Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for nearly 63 million Americans will increase 1.5 percent in 2014, the Social Security Administration announced The 1.5 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits that more than 57 million Social Security beneficiaries receive in January 2014. Increased payments to more than 8 million SSI beneficiaries will begin on December 31, 2013. Some other changes that take effect in January of each year are based on the increase in average wages. Based on that increase, the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $117,000 from $113,700. Of the estimated 165 million workers who will pay Social Security taxes in 2014, about 10 million will pay higher taxes as a result of the increase in the taxable maximum. Information about Medicare changes for 2014 is available at www.Medicare.gov |
31 October 2013
• Social Security Announces 1.5 Percent Benefit Increase for 2014
• U.S. Real* Earnings – September 2013 [Inflation, wages, pay, salaries]
|
Real average hourly earnings for all employees were unchanged from August to September, seasonally
adjusted. This result stems from a 0.1 percent
increase in average hourly earnings being offset by a 0.2 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index
for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).
Real average weekly earnings decreased 0.1 percent over the month due to an unchanged real average hourly earnings and an unchanged average workweek.  The increase in real average hourly earnings, combined with an unchanged average workweek, resulted in a 0.9 percent increase in real average weekly earnings over this period. Source: USDOL-BLS *Note: Real earnings show the effect of inflation on your pay. If your salary went up by 2.1% over the year while the cost-of-living (CPI-U) rose 1.2%, then the “real” value of your salary rose by 0.9% [differences in some of the data are due to rounding and seasonal adjustment]. The figures reported here are earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls, seasonally adjusted. Click on chart to enlarge |
• U.S. Consumer Price Index – September 2013
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased
1.2 percent over the last 12 months to an index level of 234.149
(1982-84=100). For the month, the index increased 0.1 percent prior
to seasonal adjustment.
 The Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U) increased 1.2 percent over the last 12 months. For the month, the index increased 0.1 percent on a not seasonally adjusted basis. Please note that the indexes for the post-2011 period are subject to revision.  Click on either chart to enlarge See the complete report at this link: USDOL-BLS |
• U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims – 26 October 2013
[Jobless]
In the week ending October 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 340,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's unrevised figure of 350,000. The 4-week moving average was 356,250, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 348,250: The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.2 percent for the week ending October 19, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending October 19 were in Puerto Rico (4.4), Alaska (3.9), Virgin Islands (3.4), New Jersey (2.9), California (2.7), Connecticut (2.7), District of Columbia (2.6), Pennsylvania (2.5), Nevada (2.4), Illinois (2.3), New York (2.3), and Oregon (2.3). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending October 19 were in Kentucky (+96), Maine (+49), Delaware (+45), Minnesota (+39), and North Dakota (+32), while the largest decreases were in California (-13,033), Pennsylvania (-3,240), Maryland (-3,222), Illinois (-2,897), and New York (-2,810). Click on chart to enlarge Note: “Insured unemployment rate” refers to individuals who are unemployed and receiving UC benefits. Source: USDOL-BLS |
29 October 2013
• U.S. Producer Price Index – September 2013
| The Producer Price Index for finished goods fell 0.1 percent in September, seasonally adjusted. Prices for finished goods rose 0.3 percent in
August and were unchanged in July.
At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by producers of intermediate goods advanced 0.1 percent, and the crude goods index increased 0.5 percent. On an unadjusted basis, prices for finished goods moved up 0.3 percent for the 12 months ended September 2013, the lowest 12-month change since a 2.0-percent decline in October 2009. See the complete report at this link: USDOL-BLS |
24 October 2013
• Job Openings and Labor Turnover – August 2013
| There were 3.9 million job openings [sa] on the last business day of August, little changed from July.
