The May 2021 Jobs Report: Inequities and Employment Barriers Persist Amidst Lower Unemployment

By FRANK STRICKER The good news: the unemployment rate fell from 6.1 percent to 5.8 percent and the number of added payroll jobs doubled from 266,000 in April to 559,000 in May. But the latter was, again, less than the average prediction. Also, at this rate job totals won’t return to pre-pandemic normal until late… Read More The May 2021 Jobs Report: Inequities and Employment Barriers Persist Amidst Lower Unemployment

June 11, 2021June 11, 2021 Chuck BellLeave a comment

The WPA’s Federal Theatre: Creating Jobs and Creative Achievement

Hallie Flanagan, Director of the FTP Flanagan on CBS Radio for the Federal Theatre of the Air, 1936. Courtesy, Wikipedia Commons. By TRUDY GOLDBERG and SHEILA COLLINS A brief but spectacular achievement, the New Deal’s Federal Theatre Project (FTP) (1936-1939) provided jobs for some 13,000 destitute people at its height and created and produced 63,600… Read More The WPA’s Federal Theatre: Creating Jobs and Creative Achievement

June 10, 2021June 11, 2021 Chuck BellLeave a comment

Environmental Group Joins the Fight for a Federal Jobs Guarantee

Sunrise Movement calls for a Green New Deal in Chicago, February 2019. By GREGORY N. HEIRES An environmental activist group has included the federal jobs guarantee as a key component of its national campaign to address the climate crisis. The Sunrise Movement’s campaign for a Green New Deal includes a call for investing $10 trillion… Read More Environmental Group Joins the Fight for a Federal Jobs Guarantee

June 10, 2021June 11, 2021 Chuck BellLeave a comment

NJFAN Mourns Passing of Founding Member David R. Gil

By TRUDY GOLDBERG and STEPHANE MONROE TOMCZAK David Georg Gil, a founding member of the National Jobs for All Network, died on March. He was 96. Gil was professor of social policy and director of the Center for Social Change at the Brandeis University Heller School, where he was on the faculty for 46 years.… Read More NJFAN Mourns Passing of Founding Member David R. Gil

June 10, 2021 Chuck BellLeave a comment

Inflation Threat: How Bad Are Recent Job and Inflation Reports?

By FRANK STRICKER There was bad news about the economy in April. However, some of the bad news was really about the good news that the economy is opening up, and people and businesses wanted to buy more stuff. Let’s look at the details. Higher Inflation The consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.8 percent in… Read More Inflation Threat: How Bad Are Recent Job and Inflation Reports?