Unemployment

We had a visit from our son, Tom, a few days ago. We are always delighted when he can spend some time with us. Not only are his visits a sentimental occasion, when we remember and laugh at highly embarrassing moments from our mutual past, but this is when urgent technical needs are met. This is when batteries and bulbs are replaced, entertainment centers are reprogrammed and elderly parents are generally restored to the world of contemporary lives, to...

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rates in both Franklin and Fulton counties improved in December, according to the latest data from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. The rate in Franklin County fell two-tenths of a percentage point in December to 8 percent. In Fulton County, the rate went from 13.1 percent in November to 12.8 percent in December. The labor department’s analysis stated Franklin County’s rate decreased one full percentage point since December 2009.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama took aim at Republican lawmakers Monday, accusing them of holding the public hostage to Washington politics by blocking extended unemployment benefits for millions of out of work Americans. "It's time to do what's right, not for the next election, but for the middle class," Obama said in a presidential jawboning statement in the Rose Garden Monday morning. Lawmakers have battled for weeks over legislation extending unemployment benefits to workers who have been out of a job for long stretches of time.

HARRISBURG, Pa. - Despite a surge in wholesale and retail jobs heading into the holidays, unemployment was up in both Franklin and Fulton counties in November, according to preliminary figures released today by the Pennsylvania Depatment of Labor and Industry. The jobless rate in Franklin County increased from 3.8 percent in October to 4.2 percent in November, the report said. In Fulton County the rate went from 3.3 percent to 3.7 percent. The number of non-farm jobs increased by 500 to 56,200.

CHAMBERSBURG, PA. - Unemployment was unchanged at 4.3 percent in Franklin County for July and the jobless rate fell in Fulton County, although that number did not reflect JLG Industries layoffs that began in August, according to preliminary figures released Monday by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. The number of people working in Franklin County fell by 600 to 79,900, mostly the result of a fall in local and state government employment, led by school district and college personnel idled by summer vacations, said Ryan Horner, an industry and business analyst with the department.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A record 20 million-plus people collected unemployment benefits at some point in 2009, a year that ended with the jobless rate at 10 percent. As the pace of layoffs slows, the number of new applicants visiting unemployment offices has been on the decline in recent months. But limited hiring means the ranks of the long-term unemployed continues to grow, with more than 5.8 million people out of work for more than six months. The number of new claims for jobless benefits dropped last week to 432,000, the Labor Department said Thursday, down sharply from its late March peak of 674,000.

CHAMBERSBURG, PA. ? A moratorium on new sewer connections in the Chambersburg metropolitan area might have contributed to a dip in construction jobs in September. But the rest of Franklin County's economy continued to hum along as schools reopened, retail employment grew and unemployment fell, according to preliminary figures from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. The nonseasonally adjusted jobless rate for the county fell from 3.3 percent to 3 percent ? right where it was in September 2006, according to department statistics.

Staples lays off 25, but unemployment rates dip By STACEY DANZUSO chbbureau@innernet.net CHAMBERSBURG, Pa . - Unemployment rates in Franklin County dipped in December, but another company announced the layoff of 25 workers this week. The national office supply chain Staples let go 25 employees at its Chambersburg distribution center Wednesday as part of a seasonal adjustment, said Deborah Hohler, a Staples spokeswoman. That leaves 179 workers at the distribution center, she said.

High unemployment, cold temperatures and declining federal allocations to the Maryland Energy Assistance Program could mean lower subsidies for the about 4,000 Washington County households seeking help with their heating bills this winter. Congress funded the federal Low Income Energy Assistance Program for fiscal 2010 at about $5 billion, resulting in $85 million for Maryland's energy assistance program, said David G. Jordan, executive director of the Washington County Community Action Council, which administers the program locally.

Coming Saturday Unemployment: How high is Washington County's jobless rate?

The unemployment rate in Washington County fell from 9.4 percent in January to 8.8 percent in February, and the number of people working and the total labor force also dropped, according to preliminary figures released Friday by the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. From December to January, the county jobless rate rose from 8.9 percent to 9.4 percent as the labor force - the combination of people employed, unemployed and looking for work - rose by more than 2,800, last month's report said.

The first unemployment report for Washington County in 2013 shows the jobless rate rose from 8.9 percent in December to 9.4 percent in January as the labor force added more than 2,800 people, according to preliminary figures released Friday by the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. The number of people in the labor force - the combination of people working and seeking employment - rose from 69,060 in December to 71,893, the nonseasonally-adjusted report said. The number of people working was up from 62,907 in December to 65,155 in January, an increase of 2,248, the report said.

New businesses off Exit 17 of Interstate 81 in Franklin County, Pa., helped the county's unemployment rate drop to 6.4 percent in November. The county's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased two-tenths of a percentage point from October to November, according to the latest data from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry. Neighboring Fulton County's seasonally adjusted rate increased one-tenth of a percentage point to 8.7 percent. Labor department analysis indicated the new Olive Garden, Texas Roadhouse and LongHorn Steakhouse off Exit 17 contributed to a 300-job increase in the leisure and hospitality sector.

Maryland's preliminary unemployment rate dropped slightly in November, down 0.1 percent to 6.6 percent as compared to October's rate of 6.7, according to figures released Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The state's rate checks in a full percent lower than the national rate of 7.7 percent for the month, a 0.2 percent drop from October's revised rate of 7.9 percent, figures show. As far as jobs, Maryland experienced “a smoothing out of recent hiring,” as November's preliminary numbers show a loss of 3,100 jobs, survey data shows.

The Berkeley County Council on Thursday agreed in a 4-0 vote to settle a lawsuit by a county employee, who claimed she was wrongfully terminated in October 2011. Sharon Chaffee, who filed the lawsuit in April, was reinstated as an at-will employee in the Berkeley County assessor's office in June 2012. Chaffee will be paid a total of $58,000 for back wages, repayment of unemployment benefits, general damages and attorney fees and costs, according to settlement terms released Thursday by Berkeley County Council attorney Norwood Bentley III. Chaffee is to receive $23,070 in back wages and unemployment benefits, which will be paid from the Berkeley County assessor's budget, said Bentley in an email response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed Thursday by The Herald-Mail.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Franklin County held steady from August to September, but it increased two-tenths of a percentage point in neighboring Fulton County, according to the latest data from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. Franklin County's rate remained unchanged at 6.8 percent. Fulton County's rate worsened from 8.8 percent to 9 percent, labor department data shows. Since a year ago, Franklin County gained 1,100 jobs. Its manufacturing sector gained jobs in September and reached 8,700 jobs, the highest level since February 2009.