Articles Tagged: Unemployment

Erroneous payments were made during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic when unemployment claims surged as businesses closed

Higher interest rates increase the cost of doing business, which leads to a slowdown in all aspects of business, including hiring, and sometimes leading to layoffs.

Iowa Workforce Development recently announced plans to buy a 32-foot-long, custom-built bus to deliver workforce assistance to all corners of the state.

Unemployment insurance rates for Iowa employers will drop to a 24-year low, beginning in 2023, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced this week.

State says the outage does not affect any new or current unemployment claims

Starting Friday, Iowans will see reduced unemployment benefits. Child care providers will see relaxed regulations and third-party food delivery services will face fines for using a restaurant’s logo or menu without permission.

Iowa becomes one of just four states with 16 weeks or fewer of unemployment benefits.

Recap of news from across the state

Iowa will become just the fourth state with 16 weeks or fewer of state unemployment benefits under legislation that needs only Gov. Kim Reynolds’ signature to become law.

In addition to vouchers, K-12 transparency, unemployment benefits, a proposed ethanol mandate, and the bottle bill remain on lawmakers’ to-do list.

There appears to be some significant ground to cover before the Republican-led Iowa House and Senate reach an agreement on those issues.

GOP says changes needed to modernize, put focus on re-employment. The legislationm they say, updates a system from the 1930s when unemployment compensation was the sole safety net for out-of-work Iowans.

With just 23 calendar days — which means closer to 18 actual legislative work days, since lawmakers rarely work on Fridays — remaining until lawmakers’ expense reimbursements run out, the push to adjournment begins in earnest next week.

Iowa’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate in January dropped to 3.7 percent, down from 3.9 percent in December, according to Iowa Workforce Development.

Among the bills that need at least some movement to survive this week’s funnel deadline are Republicans’ attempts to address what they consider transparency in public school curriculum.