WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the U.S. Government, through efforts of the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City, signed an updated bilateral cooperative agreement with Guatemala to facilitate increased transparency, accountability and worker safety in the H-2 nonimmigrant visa programs for temporary workers from Guatemala.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of approximately $2,500,000 million in grants through the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) that incentivizes workplace diversity and facilitates access to good jobs for American workers.

These awards will help state workforce agencies streamline their business processes and systems to reduce the processing backlog, including the number of accumulated certification requests that employers have submitted and await processing.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today the availability of up to $40 million in funding in the Rural Healthcare Grant Program to address rural healthcare workforce shortages in communities across the country.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today awarded a total of $32,000,000 in Workforce Information Grants to States (WIGS) for use by states and territories to support the development, management and delivery of workforce and labor market information.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of three Dislocated Worker Grants (DWGs) totaling $11,150,278 to Oklahoma, Washington and Wisconsin, to help address the workforce-related impacts of the coronavirus public health emergency.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today awarded a grant of $1,052,528 to the State of Maryland in a cooperative agreement to support Maryland’s Workforce Information Technology Support Center (WITSC).

In the week ending September 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 884,000, unchanged from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 3,000 from 881,000 to 884,000. The 4-week moving average was 970,750, a decrease of 21,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 750 from 991,750 to 992,500.

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WASHINGTON, DC – Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor took a range of actions to aid American workers and employers as our nation combats the coronavirus pandemic.

Reopening America’s Economy:

In the week ending August 29, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 881,000, a decrease of 130,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 5,000 from 1,006,000 to 1,011,000. The 4-week moving average was 991,750, a decrease of 77,500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 1,250 from 1,068,000 to 1,069,250.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor announced the disbursement of $646 million in Employment Service Grants to improve the functioning of the nation’s labor markets by providing labor exchange services to all job seekers and helping businesses to meet their hiring needs by referring qualified workers.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of two Dislocated Worker Grants (DWGs) totaling $13,500,000 to help address the workforce-related impacts of the public health emergency related to the coronavirus. These awards are funded under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which provided $345 million for DWGs to prevent, prepare for and respond to coronavirus.

WASHINGTON, DC –The U.S. Department of Labor today announced $100 million in funding to support state efforts to combat fraud and recover improper payments in the Unemployment Insurance (UI) program, including those programs created under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

WASHINGTON, DC – Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor took a range of actions to aid American workers and employers as our nation combats the coronavirus pandemic.

Reopening America’s Economy:

In the week ending August 22, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 1,006,000, a decrease of 98,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 2,000 from 1,106,000 to 1,104,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,068,000, a decrease of 107,250 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 500 from 1,175,750 to 1,175,250.

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WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) and Employment and Training Administration (ETA) both published guidance related to the reopening of schools.

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia today announced the award of nearly $20 million in funding to four states as part of a new pilot program to address the health and economic impacts of widespread substance and opioid misuse, addiction and overdose by providing retraining and other services to workers in communities significantly impacted by the opioid crisis.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of $80,684,142 in grants through the National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP) to provide career services, training services, youth services, related assistances, and housing services to eligible migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their dependents.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced additional funding of $7,334,788 for a Disaster Recovery National Dislocated Worker Grant awarded to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity in response to Hurricane Michael.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency issued an emergency declaration for the State one day prior to the storm’s landfall on Oct. 10, 2018. These funds will allow grant participants to continue the ongoing cleanup and recovery efforts in 35 counties. 

In the week ending August 15, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 1,106,000, an increase of 135,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 8,000 from 963,000 to 971,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,175,750, a decrease of 79,000 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 2,000 from 1,252,750 to 1,254,750.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S.