Jobs

Jobs, jobs, jobs.

That’s been the national mantra since the Great Recession hit in 2008, and it does not seem to be going anywhere.

In our perpetual quest to illuminate U.S. connections with the world, Latitude News hit the streets of Danville, Illinois this week to ask people about the global economy.

Danville’s large local employers include a VA hospital, a Quaker Foods factory and an airplane parts maker, but folks in Danville said local job prospects were dismal.

Read full story here

CHAMPAIGN— Congress is expected to pass another unemployment extension this week that will allow the nation’s unemployed to claim up to a maximum 99 weeks of benefits through November.

This is good news for about 115,000 unemployed Illinois residents, who faced a loss of their unemployment benefits if Congress did not act.

As it is now, more than 36,500 residents have exhausted their unemployment benefits since January, according to data obtained from the Illinois Department of Economic Security.

Illinois topped the national unemployment rate in June with 10.4 percent of the state’s residents unemployed.  The unemployment rate nationwide was 9.5 percent in June.

By Dusty Rhodes—The next time you drive past a construction site, take a close look at the workers. Besides the hard hats and the steel-toed boots, you might notice that they have something else in common: Virtually all are white males.

All it takes is a hard hat, work boots and a GED. So why aren't more minorities employed in the construction industry?

All it takes is a hard hat, work boots and a GED. So why aren't more minorities employed in the construction industry?

All it takes is a hard hat, work boots and a GED. So why aren't more minorities employed in the construction industry?

All it takes is a hard hat, work boots and a GED. So why aren't more minorities employed in the construction industry?

All it takes is a hard hat, work boots and a GED. So why aren't more minorities employed in the construction industry?