Vermont labor
officials say hundreds of people could lose their unemployment
benefits if Congress fails to avert the so-called fiscal cliff. The federal
unemployment insurance program that has been providing additional weeks of
benefits to the long-term unemployed is set to expire.
Vermont’s unemployment rate has climbed again. The state Department of Labor says
the rate for July was 5.7 percent. That’s up two-tenths of a
percentage point from July.
Vermont’s landfills are few, and some of what we throw away is now trucked out of state. We look at how solid waste is handled, and efforts to divert more of away from landfills.
(Host)
The House has approved legislation that’s designed to create new job
opportunities for members of the Vermont National Guard who recently returned
from a year-long deployment in Afghanistan. The chairman of the House commerce committee says the bill is needed because as many as 30% of the 1500 Guard
members who served in Afghanistan are out of work.
Governor Jim Douglas and Democratic leaders have reached a compromise that will erase a growing deficit in the state’s unemployment insurance fund. The agreement calls for businesses to pay more, while workers will see a freeze in benefits.
According
to a new report, unemployment in Vermont dropped faster than in any other state in the country
last month. But state officials believe the good news is going to be short
lived and doesn’t represent a turnaround for the state economy.
Parricia Moulton Powden, Warren Kitsmiller and Michael Marcotte talk with VPR’s Jane Lindholm about the status of the state’s unemployment insurance fund
Vermont’s unemployment insurance fund is running out of money. We discuss options for restoring it to health. And Candace Page reports on the status of wind projects around the state.