Flagler Beach government could make up to $3 million over 5 years by turning its streets into revenue-generating parking slots, but the city manager’s proposal faces stiff-but not unanimous–opposition from local residents and businesses, who fear jeopardizing the city’s charms and its appeal to tourists.
Jobs & Unemployment
U.S. Economy Adds 600,000 Jobs in 3 Months, But Unemployment Edges Up to 7.9%
The nation’s economy added 157,000 jobs in January, and revisions to November and December figures added 127,000 jobs to previous calculations, for a total of 600,000 new jobs in the last three months. Still, the unemployment rate went up a fraction, to 7.9 percent: job growth hasn’t been robust enough to go beyond the natural growth in the workforce.
Economic Growth Contracts By 0.1 Percent In Worst Showing Since 2009, With Asterisks
It is a sharp and unexpected decline from the previous quarter’s 3.1 percent growth rate, but may be due top one-time shocks, including a 22 percent decline in military spending and Hurricane Sandy. Several indicators, including personal spending and saving and residential investment, are encouraging.
Union-Busting’s Tasteless Florida Flavors
Labor union membership has been in precipitous decline since 1980, along with with a decline in job security, workers’ wages and benefits, and Americans’ standard of living. It’s not a coincidence, though the vilification of labor unions continues.
Union Membership in 2012: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Union membership in 2012 data by state, gender and other characteristics, including median salary earnings and other historical data, as released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Thanks and Reverence We Owe Undocumented Immigrants
We’ve admitted that these immigrants aren’t going away. Let’s admit our co-dependence, let’s restore their dignity, and America’s, and admit that illegal immigration is as American as apple pie, if not as American as empanadas.
Unemployment Rates in Flagler and Florida Improve Even as 15,300 Fewer Have Jobs
Unemployment in December fell to 8 percent in Florida and 11.2 percent in Flagler County, lowest in four years, yet Florida lost more than 15,000 jobs, and Flagler lost 76, as the weak recovery combines with harsher rules discouraging workers from seeking unemployment benefits or staying in the labor force.
In Latest Obstacle to Jobless Benefits, Florida Moves to Computer-Only System
Between Aug. 1 and Oct. 31, nearly 140,000 Floridians were denied benefits, more than double the rate of the same period a year earlier as eligibility requirements have been tightened and obstacles to get unemployment have multiplied.
Economy Unimpressively Adds 155,000 Jobs in Holiday Month as Unemployment Rises to 7.8%
The American economy cannot shake its anemia, adding 155,000 jobs in December–not quite good enough to keep up with normal growth in the labor force, as unemployment edged back up to 7.8 percent.
Florida’s Minimum Wage Rising by 12 Cents, to $7.79/hr, on Jan. 1
Florida’s minimum wage on Jan. 1 will increase 12 cents to $7.79 an hour for the estimated 210,000 minimum wage workers across the state, in line with a 2004 constitutional amendment requiring the annual adjustment.