Christine Tartaglione's Labor Report

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) is reminding individuals who applied for Unemployment Compensation (UC) on or after March 15, 2020, they may need to reapply and have their financial determination renewed if they are still receiving benefits.

In previous years, most people were only eligible for benefits for 26 weeks, however the federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) and the state Extended Benefits (EB) programs have made many people eligible for benefits for more than a year.

Due to the surge in claims from the COVID-19 pandemic, hundreds of thousands of individuals will reach this one-year mark in the next few weeks and the requirements of the state or federal program may require them to refile their claims to continue receiving unemployment benefits.

Individuals receiving benefits through the UC program and its two extensions, Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) and Extended Benefits (EB), should refile their claim at the end of their benefit year if they have earned wages during the previous 12 months. Reapplying may be necessary because financial determinations only cover a one-year span. Individuals on the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program will be notified if they need to refile their claim.

Visit this link to view a chart explaining who must re-apply for unemployment benefits: Extension Program Benefits Chart

An individual can find their benefit year end date on the system where they file their claims, as well as on their financial eligibility determination document.

To refile, follow the same procedure as when the claim was first opened:

UC staff will review the application once received to make sure individuals are eligible for a new UC claim.

Most individuals will continue receiving their payments as normal. However, some individuals with complex situations may experience a delay while L&I staff conducts a review. While the new application is being processed, claimants should continue filing their biweekly claims.

L&I has also partnered with PA CareerLink to identify individuals who are reaching the end of their unemployment benefits and provide individualized employment services to assist them with rejoining the workforce.
For more information and updates on the unemployment program, visit www.uc.pa.gov or follow L&I on Facebook or Twitter.

PA Labor & Industry Secretary Joins Growing Chorus of Women to Advocate for Raising Minimum Wage

Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry Acting Secretary Jennifer Berrier joined the growing chorus of women who are calling for the General Assembly to raise the state’s minimum wage for the first time in more than a decade.

The acting secretary hosted a virtual news conference featuring a woman business owner from Harrisburg who also supports a higher wage floor for all workers.

Senator Tartaglione, whose Senate Bill 12 proposes to raise the minimum wage to $12 this year and to $15 by 2027, delivered remarks during the event, as did state Representative Patty Kim, who has introduced similar legislation in the House.

“Over the past decade, prices for food, housing, education, childcare, and other critical needs have increased significantly while the minimum wage earned by Pennsylvanians has remained stagnant,” Acting Secretary Berrier said. “While every state surrounding us has recognized this loss of purchasing power and increased their minimum wage, we have continued to fall further behind. Now many Pennsylvanians are facing job loss and have no savings because they were working jobs that paid too little to allow them to set aside money for emergencies. We cannot let this crisis continue – we need to raise our minimum wage now and allow hardworking Pennsylvanians the dignity of providing for themselves.”

The acting secretary introduced Andrea Grove, who founded Elementary Coffee Company in Harrisburg in 2014. The business now has two locations. Grove stated that her business would be worth nothing without the contributions of her employees. As such, paying fair wages to her employees is the first priority of her budget.

“As the government continues to fail its working class by not raising the minimum wage, perhaps as a community, we can prove to them that raising the wage is as simple as placing value on human lives over products, politics, and class differences,” Grove said. “Hopefully, all together, we can move forward into a future in which we respect each other’s work and we each can live off of an equitable wage.”

Senator Tartaglione remarked that raising the minimum wage would help reduce wage inequality for women, lift families out of poverty, and stimulate local economies.

“It is unacceptable that the greatest burden of low wages falls on Pennsylvania’s women,” the senator said. “Among the 1.1 million workers who would directly benefit from our minimum wage proposal, more than 60% are women.”

Businesses that already pay a $15 minimum wage know that it improves employee retention, customer service, and overall productivity.

“They also recognize that higher wages are an investment in the local economy,” Senator Tartaglione said. “Employees who earn more money are likely to spend more money in the communities where they live and work.”

Visit www.PayPAWomen.com for information about Pennsylvania’s minimum wage, sign up for updates, share your story, and contact your legislators in support of raising the minimum wage.

Commonwealth Launches Schools-to-Work Grant Program to Help Prepare Young People for High-Demand Professions

Senator Tartaglione applauded the announcement by Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry Secretary Jennifer Berrier that the Commonwealth has made $2.6 million in grants available for a new Schools-to-Work program.

The funding will support partnerships among schools, employers, organizations, or associations to create employment and training career paths for students. Two years ago, Senator Tartaglione introduced legislation proposing to create a similar program.

“The Schools-to-Work grants will create tremendous opportunities for Pennsylvania's young people by helping them make the leap from school to lucrative careers,” the senator said. "I am very grateful to the Wolf administration for implementing and funding a program similar to the Schools-to-Work legislation I proposed in 2019.”

Schools-to-Work is a component of Gov. Tom Wolf’s $3 billion Back to Work PA workforce development plan to prepare workers for the post-pandemic economy.

“The Schools-to-Work program grants will create hands-on learning opportunities for students, including apprenticeships, workplace visits and internships that will create career paths to employment or secondary education,” Acting Secretary Berrier said. “These funds will help ensure that our workers obtain the industry-recognized skills, certifications or college credits needed to put them on a solid career path to employment and help meet current and future labor market needs.”

