Tag Archives: unemployment

Reopening roundup redux

Posted on April 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

More news about that thing that Greg Abbott is making us do. Health experts give Abbott’s plan to reopen Texas mixed reviews, warn state should revive stay-at-home order if surge emerges: Diana Cervantes, director of the epidemiology program at the … Continue reading →

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HISD should not be on the hook for North Forest’s liabilities

Posted on September 18, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Come on! Fourteen months after the Texas Education Agency ordered Houston ISD to take over the long-troubled North Forest school district, some unexpected disputes over funding have surfaced. The Houston school board has authorized its attorneys to challenge a Texas … Continue reading →

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From the “If pigs had wings” department

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It’s never a bad time to construct a counterfactual. What if Rick Perry had never said, “Oops”? What if he could have, for Christ’s sake, just remembered that he had wanted to gut the Department of Energy? What if he … Continue reading →

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Thinking outside the box on the city’s finances

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve seen the ideas generated by the Long Term Financial Management Task Force, which I thought lacked a certain amount of breadth to its perspective. Here’s a taste of what else might be out there to think about. Good Jobs … Continue reading →

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How’s that Texas miracle going?

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Not so good. The Texas unemployment rate reached 8.5 percent in August, its highest rate since June of 1987. That’s an increase from 8.4 percent in July. Those numbers come from the U.S. Department of Labor. The numbers were confirmed … Continue reading →

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Our education gap

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Apparently, we have one in Houston. The Houston area doesn’t have enough educated workers to fill all the jobs that local industry creates, according to a study released today by the Brookings Institution. That education gap, in turn, pushes up … Continue reading →

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On Texas’ government jobs

Posted on September 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Since I had previously complained about a lack of acknowledgement by Texas writers about the role that growth in the public sector has played in the so-called “Texas Miracle”, I want to give credit where it is due. In the … Continue reading →

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Texas’ unemployment rate spikes

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Texas unemployment rate hits its highest mark since 1987. That’s probably not the kind of headline Rick Perry wants to read right now. As Gov. Rick Perry touts job creation and limited government on the campaign trail, the Texas’ unemployment … Continue reading →

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Non-robust job numbers in Texas

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

As goes the country, so goes the state. The Houston area is showing signs of a slowdown after coming off some fairly strong job gains during the winter months. “It’s very consistent with the national pattern,” said Barton Smith, professor … Continue reading →

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Subsidies for jobs

Posted on May 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s be clear about what this is, shall we? When Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst crisscrossed the state last year touting his program to provide state subsidies to anyone who would hire unemployed workers, Texas employers lined up. To the state’s … Continue reading →

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The Lege’s job killing budget

Posted on March 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Do you think this is what all those people who came out to vote last November had in mind? The Legislative Budget Board, a nonpartisan state agency that helps lawmakers with budget numbers, predicts that House version of the 2012-2013 … Continue reading →

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What about the jobs?

Posted on March 24, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

With all of the public sector job cuts coming, will the private sector pick up the slack? This Statesman story paints a picture that I think is a tad bit too optimistic. Government employment, which includes local school districts and … Continue reading →

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Budget cuts are bad for the economy

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

In case you missed this last week. Texas’ cuts-only approach to its budget shortfall won’t solve the state’s long-term fiscal problems, according to Standard & Poor’s, a major bond rating agency. “We believe that a balanced approach that includes both … Continue reading →

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Happy talk about Texas employment

Posted on January 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

2010 was a better year for employment in Texas than 2009 was. Texas employers expanded payrolls by 20,000 jobs in December, the third straight month the state has gained jobs, according to data released Friday by the Texas Workforce Commission. … Continue reading →

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Texas 20/20 on the budget

Posted on July 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Via First Reading, a group called Texas 20/20 has taken a look at what other states have done to deal with their budget shortfalls, and how that may apply to Texas in next year’s legislative session. The author is former … Continue reading →

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We have a new illustration of “chutzpah”

Posted on July 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From Sen. John Cornyn, who knows a thing or two about shamelessness. Sen. John Cornyn pinned Democrats with the failure of a plan to extend jobless aid for millions of unemployed workers, only a day after Democrats fell a vote … Continue reading →

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How to really put the unemployed to work

Posted on July 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Workforce Commissioner Tom Pauken has the germ of a good idea here. Unfortunately, he’s incapable of seeing what it is, and so goes off a cliff with it. “Even in good economic times, there were people in Texas who … Continue reading →

