Jobs Situation in the Midwest 2011 vs 2010

From the BLS: Among metropolitan areas in the 12 states of the Midwest region, the largest over-the-year employment increases from September 2010 to September 2011 occurred in Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, Illinois (+21,100), followed by Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington (+20,100), and Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin, (+17,400).

[Chart data]

Among metropolitan areas in the Midwest, 28 reported over-the-year decreases in nonfarm payroll employment, 62 reported increases, and 3 had no change in September 2011.
Sandusky, Ohio, reported an over-the-year percentage gain in employment of 7.0 percent (one of the nation's largest). St. Joseph, Missouri, recorded the largest percentage decrease in employment among metropolitan areas in the Midwest (−4.0 percent).
Among large metropolitan areas (metropolitan areas with annual average employment levels above 750,000 in 2010), two in the Midwest each had large over-the-year percentage decreases in employment: Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, Ohio, and Indianapolis-Carmel, Indiana (−0.3 percent each).
Bismarck, North Dakota, recorded the lowest unemployment rate in the Midwest (2.5 percent), followed by Fargo, North Dakota (3.3 percent), and Lincoln, Nebraska (3.5 percent).

[Chart data]

Ames, Dubuque, and Iowa City (all in Iowa), Mankato-North Mankato, and Rochester (both in Minnesota), Omaha-Council Bluffs (Nebraska), Grand Forks (North Dakota), and Rapid City, and Sioux Falls (both in South Dakota) all recorded unemployment rates between 4.0 and 5.0 percent in September.
September's highest unemployment rates in Midwest metropolitan areas were recorded in Rockford, Illinois (13.4 percent), Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Michigan (11.7 percent), and Kankakee-Bradley, Illinois (11.2 percent).

The Midwest BLS Information Office in Chicago has links to more data for the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin (which are all included in the Midwest region). The Mountain-Plains BLS Information Office in Kansas City services the states of Kansas and Missouri (which are included in the Midwest region), as well as Colorado, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming.

What's the Maximum Weekly Unemployment Benefit?

If you're recently unemployed, you may be wondering what the maximum weekly amount of money that you may be getting from the government. Fortunately, MSN Money published a comparison of how much your UI benefits could be... Note: The amount you get depends on the state in which you worked, not the state that you may move to during your jobless time.

Maximum Weekly Unemployment Benefit By State

1. Alabama - $255
2. Alaska - $370
3. Arizona - $240
4. Arkansas - $409
5. California - $450
6. Colorado - $475
7. Connecticut - $519
8. Delaware - $330
9. District of Columbia (Washington DC) - $359
10. Florida - $275
11. Georgia - $330
12. Hawaii - $545
13. Idaho - $362
14. Illinois - $385
15. Indiana - $390
16. Iowa - $443
17. Kansas - $423
18. Kentucky - $415
19. Louisiana - $284
20. Maine - $496
21. Maryland - $380
22. Massachusetts - $628
23. Michigan - $365
24. Minnesota - $566
25. Mississippi - $230
26. Missouri - $320
27. Montana - $407
28. Nebraska - $308
29. Nevada - $362
30. New Hampshire - $427
31. New Jersey $584
32. New Mexico - $455
33. New York - $405
34. North Carolina - $494
35. North Dakota - $385
36. Ohio - $372
37. Oklahoma - $392
38. Oregon - $482
39. Pennsylvania - $539
40. Rhode Island - $528
41. South Carolina - $326
42. South Dakota - $285
43. Tennessee - $275
44. Texas - $378
45. Utah - $444
46. Vermont - $409
47. Virgina - $378
48. Washington - $541
49. West Virginia - $424
50. Wisconsin - $363
51. Wyoming - $387
    

The amount of money received during Tier 2 and Tier 3 payouts are the same as what is received during the first phase of unemployment. The numbers above do not include the extra $25/week that Obama approved, so your checks may actually be slightly higher, as long as the stimulus plan is still in affect.

