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Newsweek
7 days ago
- Business
- Newsweek
Map shows states with the highest increase in unemployment
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Some states saw higher increases in unemployment levels from February to April, according to new data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Massachusetts and Connecticut saw the highest jumps in unemployment percentage of all the states, with states like Ohio, Mississippi and Virginia not far behind. Why It Matters A substantial number of states saw their unemployment numbers tick up in April, signaling many states' economies might show trouble ahead. Nationwide, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.2 percent last month, with more jobs noted in healthcare and warehousing. Meanwhile, federal government employment declined this month. What To Know Massachusetts and Connecticut experienced the highest unemployment percentage increase, both up 0.3 percentage points to 4.6 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively. However, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, Ohio, Mississippi, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Arizona and Oregon also had substantial upticks of 0.2 percent. Michigan also had a 0.1 percent increase, reflecting the state's manufacturing job losses. "Michigan's pain is automation's gain," Michael Ryan, a finance expert and the founder of told Newsweek. "The state that built America's middle class is watching robots replace assembly line workers. When 20 percent of your jobs depend on an auto industry that's slashing human workers for silicon chips... Well, you're not just facing unemployment, it's more like extinction." Many rural states also saw an uptick due to the lack of industry remaining in these regions, Ryan added. "Mississippi's surge tells a different story of rural America getting left behind. Limited industry growth, persistent poverty, and a brain drain that's bleeding talent. When your biggest employers are struggling with funding cuts, you're losing jobs and hope," Ryan said. Former U.S. President and current Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks about the economy, inflation, and manufacturing during a campaign event at Alro Steel on August 29, 2024 in Potterville, Michigan. Former U.S. President and current Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks about the economy, inflation, and manufacturing during a campaign event at Alro Steel on August 29, 2024 in Potterville, People Are Saying Michael Ryan, a finance expert and the founder of told Newsweek: "The job market has shifted from feast to famine. Hiring has slowed to a crawl, with companies taking longer to fill positions and job postings plummeting from post-pandemic peaks. I expect this to be the new normal." "We're transitioning from an employer's nightmare to a job seeker's hellscape. Companies have regained leverage, and they're using it ruthlessly." Kevin Thompson, the CEO of 9i Capital Group and the host of the 9innings podcast, told Newsweek: "The driving force continues to be the economics of the manufacturing base, specifically automotive. As these jobs continue to be outsourced and automated, people in these regions will need to be retrained so they can enter the job market in different capacities, which will reduce the unemployment rate." HR consultant Bryan Driscoll told Newsweek: "These increases reflect deeper cracks in a labor market that's been running on fumes for months. We're coming up on six months into Trump's second term, and the impact is starting to show. Corporate deregulation, budget slashing, and worker-hostile policies hit individuals and communities hard. The job market is cooling fast, and the safety nets - such that there were any to begin with - are being further slashed or ignored." What Happens Next Ryan said the labor market could change substantially in the next few months across all regions. "Time for the great labor market reality check. All 4 Census regions will see unemployment rise as we enter below-trend growth," Ryan said. "In my opinion, the West will get hammered hardest. With California, Nevada, and Washington leading the charge as professional services and tech hiring freezes."
