Jobs

Internships: Low-Paid, Unpaid Or Just Plain Illegal?

NPR Staff — Sat, 18 May 2013 20:41:00 +0000

Summer is almost here, and with it comes the army of interns marching into countless American workplaces. Yet what was once an opportunity for the inexperienced is becoming a front-line labor issue.

More and more, unpaid and low-paid interns are feeling their labor is being exploited. Some are even willing to push back — with lawsuits.

One of the most high profile intern-versus-employer lawsuits suffered a setback last week that could have implications for other cases.

A First Job Is Like A First Date, And Other Advice For Graduation Day

Mon, 13 May 2013 13:22:00 +0000

We asked a bunch of economists what they would say if they were giving a commencement address this spring. Here are some excerpts from their responses.

Justin Wolfers:

Approach your career ambitions the same way you approached your romantic ambitions at college. Sure, you're looking for "The One," but the only way to find that is by going on a lot of dates. And you should think about your first job as a good first date. Try it out. If you like it, stick around for another year.

Jobless Claims Stay Near 5-Year Low

Mark Memmott — Thu, 09 May 2013 13:07:00 +0000

There were 323,000 first-time claims for unemployment insurance last week, down 4,000 from the week before, the Employment and Training Administration says.

Note: As often happens, the previous week's figure is a slight revision from what was reported earlier. Initially, the ETA said there had been 324,000 first-time claims during the week ending April 27.

Furloughs Only The Latest Blow To Federal Worker Morale

Yuki Noguchi — Thu, 09 May 2013 06:51:00 +0000

Federal workers say they don't have much to celebrate these days.

Furloughs began in April, exacerbating already low morale for many government agencies as budgets have tightened. Downsizing has meant more work for those who remain, and talk of further cuts has many worried about job security. This year is also the third that federal workers haven't received a pay increase, contributing to discontent.

Jenny Brown is in her 27th year as an examiner for the Internal Revenue Service, where she answers peoples' tax questions.

More Jobs, But Wait: They May Not Pay Much

Sonari Glinton — Sat, 04 May 2013 09:51:00 +0000

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. The economy added 165,000 jobs in April. That exceeded the expectations of economists. It also drove down the unemployment rate to a four-year low, 7.5 percent. Unfortunately, the biggest gains were in lower-paying fields like hospitality and temp agencies. And as the school year comes to a close and young people start looking, the question is will there be enough work for them. NPR's Sonari Glinton reports.

SONARI GLINTON, BYLINE: Wall Street got pretty excited about the jobs numbers.