Economy

Internships: Low-Paid, Unpaid Or Just Plain Illegal?

NPR Staff — Sat, 18 May 2013 20:41:00 +0000

Summer is almost here, and with it comes the army of interns marching into countless American workplaces. Yet what was once an opportunity for the inexperienced is becoming a front-line labor issue.

More and more, unpaid and low-paid interns are feeling their labor is being exploited. Some are even willing to push back — with lawsuits.

One of the most high profile intern-versus-employer lawsuits suffered a setback last week that could have implications for other cases.

Colorado's Unemployment Rate Dips Below 7 Percent

Emily Boyer — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:42:26 +0000

Colorado’s unemployment rate fell to 6.9 percent in April. That’s two tenths of one percentage point lower than March’s rate of 7.1 percent.

Conflicting Signals From Latest Economic Indicators

Mark Memmott — Thu, 16 May 2013 12:57:00 +0000

Thursday morning's economic news:

-- There were 360,000 first-time claims for unemployment insurance last week, up 32,000 from the week before, the Employment and Training Administration says. At 360,000, the pace was the fastest since the last week of March.

An 'Entrepreneurial Seedling' Sprouts In Detroit

Lizzie O' Leary — Mon, 13 May 2013 21:22:00 +0000

Detroit is littered with empty warehouses — more than 7,000, by one estimate. They've become skeletons of the city's industrial past.

But not this warehouse, where Jennifer Blake is feeding quilted fabric through a sewing machine. She's making a coat. Fashioned with Velcro fastenings, it has a sleeping bag that slips out on the bottom, and is made of recycled car parts, she says.

Blake is one of a half-dozen women doing this in a sunny corner on the second floor of a 30,000-square-foot warehouse not far from downtown Detroit.

A First Job Is Like A First Date, And Other Advice For Graduation Day

Mon, 13 May 2013 13:22:00 +0000

We asked a bunch of economists what they would say if they were giving a commencement address this spring. Here are some excerpts from their responses.

Justin Wolfers:

Approach your career ambitions the same way you approached your romantic ambitions at college. Sure, you're looking for "The One," but the only way to find that is by going on a lot of dates. And you should think about your first job as a good first date. Try it out. If you like it, stick around for another year.