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
UAW's embrace of Trump tariffs could backfire on its members
Then-candidate Donald Trump rallies with an auto worker at Alro Steel in Potterville, Michigan, on Aug. 29, 2024. (Photo by Anna Liz Nichols/Michigan Advance) Billionaire tech bros, bankers and other business leaders quickly cozied up to President Donald Trump as he took office on Jan. 20. The last person I expected to join them was United Auto Workers union President Shawn Fain, but he has. Just months ago, Fain and Trump were regularly trading sharp barbs. On the campaign trail, Trump relentlessly criticized Fain for supporting President Joe Biden's multibillion-dollar effort to assist Detroit automakers in their choppy transition to electric vehicles. Trump called Fain 'a stupid person,' and said during his speech at the Republican National Convention in July that the UAW leader 'should be fired immediately.' Fain shot back, saying in October that Trump 'isn't fit to be an autoworker, and he certainly isn't fit to be the President.' In a speech at the Democratic National Convention in August, Fain called Trump a 'scab'—someone who crosses a picket line to replace workers striking for better pay and working conditions. It's the worst insult a labor leader can hurl at someone. They aren't exactly buddies now, but Fain sees Trump's planned 25% tariffs on cars and trucks entering the United States from Canada and Mexico as a rare opportunity to win back thousands of auto jobs—not to mention dues-paying members—lost over that past 30 years. Fain blames the North American Free Trade Agreement, which allows most goods to flow across the U.S., Canada and Mexico tariff-free, for many of those lost jobs. Trump renegotiated the agreement, now called the United States, Mexico, Canada Agreement, in 2020. The USMCA boosts domestic content requirements in vehicles to avoid tariffs. And 40% of a passenger car's value (45% for light trucks) must be produced in North American plants where workers make at least $16 an hour. Still, half of the 2.8 million vehicles Mexico shipped to the U.S. last year were built by Detroit automakers. Auto factory wages in Mexico are about a tenth of what U.S. autoworkers earn. (The U.S. runs a little-known trade surplus in autos with Canada, making Trump's attacks on that country seem absurd from an economic standpoint.) Fain is all-in on the tariffs. His union issued a statement on March 4 calling for the end of free trade among the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and said the UAW was working with the White House to 'shape the auto tariffs' slated to take effect April 2. Trump said he won't back down from implementing the tariffs, as he has done before, and said he told the CEOs of the Detroit Three automakers after a meeting earlier this month, 'Don't come back to me after April 2.' Like Trump, Fain is an elected official who likely sees the prospect of more jobs from increased U.S. auto investment as playing well with his more than 400,000 active members. UAW President Shawn Fain touts solidarity as Kentucky AFL-CIO prepares to choose a new leader 'Tariffs are a powerful tool in the toolbox for undoing the injustice of anti-worker trade deals,' the UAW statement said. 'We are glad to see an American president take aggressive action on ending the free trade disaster that has dropped like a bomb on the working class.' Trump has said he wants every car and truck sold in the U.S. to be built here, including those that are imported from Europe and Asia. Those automakers only need to move their production here and the tariffs go away, the president has said. But it's highly unlikely that Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, which have large assembly plants in Canada and Mexico that they have sunk billions of dollars in, will shutter them and move the production here. 'It's implausible from an investment standpoint,' Alan Baum, a West Bloomfield-based auto analyst, told me. 'Automakers and suppliers are making it clear they are not able and willing to invest billions of dollars that won't have a payback for years as a result of (tariffs) that could be temporary.' Ford CEO Jim Farley said tariffs against Canada and Mexico 'will blow a hole in the U.S. industry that we have never seen.' Fain is playing a risky game with a president who is no friend of organized labor. Trump visited Michigan repeatedly during his last two election campaigns but avoided union-represented shops. The day after Biden became the first sitting U.S. president to join a picket line, which he did in 2023 at a UAW-represented parts distribution center at Willow Run, Trump visited a nonunion Macomb County auto supplier whose president said widespread electric vehicle adoption would likely put it out of business. Trump's administration is taking various actions designed to sabotage electric vehicle growth, including rolling back Biden administration fuel economy and tailpipe emission standards, and freezing funds to states to expand electric vehicle charging stations. The president has said he's also considering killing federal tax credits to automakers to build EV battery plants and for consumers to buy EVs. Those moves could dry up a potential source of thousands of new auto jobs. Already the economic uncertainty over the impending tariffs is hurting the industry as Trump's 25% tariff on steel and aluminum took hold last week. The upcoming tariffs on Canada and Mexico could hike vehicle prices by as much as $12,500, according to the Anderson Economic Group in East Lansing. Baum said some smaller parts suppliers might not be able survive Trump's tariff madness. That could bring vehicle production to a halt because the lack of a single part can shut assembly lines. 'We saw that during Covid,' he said. 'Vehicles sat on storage lots for months with missing parts.' The end result could be a long-term decline in auto sales by Detroit automakers and massive layoffs, the exact opposite of what Fain hopes tariffs will accomplish. Rick Haglund, who wrote this commentary, writes the Michigan Advance's 'Micheconomy' column. Haglund is a former reporter and business columnist for Booth Newspapers, now the MLive Media Group, with extensive experience covering Michigan's economy and the auto industry. He now works as a freelance writer based in Southeast Michigan. This commentary is republished from the Michigan Advance, a sister publication to the Kentucky Lantern and part of the nonprofit States Newsroom network.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