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Some good job news

Posted on June 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a start. At least, I hope it’s a start. A surge in temporary federal Census Bureau jobs coupled with new leisure and hospitality positions helped local employers create 20,200 new jobs during May. The data, released Friday by the … Continue reading →

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(A little bit of) job growth returns to Houston

Posted on May 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a start. From small hand-lettered signs on shop windows to Fortune 500 heavyweights hosting job fairs, Houston companies are once again starting to look for workers. The influx of new jobs helped push the Houston area’s unemployment rate down … Continue reading →

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Just a reminder about Perry’s unemployment tax increase

Posted on May 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Lisa Falkenberg watches some video of Texas Workforce Commission Executive Director Larry Temple testifying before the Senate and reiterates something we knew. Temple acknowledged Thursday to the Senate Committee on Economic Development that Texas’ decision not to take $556 million … Continue reading →

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The recession and the Texas Enterprise Fund

Posted on January 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

A report worth reading from Texans for Public Justice: The global recession that hit Texas in 2008 is playing havoc with Governor Perry’s signature business-incentive program: the Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF). A review of 45 TEF projects that received $363 … Continue reading →

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Unemployment up in Texas

Posted on January 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Not the kind of story Rick Perry wants to see with an election coming up. The state’s economic recovery hit a snag in December, as employers cut 23,900 jobs after expanding payrolls in October and November. The Texas unemployment rate … Continue reading →

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Unemployment taxes triple

Posted on December 9, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here comes the Rick Perry unemployment tax increase that we’ve been waiting for. Nearly two-thirds of Texas businesses will see the unemployment taxes they pay per employee per year nearly triple – from $23.40 to $64.80 – under rates announced … Continue reading →

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Playing politics: Not just for the Forensic Science commission

Posted on October 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Hey, you know that two billion dollars of federal funds we need to borrow to shore up the unemployment insurance trust fund? I’m sure you’ll be shocked to hear that Rick Perry’s appointees on the Texas Workforce Commission are thinking … Continue reading →

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Always go to the source

Posted on August 29, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

If you find yourself in the position of needing to file for unemployment insurance from the state of Texas, be sure you go to the Texas Workforce Commission page to do it. Do not go anywhere else. As if it’s … Continue reading →

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It’s hard to be unemployed in Texas

Posted on August 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sure this comes as no surprise. If you lose your job in Texas, you may be out of luck in more ways than one. The Texas Workforce Commission rejected about a third of jobless claims last year and 27 … Continue reading →

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Watson on unemployment

Posted on July 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

State Sen. Kirk Watson reviews the bidding on how the state of Texas has handled its unemployment issues. As was noted during this past legislative session by Workforce Commission Chairman Tom Pauken (who was appointed by the Governor and once … Continue reading →

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More unemployed, fewer benefits

Posted on July 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Boy, no one could have predicted this. In a sign of lingering hardship, more than 15,000 Texans will lose their unemployment checks at the end of the month because they have exhausted their benefits after 59 weeks without a job. … Continue reading →

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From the “Things are tough all over” department

Posted on June 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Texas trying to keep up with unemployment claims. The rising number of jobless Texans has generated more claims than the Texas Workforce Commission can handle. The commission has added hundreds of workers and phone lines to call centers to deal … Continue reading →

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Whatever Ricky wants

Posted on May 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s too early to say how much of Rick Perry’s self-proclaimed agenda will get enacted this session, as much of it hinges on the budget reconciliation process as well as on legislation that hasn’t been taken up by one chamber … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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More unemployment funds available

Posted on May 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The bad news is that Texas’ rate of unemployment continues to rise. The good news is that this means more federal funds for unemployment insurance are available, and these come with no conditions on them. Texas now qualifies, thanks to … Continue reading →

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UI update

Posted on April 12, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The headline says it all: GOP holds key to unemployment stimulus dollars. Against the wishes of Gov. Rick Perry, lawmakers are pressing ahead with efforts to claim $555 million in federal economic stimulus money for unemployment benefits. With all of … Continue reading →

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Oh by the way, the unemployment trust fund is going broke

Posted on April 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Floor Pass has the bad news. The Texas Workforce Commission released its latest projection for the unemployment insurance trust fund balance, and the news is even worse than last month’s. TWC estimates the fund’s balance will have plummeted to just … Continue reading →

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Property values declining

Posted on March 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. The housing slump that has battered much of the country for two years finally has trickled down to Harris County, where residential property values have declined or stagnated for the first time … Continue reading →

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