News
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...
Pay no attention to Friday’s jobs numbers
William Rodgers, professor of public policy and chief economist at the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University, said he expected the unemployment rate to soon surpass the Great Recession high of 10%. “What is so chilling is that that took...
Coronavirus batters US economy as 6.65m file for unemployment last week
The US now faces the sharpest rise in unemployment in its history, a surge that is already highlighting income inequality across the nation and comes as the global economy goes into a nosedive that is likely to exacerbate the situation in the months ahead....
New Jersey extends fiscal year over coronavirus concerns
New Jersey on Wednesday became the first U.S. state to extend its fiscal year as it deals with the health and economic fallout from the spreading coronavirus, pushing back the original end date by three months. Democratic Governor Phil Murphy and legislative leaders...
Heldrich Center services during the COVID-19 economic and workforce crisis
The John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development has extensive experience from our work during and after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the Great Recession, and Superstorm Sandy. We have a deep understanding of the programs and strategies that can help people,...
Coronavirus could lead to the highest unemployment levels since the Great Depression
Rutgers economist William Rodgers III (a former chief economist at the Department of Labor) and the Century Foundation’s Andrew Stettner built a model using these kinds of unemployment claims numbers to predict the unemployment rate. Plugging in the most recent claims...
Coronavirus NJ: Unemployment website frustrates; should you look for a new job now?
It isn't clear how long it will take for unemployed workers to begin to receive financial relief, said Carl Van Horn, founding director of the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University. "These are jobs (available) right away," he...
Many public employees cannot work from home. Towns are searching for new options.
Marc Pfeiffer, assistant director of the Local Government Research Center at Rutgers University’s Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, said municipal officials need to update their understanding of computer systems as well as their software. “It’s not...
NJDOL: Financial Assistance Available for Employees, Businesses Impacted by COVID-19
New Jersey Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo MS '99 (Public Policy) on the new one-stop jobs portal to match job-seekers with immediate openings at businesses serving on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic: “We all have a role to play in making sure...
Alumni panel on hazard mitigation intersects with global issues
The event provided students with guidance on what a career in hazard mitigation could look like.
In Troubling Times, We Still Need to Consider Major Fiscal Issues
Richard Keevey, former New Jersey budget director and a Bloustein School practitioner in residence, reminds us that while health concerns dominate the news, it’s also important to review the major finance issues the state will soon be facing, including revenue...