The hires rate (3.3 percent) and separations [turnover] rate (3.2 percent) also were little changed in August [sa].  Click on chart to enlarge. See the complete report at this link: USDOL-BLS |
• U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims – 19 October 2013
[Jobless]
In the week ending October 19, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 350,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 362,000.  The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.2 percent for the week ending October 12, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending October 12 were in Virgin Islands (4.0), Alaska (3.7), Puerto Rico (3.5), New Jersey (3.0), Maryland (2.9), Connecticut (2.7), Pennsylvania (2.6), California (2.5), Illinois (2.4), District of Columbia (2.3), Nevada (2.3), New York (2.3), and Oregon (2.3). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending October 12 were in California (+11,781), Pennsylvania (+3,362), New York (+2,443), Illinois (+2,178), and South Carolina (+1,182), while the largest decreases were in Kentucky (-2,178), Ohio (-2,164), Minnesota (-1,375), Massachusetts (-1,059), and Hawaii (-705). Click on chart to enlarge Note: “Insured unemployment rate” refers to individuals who are unemployed and receiving UC benefits. Source: USDOL-BLS |
22 October 2013
• U.S. Employment Situation – September 2013
The unemployment rate, at 7.2 percent, changed little in September but has declined by 0.4 percentage point since June.
Click on chart to enlarge See the complete report at this link: USDOL-BLS |
21 October 2013
• U.S. Major Metro Areas: Employment and Unemployment – August 2013
 Nonfarm payroll employment was up in 288 metropolitan areas over the year, down in 72, and unchanged in 12. See the complete report at this link: USDOL-BLS |
17 October 2013
• U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims – 12 October 2013
[Jobless]
In the week ending October 12, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 358,000, a decrease of 15,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 373,000. The 4-week moving average was 336,500, an increase of 11,750 from the previous week's revised average of 324,750. Click on chart to enlarge The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.2 percent for the week ending October 5, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending October 5 were in Puerto Rico (3.9), Alaska (3.5), Virgin Islands (3.4), New Jersey (3.0), California (2.9), Connecticut (2.7), Pennsylvania (2.6), Illinois (2.3), Nevada (2.3), New York (2.3), and Oregon (2.3). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending October 5 were in California (+33,654), Maryland (+4,609), Ohio (+4,122), Michigan (+4,066), and Virginia (+3,927), while the largest decreases were in Oregon (-149), Puerto Rico (-77), Missouri (-50) and Nebraska (-26). Click on chart to enlarge Source: USDOL-BLS |
10 October 2013
• U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims – 05 October 2013
[Jobless]
In the week ending October 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 374,000, an increase of 66,000 from the previous week's unrevised figure of 308,000.  The 4-week moving average was 325,000, an increase of 20,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 305,000. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.2 percent for the week ending September 28, unchanged from the prior week's revised rate. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending September 28 were in Puerto Rico (4.0), Alaska (3.4), New Jersey (3.1), Virgin Islands (3.1), California (3.0), Connecticut (2.7), Pennsylvania (2.6), Illinois (2.4), Nevada (2.4), District of Columbia (2.3), and New York (2.3). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending September 28 were in Puerto Rico (+1,105), Oregon (+1,104), California (+1,045), Pennsylvania (+736), and Missouri (+561), while the largest decreases were in Michigan (-2,061), New York (-1,694), Florida (-1,349), Texas (-1,255), and Alabama (-1,008). Click on chart to enlarge Source: USDOL-BLS |
09 October 2013
• “Survey: Average 2014 U.S. Salary Increases to Remain at 3%”
 Read the full article at this link: SHRM.org |
08 October 2013
• “Plan to Minimize Spread of Flu and Legal Risks in the Workplace during Flu Season”
Read the full article at this link: JacksonLewis.com |
04 October 2013
• U.S. Help-Wanted Advertising – September 2013
”Online advertised vacancies were up 209,700 in September to 5,184,600, according to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine® (HWOL) Data Series released today. The September rise is the first rise of over 200,000 since December 2012. The September Supply/Demand rate stands at 2.3 unemployed for each vacancy with a total of 6.3 million more unemployed workers than the number of advertised vacancies. See the complete report at this link: The Conference Board |
03 October 2013
• “Employers Hold the Line on Health Benefit Costs”
| ”U.S. employers expect their health benefit cost per employee to rise by 4.8 percent, on average, in 2014, according to a survey by consultancy Mercer. Cost growth slowed to 4.1 percent in 2012, a 15-year low. The projected increase for 2014, while still relatively low, represents a slight uptick.”