UAW's embrace of Trump tariffs could lead to disaster for its members
Former President Donald Trump with an auto worker at a rally at Alro Steel in Potterville, Michigan on Aug. 29, 2024 (Photo by Anna Liz Nichols/Michigan Advance) Billionaire tech bros, bankers and other business leaders quickly cozied up to President Donald Trump as he took office on Jan. 20. The last person I expected to join them was United Auto Workers union President Shawn Fain, but he has. Just months ago, Fain and Trump were regularly trading sharp barbs. On the campaign trail, Trump relentlessly criticized Fain for supporting President Joe Biden's multibillion-dollar effort to assist Detroit automakers in their choppy transition to electric vehicles. Trump called Fain 'a stupid person,' and said during his speech at the Republican National Convention in July that the UAW leader 'should be fired immediately.' Fain shot back, saying in October that Trump 'isn't fit to be an autoworker, and he certainly isn't fit to be the President.' In a speech at the Democratic National Convention in August, Fain called Trump a 'scab'—someone who crosses a picket line to replace workers striking for better pay and working conditions. It's the worst insult a labor leader can hurl at someone. They aren't exactly buddies now, but Fain sees Trump's planned 25% tariffs on cars and trucks entering the United States from Canada and Mexico as a rare opportunity to win back thousands of auto jobs—not to mention dues-paying members—lost over that past 30 years. Fain blames the North American Free Trade Agreement, which allows most goods to flow across the U.S., Canada and Mexico tariff-free, for many of those lost jobs. Trump renegotiated the agreement, now called the United States, Mexico, Canada Agreement, in 2020. The USMCA boosts domestic content requirements in vehicles to avoid tariffs. And 40% of a passenger car's value (45% for light trucks) must be produced in North American plants where workers make at least $16 an hour. Still, half of the 2.8 million vehicles Mexico shipped to the U.S. last year were built by Detroit automakers. Auto factory wages in Mexico are about a tenth of what U.S. autoworkers earn. (The U.S. runs a little-known trade surplus in autos with Canada, making Trump's attacks on that country seem absurd from an economic standpoint.) Fain is all-in on the tariffs. His union issued a statement on March 4 calling for the end of free trade among the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and said the UAW was working with the White House to 'shape the auto tariffs' slated to take effect April 2. Trump said he won't back down from implementing the tariffs, as he has done before, and said he told the CEOs of the Detroit Three automakers after a meeting earlier this month, 'Don't come back to me after April 2.' Like Trump, Fain is an elected official who likely sees the prospect of more jobs from increased U.S. auto investment as playing well with his more than 400,000 active members. 'Tariffs are a powerful tool in the toolbox for undoing the injustice of anti-worker trade deals,' the UAW statement said. 'We are glad to see an American president take aggressive action on ending the free trade disaster that has dropped like a bomb on the working class.' Trump has said he wants every car and truck sold in the U.S. to be built here, including those that are imported from Europe and Asia. Those automakers only need to move their production here and the tariffs go away, the president has said. But it's highly unlikely that Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, which have large assembly plants in Canada and Mexico that they have sunk billions of dollars in, will shutter them and move the production here. 'It's implausible from an investment standpoint,' Alan Baum, a West Bloomfield-based auto analyst, told me. 'Automakers and suppliers are making it clear they are not able and willing to invest billions of dollars that won't have a payback for years as a result of (tariffs) that could be temporary.' Ford CEO Jim Farley said tariffs against Canada and Mexico 'will blow a hole in the U.S. industry that we have never seen.' Fain is playing a risky game with a president who is no friend of organized labor. Trump visited Michigan repeatedly during his last two election campaigns but avoided union-represented shops. Trump to speak Wednesday at non-union Macomb Co. automotive parts manufacturer The day after Biden became the first sitting U.S. president to join a picket line, which he did in 2023 at a UAW-represented parts distribution center at Willow Run, Trump visited a nonunion Macomb County auto supplier whose president said widespread electric vehicle adoption would likely put it out of business. Trump's administration is taking various actions designed to sabotage electric vehicle growth, including rolling back Biden administration fuel economy and tailpipe emission standards, and freezing funds to states to expand electric vehicle charging stations. The president has said he's also considering killing federal tax credits to automakers to build EV battery plants and for consumers to buy EVs. Those moves could dry up a potential source of thousands of new auto jobs. Already the economic uncertainty over the impending tariffs is hurting the industry as Trump's 25% tariff on steel and aluminum took hold last week. The upcoming tariffs on Canada and Mexico could hike vehicle prices by as much as $12,500, according to the Anderson Economic Group in East Lansing. Baum said some smaller parts suppliers might not be able survive Trump's tariff madness. That could bring vehicle production to a halt because the lack of a single part can shut assembly lines. 