How Many Weeks of Unemployment Insurance Do I get?

cnn has published data that shows how many weeks of UI benefits unemployed workers are eligable to receive. Wyoming gets the least amount of weeks (26 weeks), and a multitude of states are eligable for Tier 2 or Tier 3 benefits that could bring benefit checks coming for up to 79 weeks.

As of June 2009, the states that qualify for 79 weeks of UI benefits include:

1. California
2. Nevada
3. Oregon
4. Michigan
5. Colorado
6. Minnesota
7. Wisconsin
8. Indiana
9. Ohio
10. Kentucky
11. Georgia
12. North Carolina
13. Alaska
14. Florida
15. New Jersey
    

15 States have borrowed Federal Funds to pay UI benefits

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According to Data from May, 2009---14 states have borrowings from the federal government for funding of their depleted unemployment insurance funds---and in the coming months several more states will be added to the list.

Michigan, California, New York, Ohio and Indiana have borrowed the most money---while Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Wisconsin also have borrowed funds.

Unemployment Rate Map---April 2009

The AP has published a map showing the April 2009 unemployment rate by state (shown below)--For your reference point, the national average was 8.9%. Click on chart for a larger image

As you can tell by the chart the states with the worst unemployment are located in the West (California, Nevada, Oregon), Midwest (Michigan, Ohio) and SouthEast (The Carolinas)... And then there's the swatch of states spanning the length of the Mississippi River from the Great Lakes to the Gulf that have unemployment rates between 8.1% and 10%

Wisconsin's Unemployment Rate Jumps to 7.6%

According to the Milwaukee Business Journal Wisconsin's unemployment rate surged in January to 7.6%--This is up 1.8 percentages points from December, 2008---And as you can see in the chart below, significantly higher than the 4.4% unemployment rate that Wisconsin saw in January 2008.

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“The jump in Wisconsin’s unemployment rate underscores the economic challenges we face as a nation and why we are taking strong action through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to put people to work,” Workforce Development Secretary Roberta Gassman said. “In his budget, Governor Doyle has set a path for recovery, and here at DWD, we will do our part to help provide training and connect skilled workers with employers.”

Jobless in Wisconsin can expect $25/week more in unemployment insurance payouts

According to the Chicago Tribune residents of Wisconsin who are jobless and collecting unemployment insurance can expect to receive $25 per week in unemployment benefits beginning next week.

This increase in insurance payout comes from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (Stimulus Package) that was signed by Barack Obama last week.

Anyone getting state or federal unemployment automatically gets the extra $25 a week as long as they are eligible for benefits for the rest of the year.

Wisconsin provides unemployment benefits up to $363 a week for as many as 26 weeks. Those who exhaust those benefits may be eligible for federal extended benefits of up to 33 weeks.

15 States see 15%++ surge in food stamp demand

Earlier I blogged about the increase in food stamp usage in California, well things aren't that much better in the rest of the United States.

According to the USDA there are 15 states that experienced a 15%++ uptick in the number of households that receive food stamps (comparing October 2008 to October 2007).


Click on Chart for Larger Image

Some of the states with the highest populations (and highest unemployment rates) also saw big increases in the number of people on food stamps. Notably, Texas (up 30%), Florida(up 26%), California (up 16%) and New York (up 16%).

You should expect that when new data is released showing December 2008 vs. December 2007, there will be even more states on this list.

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Wisconsin's unemployment rate is the highest since 1986

According to MSNBC, the 5.8% unemployment rate for Wisconsin in December, 2008 is the highest rate the badger state has seen in over 20 years (since 1986).

As I understand it, since Wisconsin has not (yet) had an average unemployment rate of at least 6% for 3 months, the Wisconites are not yet eligible for the Tier 2 unemployment insurance benefits.

Wisconsin's unemployment rate expected to peak at 8% in 2009

According to the just released Wisconsin Economic Outlook" the unemployment rate is expected to crest at around 8% in late 2009. This compares to a 5.6% unemployment rate in November 2008 (According to the BLS).

They expect the most job losses to come from Construction, Manufacturing and Trade, Transportation and Utility sectors.

