Iowans looking for work won a big victory today when a district court ruled Governor Terry Branstad’s veto closing down 36 workforce centers across Iowa was unconstitutional. “After working together across party lines last session to make sure Iowans who need help finding a job could get it, I’m pleased the court overturned Governor Branstad’s veto [...]
Iowa Workforce Development released last week that Iowa's unemployment rate has remained stable for the second consecutive month, at 6.1 percent. The total number of working Iowans rose to 1,576,500 in January, the highest level reported since April 2009. The January figure was up from 1,572,900 in December, and was 13,400 higher than the year ago [...]
While unemployment numbers continue to rise, Iowa continues to buck the regional trend of our neighboring states with unemployment of 8% and above. Iowa has made historic investments into infrastructure and renewable energy and those investments are paying off with lower than average (for the region) unemployment numbers. (Image from Huffington Post)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5XhPWBFTdk[/youtube] Led by State Representative Wayne Ford, D-Des Moines, the Iowa House approved House File 623 on Thursday to provide up to 26 weeks of additional unemployment benefits for laid off workers who are retraining for occupations that are determined to be areas where the number of available jobs is growing. These added retraining benefits will [...]