Valley gets $5M for green job training
Story by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
Blue Ridge Community College and James Madison University are among a group of Shenandoah Valley partners that will take part in a new program to train workers for jobs in the emerging green sector.
U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Jim Webb on Friday announced a $5 million investment from the federal economic-stimulus package that will go to the Shenandoah Valley Workforce Investment Board to get the job-training program off the ground.
“The formation of the Shenandoah Valley Energy Partnership is exactly the kind of forward-looking collaboration we need to help jump-start our economy and create next-generation jobs in the clean energy field,” said Sen. Warner. “This investment in training workers for new green energy represents an exciting opportunity for the entire Valley region.” Read more
Unemployment claims down last week
In the week ending July 4, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 565,000, a decrease of 52,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 617,000, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor today. Read more
Unemployment tops 8 percent
Unemployment was at a 25-year high in February, according to data released this morning by the United States Department of Labor.
The rate hit 8.1 percent nationally as 851,000 more Americans lost their jobs in the month. The job losses pushed the 12-month running total to 5 million. Read more
Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009
- Local News: Community Foundation announces creation of scholarship fund, Thursday, 6:45 p.m.
- Local News: Wine tasting Friday in Waynesboro, Thursday, 6:45 p.m.
- Sports: W&L baseball opens ’09 with win, Thursday, 6:45 p.m.
- Local News: EMU history prof traces life of 19th century explorer, author, Thursday, 2:50 p.m.
- Virginia Politics: Moran gets endorsements in Prince William, Thursday, 2:50 p.m.
- Virginia Politics: McAuliffe picks up more endorsements, Thursday, 2:50 p.m.
- Sports: ACC releases baseball TV schedule, Thursday, 2:50 p.m.
- Economy: Initial unemployment claims steady, Thursday, 9:30 a.m.
- Sports: VCU takes over first in CAA, Thursday, 9:30 a.m.
- Sports: Bridgewater knocks off EMU in OT, Thursday, 9:30 a.m. Read more
Unemployment, underemployment rates up again
Nearly 2 million Americans have lost jobs in the past three months, the U.S. Department of Labor is reporting this morning, pushing the nation’s unemployment rate to 7.6 percent.
All told, 11.6 million Americans are now listed as unemployed. Another 7.8 million people seeking full-time work are working part-time, a population that has grown 3.1 million over the past 12 months. Overall unemployment itself is up by 3.6 million dating back to the start of the economic recession in December 2007. Read more