Wisconsin hires more workers to deal with rising rates of unemployment claims

[Bloggers comment, "Unfortunately, the creation of jobs to deal with handling unemployment claims is not going lead to falling unemployment rates any time soon."]



Workers hired to deal with unemployment claims

Associated Press
12:31 PM CST, December 27, 2008

MADISON, Wis. - The state has hired 83 more workers to deal with a surge in unemployment claims.

Department of Workforce Development spokesman Richard Jones says the new short-term workers have already been hired and will boost the group by 20 percent.

Some are agency retirees and will start by January at hourly salaries of between $15 and $17 an hour.

Preliminary state figures show Wisconsin lost 32,400 jobs in November compared with the same month in 2007, falling to 2.87 million, while the unemployment rate shot upward that month.

The workers' salaries are federally funded and will cost about $215,000 a month.

The hiring comes as Gov. Jim Doyle wants to reduce the number of state workers by 700 in response to a $5.4 billion projected state budget shortfall.

The 20 States with the highest unemployment rates in November 2008

1. In November 2008, there were 20 states with unemployment rates greater than 5%. And 9 states (+ the District of Columbia) have unemployment rates greater than the national average. In November 2008, there were 20 states with unemployment rates greater than 5%. And 9 states (+ the District of Columbia) have unemployment rates greater than the national average.

The States with the highest unemployment rates in November were:

• Michigan--9.6%
• Rhode Island--9.3%
• California--8.4%
• South Carolina--8.4%
• Oregon--8.1%
• Washington DC--8.0%
• Nevada--8.0%
• North Carolina--7.9%
• Georgia--7.5%
• Florida--7.3%
• New York--6.1%
• Massachusetts--5.9%
• Colorado--5.8%
• Arkansas--5.7%
• Idaho--5.7%
• Texas--5.7%
• Vermont--5.7%
• Delaware--5.6%
• Wisconsin--5.6%
• Louisiana--5.3%
• Maryland--5.3%
  

Wisconsin Unemployment fund is runny on empty

The Wisconsin Unemployment fund is seeing 40% more claims being filed now vs. one year ago. Currently the fund has only $290 million in reserves and could run dry in February 2009--after which time Wisconsin may need to borrow from the Feds.

You can see a video about the situation here:
http://www.wkowtv.com

If you need more information about Wisconsin's Unemployment Insurance program check out: http://www.dwd.state.wi.us/ui/

Unemployment claims up in Wisconsin

Unemployment claims up in Wisconsin; benefits fund may run empty in 2009

By Patrick Thornton
For the Wausau Daily Herald

New unemployment claims are growing at a rate of 30 percent from last year, and the state likely will run out of money to pay benefits by early next year.

Wisconsin has an estimated $374 million in the unemployment insurance reserve, money used to pay displaced workers who qualify for unemployment benefits. For the first time since 1982, the state will need to borrow money from the federal government to make payments, said Dick Jones, a spokesman for the state Department of Workforce Development.

The fund is supported by money from employers, but there is more money going out in this weak economy, Jones said. During the week of Nov. 17, the state received 17,591 new unemployment claims, up 6,500 from the same week last year.

"We have been consistently saying that the country is in the middle of a major economic crisis, which presents major challenges for all of us," Jones said. "And things may get worse before they get better."

People who qualify for unemployment will continue to receive payments. This week, Gov. Jim Doyle extended the time someone can collect unemployment. The state pays for 26 weeks of unemployment, and the federal government will pay for an additional 20 weeks.

Louis Rozner was laid off in October after 25 years working for the town of Plover. At 55 years old, he worries he is too close to retirement age to be attractive to a potential employer.

"I'm still in shock, a month later," he said. "I'm looking for work, and there's not a lot out there, from what I'm finding."

Sally Cutler, executive director of the North Central Wisconsin Workforce Development Board in Wisconsin Rapids, expects more layoffs after Jan. 1. But she said job loss can be an opportunity.

"For people who weren't working at their full potential, it's a chance to regroup and assess their skills and get some new training to help them get the positions that are out there," she said.