The governor has made strengthening Pennsylvania's workforce a priority. His Back to Work PA plan would tackle numerous barriers to employment identified by the bipartisan Keystone Economic Development and Workforce Command Center, including the lack of workforce development and available training Pennsylvanians need for high-demand, good-paying careers.

Schools-to-Work grants will be awarded and funded competitively in increments up to $250,000 to create learning opportunities for participating students that will include classroom training, workplace visits, internships, apprenticeships, mentorships, employment opportunities, job shadowing or externships. Applicant proposals must focus on building programs that will fill current and anticipated labor market needs in a given geographic area.

Eligible applicants must be an entity that is or will be registered with L&I as a pre-apprenticeship program and which will have the full responsibility for the administration and operation of the Schools-to-Work program. This applicant or program sponsor must be partnered with at least one school in a school district, charter school, regional charter school, cyber charter school, intermediate unit or career and technical school.

The Schools-to-Work grants are funded by federal Reemployment funds, which are used to support programs and services that assist individuals with becoming employed or improving their employment, such as job search and placement services, educational enhancement, job training and job readiness and workplace skills training.

Additional details and the grant application for the Schools-to-Work grants can be found on L&I's website. Grant applications are due at 4:00 PM on April 14th, 2021, and the 2021 Schools-to-Work program will operate from June 1st, 2021, through December 31st, 2023.

January 2021 PA Jobs Update

Pennsylvania’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 7.3% in January 2021, up 0.2% over the month. The national rate in January 2021 stood at 6.3%. Following a decline after earlier stages of the pandemic, PA’s unemployment rate has risen 0.3% over the span of the last three months. However, PA’s rate in January 2021 was down 8.9% from its record high in the seasonally adjusted series of 16.2% in April 2020 (dating back to 1976). Between February and April 2020, Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate rose 11.2% (5.0% to 16.2%).

This and the other changes to data noted in this update reflect the evolution of Pennsylvania’s employment situation through the coronavirus pandemic. Over the month, unemployment rolls rose by 10,276 individuals, raising total unemployment to 458,164. Over the last three months, unemployment rolls have risen by 13,822, but in January 2021 were 564,871 below the series-record high of 1,023,035, recorded in April 2020. (Unemployment rolls grew by 698,985 between February and April 2020.) However, estimates for most states in the household survey (measuring unemployment and employment; see *footnote below) were again affected by misclassification from respondents in January 2021 (i.e. workers who should have been classified as unemployed were incorrectly categorized on temporary layoff).

As of January 2021, Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was 2.3% higher than its level of 5.0% in February 2020, with total unemployment 134,114 higher than the 324,050 individuals who were reported in February 2020. For context, Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate had declined 0.5% during Governor Wolf’s time in office as of February 2020, with total unemployment down by 28,827. State unemployment statistics for the month are as follows:

As indicated above, total unemployment’s rounded percentage of the labor force, or unemployment rate, rose over the month (rate = unemployment / labor force). The labor force is the number of employed individuals combined with the number of unemployed individuals actively searching for work. Labor force growth can be a sign of a strengthening economy from more people working and/or more individuals searching for jobs. PA’s labor force fell for a fourth consecutive month in January 2021, dropping by 14,687, a combination of total employment* declining by 24,963 and unemployment increasing by 10,276 as noted above. As a result, PA’s total labor force decreased to 6,295,363, a figure that was 42,893 more (unemployment -180,231, employment +223,124) than the pandemic-period low of 6,252,470 (August 2020).
As of January 2021, PA’s labor force was down by 233,135 individuals (unemployment +134,114, employment -367,249) from its level of 6,528,498 in February 2020, near the series record high of 6,533,827 (December 2019). For context, PA’s labor force had grown by 129,087 individuals (unemployment -28,827 & employment +157,914) during Governor Wolf’s time in office as of February 2020. State labor force statistics for the month are as follows:

Following a decline in December 2020, non-farm* employment in PA rebounded in January 2021 with 35,700 new jobs added, raising total non-farm jobs to 5,638,100. Since April 2020, non-farm jobs have grown in every month except for December 2020. Since hitting a series record low (dating back to 1990) of 4,962,900 in April 2020 (following a loss of 1,129,700 between February and April 2020), non-farm jobs have grown by 675,200.
As of January 2021, non-farm jobs stood 454,500 lower than their level of 6,092,600 in February 2020, near the series record high of 6,093,100 in January 2020 (please see the COVID-19 Job Impact chart below for comparison among states for change in non-farm employment from February 2020 to January 2021). For context, non-farm employment had grown by 278,700 during Governor Wolf’s time in office as of February 2020. State non-farm employment statistics for the month are as follows:

*Total employment for labor force provided by U.S. Census Household survey. The separate BLS Establishment survey measures non-farm jobs only.

COVID-19 Job Impact (February 2020 to January 2021)

(Ranked by non-farm % job change, seasonally adjusted; Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; Figures in thousands.)

January 2021 PA County Unemployment Rates

(Chart includes previous month’s rates and pre-pandemic rates; Source: PA Labor & Industry; Statewide rate (January 2021): 7.3%)

If Your Unemployment Benefits Year is Nearing an End, Here’s How You May Have to Re-Apply for an Extension

PA Labor & Industry Secretary Joins Growing Chorus of Women to Advocate for Raising Minimum Wage

Commonwealth Launches Schools-to-Work Grant Program to Help Prepare Young People for High-Demand Professions

January 2021 PA Jobs Update

COVID-19 Job Impact (February 2020 to January 2021)

January 2021 PA County Unemployment Rates