The COVID-19 global pandemic has left a record-number 22 million people – including over 700,000 within New Jersey – without jobs, wondering what the new normal will be when it comes to the economy and job-seeking in the future. Carl Van Horn, Distinguished Professor...
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In the News
How The Coronavirus Punishes Many Older Workers
The coronavirus pandemic unemployment numbers are numbing. In the three weeks ending April 4, the depressing tally is 16.8 million Americans have applied for unemployment benefits. The unemployment rate for workers age 55+ climbed from 2.6% to 3.3% in March, according...
Facebook, other apps have been so bad, but they can do so much good
Internet companies, as the world’s dominant information publishers, have profound social responsibility. They account for a large share of our nation’s economy as well. And, right now, they, including Facebook, Google and Twitter, among others, are showing their good...
Experts Stress Partnerships as COVID-19 Disrupts Supply Chain
Transportation agencies and planners should rely on communication and partnerships as they respond to immediate needs and assess long-term effects associated with the coronavirus. That was the assessment by Anne Strauss-Wieder, director of freight planning for the...
Local governments face financial crunch from coronavirus
The coronavirus pandemic has wrecked state finances – ballooning its spending, decimating its tax collections, requiring a federal rescue to keep it afloat. Similar stresses, though not as severe, are faced by local governments. “What they have in common primarily is...
Why black Americans are at higher risk for coronavirus
The widespread shutdown of non-essential businesses has hurt black and Hispanic workers at a higher rate. William Rodgers, chief economist at the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University, estimated that the true rate of unemployment is likely...
COVID-19 testing failure falls primarily on Trump administration
Any assignment of responsibility must recognize that doing so is complicated. A disaster of the magnitude of the spread of the COVID-19 virus has no single origin. But at the same time, this complexity should not deter us from trying to understand what happened. While...
People die if we don’t have a clear, unified message about the virus
In a crisis, consistent, responsible, and factual information needs to be disseminated by all sources regardless of political affiliation. The deep divide between conservatives and liberals has sadly manifested in creating a divided American society. This divide is...
Cafeteria workers need support during the COVID-19 pandemic
The halls of K-12 schools across the country are eerily quiet, as teachers and students stay home to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Yet cafeteria workers are reporting to work, figuring out innovative ways to serve children free, nutritious school meals in...
Early coronavirus job losses hitting minorities, women, teens particularly hard
The pandemic has so far resulted in 701,000 lost jobs according to the March jobs report. And that doesn't even include the nearly 10 million people who filed for jobless benefits in the last two weeks. While the unemployment rate increased to 4.4% from 3.5% in the...