'We saw that during Covid,' he said. 'Vehicles sat on storage lots for months with missing parts.' The end result could be a long-term decline in auto sales by Detroit automakers and massive layoffs, the exact opposite of what Fain hopes tariffs will accomplish. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'Promises kept': Trump signs executive order to 'aggressively' make IVF more affordable and accessible
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday to expand access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) and other fertility treatments through the reduction of out-of-pocket costs. IVF has become unaffordable for many Americans, and Trump's executive order directs the Domestic Policy Council to find ways to make IVF and other fertility treatments more affordable. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted about the order shortly after it was signed. "PROMISES MADE. PROMISES KEPT: President Trump just signed an Executive Order to Expand Access to IVF!" she wrote on X. "The Order directs policy recommendations to protect IVF access and aggressively reduce out-of-pocket and health plan costs for such treatments." Judge Denies Democrat-led Effort To Block Doge Access, Citing Lack Of Proven Harm Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., expressed gratitude on X after learning the president had expanded access to IVF. Read On The Fox News App "Thank you, @POTUS! Yet another promise kept," Britt wrote. "IVF is profoundly pro-family, and I'm proud to work with President Trump on ensuring more loving parents can start and grow their families." Doge Scores Big Court Win, Allowed Access Data On 3 Federal Agencies Trump pledged on the campaign trail that if he won a second term, he would mandate free in vitro fertilization treatment for women. "I'm announcing today in a major statement that under the Trump administration, your government will pay for — or your insurance company will be mandated to pay for — all costs associated with IVF treatment," Trump told the crowd at Alro Steel in Potterville, Michigan, back in August. "Because we want more babies, to put it nicely." Lawsuit Tracker: New Resistance Battling Trump's Second Term Through Onslaught Of Lawsuits Taking Aim At Eos IVF treatments are notoriously expensive and can cost tens of thousands of dollars for a single round. Many women require multiple rounds, and there is no guarantee of success. Trump's announcement, which was short on details, came after he faced intense scrutiny from Democrats for his role in appointing Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, sending the issue of abortion back to the states. Trump has tried to present himself as moderate on the issue, going as far as declaring himself "very strong on women's reproductive rights." Fox News Digital's Bradford Betz contributed to this article source: 'Promises kept': Trump signs executive order to 'aggressively' make IVF more affordable and accessible
Fox News
18-02-2025
- Health
- Fox News
'Promises kept': Trump signs executive order to 'aggressively' make IVF more affordable and accessible
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday to expand access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) and other fertility treatments through the reduction of out-of-pocket costs. IVF has become unaffordable for many Americans, and Trump's executive order directs the Domestic Policy Council to find ways to make IVF and other fertility treatments more affordable. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted about the order shortly after it was signed. "PROMISES MADE. PROMISES KEPT: President Trump just signed an Executive Order to Expand Access to IVF!" she wrote on X. "The Order directs policy recommendations to protect IVF access and aggressively reduce out-of-pocket and health plan costs for such treatments." Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., expressed gratitude on X after learning the president had expanded access to IVF. "Thank you, @POTUS! Yet another promise kept," Britt wrote. "IVF is profoundly pro-family, and I'm proud to work with President Trump on ensuring more loving parents can start and grow their families." Trump pledged on the campaign trail that if he won a second term, he would mandate free in vitro fertilization treatment for women. "I'm announcing today in a major statement that under the Trump administration, your government will pay for — or your insurance company will be mandated to pay for — all costs associated with IVF treatment," Trump told the crowd at Alro Steel in Potterville, Michigan, back in August. "Because we want more babies, to put it nicely." IVF treatments are notoriously expensive and can cost tens of thousands of dollars for a single round. Many women require multiple rounds, and there is no guarantee of success. Trump's announcement, which was short on details, came after he faced intense scrutiny from Democrats for his role in appointing Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, sending the issue of abortion back to the states. Trump has tried to present himself as moderate on the issue, going as far as declaring himself "very strong on women's reproductive rights."
