, DOL challenged entrepreneurs and organizations to showcase their online solutions, and invited workforce system decision-makers and job seekers to explore, comment on, and recommend tools.

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Social Media and Reemployment

With U.S. unemployment hovering near 10%, jobseekers are increasingly turning to their social networks for job leads, employer information, and moral support. A brief scan of the blogosphere results in wealth of advice for the unemployed, with topics ranging from a grounding in social media etiquette to the tangible steps jobseekers can take to create a strong brand using web 2.0 technologies. In his Personal Branding blog for Business Week, Dan Schawbel, author of Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success, argues that LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and blogging are much better tools for finding jobs that speak to a jobseeker's unique passions and interests as compared to the traditional job board. Skip Job Boards and Use Social Media Instead by Dan Schawbel http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jul2009/ca20090728_587107.htm

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GAO Study: Unemployment Insurance: Better Data Needed to Assess Reemployment Services to Claimants

2005 Report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on Human Resources, Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representatives

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Highlights of Reemployment Technical Assistance Efforts

Want answers and ideas as to what communities across the country have done, and plan to do, to better understand the unemployed segment of their talent pool and connect them to jobs? Then, we've got a story along with PowerPoint to tell and show you! ...About a year and half ago, DOL began to brainstorm some technical assistance efforts to reconnect Unemployment Insurance (UI) claimants to reemployment opportunities. One question that came up was how are regions tapping the unemployed worker segment of their talent pool? This generated more questions like -- are they being connected to growth occupations? Are regions doing skills based matching and analysis? What jobs are growing and how do we connect the unemployed to these opportunities on the other side of the economic downturn? We thought regions would know the demand occupations and would have done the homework to understand the skill-sets of other segments of the talent pool -- possibly incumbent workers and youth. Still we were uncertain...what about the unemployed workers? Had regions mapped out the skills of the unemployed workers? Had the regions analyzed how these skills transferred to current employment opportunities in the region? Had the regions identified skill gaps with businesses experiencing labor shortages...or were poised to experience a labor shortage on the other side of the economic downturn? The result of a study conducted as part of the Reemployment technical assistance effort has been added to the Reemployment Community of Practice. We encourage you to check out this Webinar recording and PowerPoint and look forward to feedback.

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Resources

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Health Coverage Tax Credit and Reemployment: The View from Colorado

My name is Shannon Gutheil and I was asked to highlight the experiences I have had working with trade-affected individuals first-hand and how the HCTC Program has helped them. Over the last 6 years working with trade-affected workers there have been many challenges they face and health care is one of the biggest. The HCTC program and benefit has been able to help alleviate some of the stress that comes with layoff. When people find out about HCTC I see the light go on in their eyes and a smile emerge on their face. They sometimes can’t believe what they are being offered. The details and process are sometimes hard for them to grasp, but once they understand what steps they need to take to access HCTC benefits you hear a sigh of relief. For many workers, continuation of health care is an option they grapple with over and over because of bottom line costs. They are trying to answer the questions “How am I going to keep health care with COBRA costs being so high? How am I going to take care of my family if they get sick without insurance?” These are questions I hear at my desk almost daily when working with trade-affected workers. A great percentage of workers we serve on the front lines are the sole carriers of health insurance for their families and when they loose their jobs this compounds their stress levels, which in turn can increase their risk for getting sick – thus meaning they need to keep their health care coverage even more. Knowing they have HCTC available to them, as long as they meet all criteria, can help relieve this burden and help them focus on re-tooling their skills and/or gaining new employment. When trade-affected workers utilize and are eligible for HCTC benefits, it is truly a great benefit to have available. Shannon Gutheil, TAA Counselor at the Ft. Collins Workforce Center, Colorado