Employment

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell for the seventh straight week, to a pandemic low of 268,000.

Americans quit their jobs at a record pace for the second straight month in September, in many cases for more money elsewhere as companies bump up pay to fill job openings that are close to an all-time high.

Maintaining productivity through a pandemic and a derecho — as well as operational success, not to mention continued hiring and retention — over the past 20 months have had a direct, permanent impact on how organizations function, Gazette business panelists say.

Beth Livingston, assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship at the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business, is one of a team of investigators that’s among the first to look at how artificial intelligence could affect the future of clerical work.

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell to a fresh pandemic low last week, another sign the job market may be healing after last year's coronavirus recession. But in Iowa, initial jobless claims rose to 2,172 — a slight increase from the previous week’s 2,030.

With policy changes to unemployment benefits yet to result in a boost to workforce numbers in Iowa, businesses continue to search for ways to fill jobs and to keep employees they already have -- many now raising wages, offering bonuses and adding perks.

While disagreeing with the Biden administration's plan to mandate vaccines or testing, business organizations in Iowa say Iowa’s new law puts employers at risk of facing federal penalties and could worsen the workplace shortage.

Nursing home leaders across the state have been working to increase the number of staff fully immunized against COVID-19. A federal mandate expected this month also aims to do the same thing -- but many across Iowa’s industry say the new rule could have a detrimental effect.