US Workforce Development / Layoffs At State Unemployment Agencies

Businesses added 166,000 jobs in January, the U.S. Labor Department announced Friday, while the government eliminated 9,000. The twin trends have been a signature of the past three years of economic recovery.

For some state workforce agency staffers, the overall improvement is bad news. With fewer people claiming unemployment insurance benefits, state unemployment agencies will need fewer workers to process the claims, meaning hundreds of workers will lose their jobs.

It happened in Arizona last week, when the state Department of Economic Security laid off 29 call-center staffers thanks to a decline in federal funding associated with a drop in unemployment claims.

“At this point, we have utilized all available funds to maintain customer service levels, but due to the decline in federal funding, we will need to make staff reductions and program changes this year,” Jim Apperson, assistance director of the department’s Division of Employment and Rehabilitation Services, said in a statement.

Similar layoffs have occurred in California, Michigan and Rhode Island. And the National Association of State Workforce Agencies says it’s going to keep happening.

Of the 40 states that responded to the association’s December survey, 22 said they planned to cut staffing levels this year. The total reduction at those agencies will amount to the equivalent of 1,255 fewer full-time jobs, according to the survey. Most states said laid-off workers would have to wait longer for services as a result.

Choosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor from

via Improving Jobs Picture Means Layoffs At State Unemployment Agencies.

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