Jobless

Many conservatives have accused unemployment insurance of creating a population of slacker, couch-bound stoners (several states have made drug tests a requirement of benefits). But an analysis by Bloomberg has found that the ultimate pinnacle of hard work and success -- millionaires -- raked in almost $80 million ...

By Tami Luhby NEW YORK -- The average time Americans spent unemployed dropped a record 2.8 weeks in January ... but hold the applause. The reason is likely because many people ran out of unemployment benefits so they stopped looking for work, experts said. ...

By James MacPherson BISMARCK, N.D. -- Home improvement retailer Menard Inc. says that it will hire workers from its home base in Wisconsin and fly them to North Dakota to staff a store in Minot, which is near the state's booming oil patch, a region that has more jobs than takers. The company said in a ...

Discrimination against the unemployed is rampant. Some job ads explicitly require applicants to be "currently employed," and Americans who have been out of work for a year or longer report employers rejecting them as soon as that tidbit comes out. And this is legal in virtually every state. A congressional ...

When President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney go head-to-head for the first time tonight, Americans will be looking to answer two questions: Did Obama, given the free-falling economy he faced when he entered office, do a good enough job of fixing it? And who will be better for the ...

Employers have been open about their disdain for the unemployed -- some companies even specify in ads that they will only consider candidates who already have jobs. But according to a new survey, companies would sooner hire a worker convicted of a misdemeanor than the long-term unemployed. Bullhorn, a ...

I can only talk to Steve Ray after 9 p.m. That's when he has unlimited minutes, and since his parents pay his phone bill, he tries to keep it to a minimum. Ray turned 44 the day we spoke. He's been unemployed for 2½ years. In 2009, Ray and his wife sold their home in Georgia, declared bankruptcy, ...

New claims for unemployment benefits fell slightly last week, government data on Thursday showed, suggesting that the labor market continues to expand at a moderate pace. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 370,000, the Labor Department said. The prior ...

By Lindsey Tanner CHICAGO -- One in 3 young adults with autism have no paid job experience, college or technical schooling nearly seven years after high school graduation, a study finds. That's a poorer showing than those with other disabilities including those who are mentally disabled, the researchers ...

Maryland has joined a growing list of states considering legislation to protect the unemployed. Legislators there are weighing a bill that would prevent employers from limiting applications for open positions to only those currently holding jobs. Advocates nationwide argue that such laws are needed given the ...

By Christopher S. Rugaber WASHINGTON -- The number of people seeking unemployment aid fell last week, a sign that companies are cutting fewer jobs and likely stepping up hiring. Weekly unemployment applications fell 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 367,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week ...

The crisis of jobless youth might be seen as mostly a problem for jobless youth, the so-called "lost generation," and many of their parents, too, who are providing shelter for their 20-something offspring in record numbers. But it's a problem for the country, too. According to a new report, every unemployed ...

One problem that has bedeviled many jobless workers is the inability to apply for jobs simply because some employers won't consider them. Now, President Barack Obama wants to end the practice by making it illegal for employers to discriminate against job candidates because they are unemployed. ...

By Alexandra Alper Mary Kay Coyne (pictured left) has just filed what she says is her 1,862nd job application since being thrown out of work three years ago. She is one of millions of Americans whose unemployment benefits have expired -- after 99 weeks in many states -- as the United States suffers its ...

If you focus on the fact that the American economy added 290,000 jobs in April -- an unexpectedly high number, you won't be so discouraged by the news that the unemployment rate rose to 9.9 percent, according to the latest numbers released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. ...

While unemployment rates are higher this March than they were last March, the latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveal that unemployment was up in 321 of the 372 metropolitan areas, but lower in 41 areas, and unchanged in 10 areas. Twenty-eight areas recorded jobless rates of at least 15.0 ...

While unemployment numbers changed very little last month from the month before, there were actually 17 states plus the District of Columbia that registered lower unemployment rates and others that added jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unemployment was reduced in five states. Still, for ...

Believe it or not, in January, nonfarm payroll employment actually increased in 31 states and the District of Columbia. The five states with the biggest employment increase are: California(+32,500) Illinois (+26,000) New York (+25,500) Washington (+18,900) Minnesota (+15,600). ...

It's no surprise that recently released numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that 31 of the 32 metropolitan divisions in the US reported overall employment losses in 2009. What might come as a mildly pleasant surprise to some, however, is that one city area actually showed an employment increase ...