What's New
03.01.10 - BTOP Grant Awarded to South Central WorkSource - Secretary Locke announces recovery act investment in Washington to expand broadband internet access and spur economic growth. The grant will bring high-speed Internet access to more than 100 community anchor institutions – including community colleges, libraries, healthcare facilities, and government agencies
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02.23.10 - The Teanaway Solar Reserve Reaches Next Milestone - Cle Elum, Wash. – The Teanaway Solar Reserve (TSR) Monday delivered a supplemental Conditional Use Permit application to Kittitas County to support its request for a permit to construct a 75 MW solar photovoltaic generation facility outside of Cle Elum. If approved by the County, TSR will be one of the largest photovoltaic solar projects in the world.
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01.16.10 - 2009 LMEA Report Released - The 2009 Washington State Labor Market and Economic Report is available. This report was prepared by the Labor Market and Economic Analysis (LMEA) branch of ESD. Excerpt:
"Washington state employment peaked a little later
(February 2008) than did the nation, but didn’t
suffer sustained losses until the second half of
2008. Since February 2009, the state has registered
employment declines in 17 of the last 19
months. However, the state unemployment rate
has been lower than the national rate since spring."
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01.15.10 - Legislative Information Resource - Find bill summaries, status and committee schedules on workforce bills at this comprehensive web resource brought to you by the Washington State Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board (WTECB).
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01.13.10 - BLS Report: COUNTY EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES Second Quarter 2009. - The U.S. average weekly wage fell over the year by 0.1 percent in the second quarter of 2009. This is
the second consecutive over-the-year decline in average weekly wages and one of only four declines
dating back to 1978, when these quarterly data were first comparable. Large
employment and wage losses in both the financial activities and manufacturing supersectors contributed
significantly to the overall decline in the U.S. average weekly wages this quarter.
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12.23.09 - SUMMER JOBS: Murray Introduces Legislation to Put Young People to Work - Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) introduced legislation that would create 450,000 temporary jobs and training opportunities for economically disadvantaged youth across the country. Murray’s bill, the "Youth Jobs Act of 2010," would provide $1.5 billion through the Workforce Investment Act to stimulate local economies by building on and expanding the highly successful Recovery Act youth employment program.
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12.10.09 - Governor Gregoire postpones systems review report - On December 10, Governor Gregoire delayed the final report and recommendations of the current workforce development system review until March 31, 2010.
On December 7, the Workforce Board voted to recommend to Governor Gregoire that she extend the due date for recommendations from the Workforce Development System Review from December 15 to March 31, 2010.
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12.17.09 - House Jobs Bill Includes $1.25 Billion For WIA - The House passed a $150 billion jobs package late yesterday. The bill includes $1.25 billion in new funding for WIA programs, as well as an extension of unemployment insurance and COBRA benefits for laid off workers. Specifically, the House bill provides an additional $500 million for summer jobs this coming year and $750 million in new funding for RFP's in high demand professions, with the specific foci of the competitions on health care, green jobs, and energy efficiency jobs.
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