See the complete report at this link: SHRM.org |
• U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims – 28 September 2013
[Jobless]
| In the week ending September 28, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 308,000, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 307,000. The 4-week moving average was 305,000, a decrease of 3,750 from the previous week's revised average of 308,750.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.3 percent for the week ending September 21, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending September 21 were in Puerto Rico (4.0), Alaska (3.2), New Jersey (3.1), Virgin Islands (3.0), New Mexico (2.9), Connecticut (2.8), Pennsylvania (2.7), California (2.4), Illinois (2.4), Nevada (2.4), Arkansas (2.3), and District of Columbia (2.3). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending September 21 were in Oregon (+489), New Jersey (+327), Massachusetts (+306), Colorado (+304), and Maine (+194), while the largest decreases were in California (-3,754), Georgia (-2,719), New York (-2,376), South Carolina (-1,516), and Washington (-1,178). Source: USDOL-BLS |
02 October 2013
• Filing Date for VETS100, 100A Extended
| The filing deadline for VETS 100 and 100A reports has been extended to October 31, 2013.
See the complete report at this link: USDOL |
01 October 2013
• USDOL Issues Final Rule on the Application of the Fair Labor Standards Act to Domestic Service
| Summary of the Major Provisions of the Final Rule:
This Final Rule makes changes to several sections of 29 CFR part 552, the Department's regulations concerning domestic services employment. The Department is slightly revising the definition of ``domestic service employment'' in Sec. 552.3 to clarify the language and modernize the list of examples of professions that fall within this category. This Final Rule also updates the definition of ``companionship services'' in Sec. 552.6 in order to restrict the term to encompass only workers who are providing the sorts of limited, non-professional services Congress envisioned when creating the exemption. Specifically, paragraph (a), which uses more modern language than appears in the 1974 amendments or 1975 regulations, provides that ``companionship services'' means the provision of fellowship and protection for an elderly person or person with an illness, injury, or disability who requires assistance in caring for himself or herself. It also defines ``fellowship'' as engaging the person in social, physical, and mental activities and ``protection'' as being present with the person in his or her home, or to accompany the person when outside of the home, to monitor the person's safety and well-being. Paragraph (b) provides that the term ``companionship services'' also includes the provision of care if the care is provided attendant to and in conjunction with the provision of fellowship and protection and if it does not exceed 20 percent of the total hours worked per person and per workweek. It defines ``care'' as assistance with activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living. Paragraph (c) provides that the term ``companionship services'' does not include general domestic services performed primarily for the benefit of other members of the household. Paragraph (d) provides that the term ``companionship services'' does not include the performance of medically related services, and it explains that the determination of whether the services performed are medically related is based on whether the services typically require and are performed by trained personnel, such as registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, or certified nursing assistants, regardless of the actual training or occupational title of the individual providing the services. To better ensure that live-in domestic service employees are compensated for all hours worked, the Department is also changing the language in Sec. Sec. 552.102 and .110 to require the keeping of actual records of the hours worked by such employees. The Department is revising Sec. 552.109, the regulatory provision regarding domestic service employees employed by third-party employers, or employers other than the individual receiving services or his or her family or household. To better ensure that the domestic service employees to whom Congress intended to extend FLSA protections in fact enjoy those protections, the new regulatory text precludes third party employers (e.g., home care agencies) from claiming the exemption for companionship services or live-in domestic service employees. See the complete report at this link: The Federal Register |