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Kings Dominion sets minimum wage at $13 for seasonal workers
Kings Dominion, the Doswell amusement park, has set its minimum wage for seasonal employees at $13 per hour, it announced Thursday. Previously, the base wage was $9.25. The park, owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Co., expects to hire 2,100 seasonal workers before reopening May 22, and it also is hiring 80 new full-time positions with […]
Labor market recovery slowed during early February
Labor market recovery slowed during the week of Feb. 7 through Feb. 13, according to Virginia Commonwealth University and Arizona State University economists. Between early January and early February, employment held constant at 68.6%, which is 5.2% lower than it was in February 2020, according to the Real-Time Population Survey conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University […]
Newport News Shipbuilding lays off 314 employees
Newport News Shipbuilding has laid off 314 salaried employees and demoted 119 managers in its first workforce reduction since the shipyard laid off 1,218 employees in 2015, according to a letter sent to employees by the company’s president, Jennifer Boykin. “Today is a tough day as we say goodbye to 314 fellow shipbuilders as part […]
Delegate celebrates passage of limited paid leave bill
RICHMOND,Va. — After four years and multiple bills, Del. Elizabeth Guzmán, D-Woodbridge, is on the cusp of being able to secure paid leave for some Virginia workers. “It feels really good,” Guzmán said. “I think about the amount of people who are going to get this benefit and how they will have peace of mind […]
Va. saw nearly 20% drop in initial jobless claims last week
Initial jobless claims filed last week fell 19.8% from the previous week, according to figures released Thursday by the Virginia Employment Commission but continued claims slightly increased. During the week ending Feb. 20, 11,944 Virginians filed initial unemployment claims, compared to 14,901 from the week prior. Last week, 64,575 Virginians remained unemployed; that represents 42,082 [&hellip[...]
GMU establishes President’s Innovation Advisory Council
George Mason University President Gregory Washington on Monday announced he has formed an advisory roundtable of nearly 30 regional business executives and community leaders to focus on the university’s innovation initiative. The President’s Innovation Advisory Council will focus on issues such as GMU’s efforts to increase the pipeline of tech workers. George Mason’s innova[...]
Initial jobless claims dropped 21.9% last week, but remain elevated
Initial jobless claims filed last week dropped 21.9% from the previous week, but still remain high compared with pre-pandemic levels, according to figures released Thursday by the Virginia Employment Commission. During the week ending Feb. 6, 14,203 Virginians filed initial unemployment claims, compared to 18,177 from the week prior. Last week, 65,091 Virginians remained unemployed, […]
Northam requests federal support to vaccinate federal employees
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser jointly issued a request Wednesday for federal support with vaccinating essential federal employees against COVID-19, many of whom live in the greater D.C. area. Northam, Hogan and Bowser sent a letter to the leaders of the U.S. Department of Health and […]
Virginia House advances paid leave bill for essential workers
RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill on Thursday which would provide paid leave to essential workers. House Bill 2137, introduced by Del. Elizabeth Guzman, D-Woodbridge, would require essential businesses to offer paid leave to their workers, according to the bill. Employees must be offered a minimum of one paid hour […]
Why the Richmond Fed has zero Black Ph.D. economists
The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond is one of only five Fed banks that employs zero Black Ph.D. economists, according to a New York Times report this week. Of the 12 Federal Reserve banks, seven employ only one or two Black Ph.D. economists, which Fed officials blame on lack of Black talent in the economics […]
Va. House kills bill requiring hazard pay for essential employees
RICHMOND, Va. — Lawmakers unanimously shot down legislation this week that would have required employers to provide hazard pay to essential employees and provide protective equipment in the event of a stay-at-home order. Del. Hala S. Ayala, D-Woodbridge, said she introduced House Bill 2015 to help protect and further compensate employees required to work during […]
5 ways Va. can put people back to work and transform higher education
It’s tempting these days to believe that once COVID-19 is contained, the U.S. economy will bounce back quickly, replenishing jobs and incomes lost in the pandemic. Yet there are early warning signs that when the labor market fully reopens, some high-demand jobs may be hard to fill even with millions of Americans looking for work. […]
