U.S. Department of Labor

Unemployment Rate Down To 7.5 Percent

Fri, 03 May 2013 16:14:00 +0000

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

NPR's business news begins with some good economic news.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit 15,000 for the first time ever this morning. The S&P 500 also hit a record high. All of this came just after the release of a positive jobs report. The Labor Department says 165,000 jobs were created in April. Economist have been expecting about 150,000 new jobs last month.

It also turns out job creation in February and March was much stronger than originally reported. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate ticked down to 7.5 percent.

Labor Nominee's Civil Rights Work Draws Praise, Controversy

Carrie Johnson — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 01:44:00 +0000

President Obama's nominee to lead the Labor Department has been one of the most aggressive advocates for civil rights in decades.

New Federal Scrutiny In Wake Of NPR Grain Bin Reports

Howard Berkes — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 19:24:00 +0000

Congress, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Justice Department are beginning to respond to the NPR-Center for Public Integrity Series on hundreds of persistent and preventable deaths in grain storage bins and weak enforcement by federal agencies.

Two federal officials familiar with the case say that the Justice Department is again considering criminal charges in the incident in Mt.

Obama's Labor Nominee Faces GOP Opposition Over His Role In A Supreme Court Case

Carrie Johnson — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 22:18:00 +0000

Thomas Perez, the president's nominee to lead the Department of Labor and a high-profile Latino advocate for civil rights, is scheduled for a Senate confirmation hearing April 18.

Fines Slashed In Grain Bin Entrapment Deaths

Howard Berkes — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 16:41:00 +0000

The night before he died, Wyatt Whitebread couldn't stand the thought of going back to the grain bins on the edge of Mount Carroll, Ill.

The mischievous and popular 14-year-old had been excited about his first real job, he told Lisa Jones, the mother of some of his closest friends, as she drove him home from a night out for pizza. But nearly two weeks later he told her he was tired of being sent into massive storage bins clogged with corn.

Jones choked back tears as she recalled the conversation.