Many more likely sought US jobless aid even as layoffs slow
By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government is set to issue its latest report on the layoffs that have left millions unemployed but that have markedly slowed as many businesses have partially reopened and rehired some laid-off workers. The pace of job cuts has declined in the nearly three months since the coronavirus struck hard, forcing business closures and sending the economy into a recession. The dwindling pace of jobless claims suggests that the devastation in the job market may have bottomed out. Still, by historical standards the number of weekly applications remains high.

Pennsylvania House speaker says he’ll leave office next week
By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives says his last day on the job will be Monday. Republican Speaker Mike Turzai of Allegheny County made the announcement on Wednesday, after a farewell address. Turzai has been in the House since 2001 and speaker since 2015. He says he hopes to work in the private sector but hasn’t announced any specific plans. Turzai played an active role in campaigns, helping his party expand its majority numbers, and provided forceful, conservative opposition to Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf.

Storm Damage on William Penn Way in New Brighton (Photo Courtesy of Mark Peterson)

(Beaver Falls, Pa.) Severe storms tore through Beaver County Last Night. A Tornado Warning was issued for the area of Beaver Falls and New Brighton a little after 9:30. The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh is confirming that radar showed a tornado over Beaver Falls. The NWS says that the Tornado touched down shortly before 10 Pm in the area of Providence Hospital in Beaver Falls. The NWS is expected to visit the lower end of Beaver Falls this morning to confirm. A tree landed on a house and garage on William Penn Way in New Brighton and  thousands have been left without power. Besides Beaver Falls and New Brighton the area of the Tusca Shop N’ Save in Brighton Twp was hit hard by the storms and have caused road closures. It’s also being reported of trees down along Bologne Valley Road in North Sewickley. We will continue to update you as the situation unfolds throughout the day.

(Beaver County, PA) The Best of Beaver County is easy to discover; it’s right on your radio!  Tune in this and every Thursday from 11 to 11:30 A.M.  for “The Best of Beaver County”, an innovative radio program on WBVP and WMBA presented by St. Barnabas. The show is hosted by Jim Roddey and is dedicated to shining light on the great things going on right here in local neighborhoods, and the people that are making it happen.  Find out what all the buzz is about by joining “The Best Of Beaver County”.  

This week Jim’s guest is Dr. Cyril Wecht. The pair will talk about the COVID-19 Coronavirus and it effects.

You can also listen to the show streaming Live on the Beaver County Radio Website by going to: beavercountyradio.com

You can also Download the Beaver County Radio App at the Google Play Store or the Apple I-tunes Store.

You can also listen on your Amazon Alexa by telling Alexa to Learn the Beaver County Radio Skill.

The radio broadcast will be replayed each Sunday from 11:30 am to Noon.

Harrisburg, PA – Today, the Wolf Administration outlined the potential impact of ending the March 6 disaster declaration while clarifying that the legislature cannot end it unilaterally. The disaster declaration aids in speeding up the state’s response to the pandemic and provides protections for businesses, workers and residents. Importantly, ending the disaster declaration would not end any orders issued by the Secretary of Health that set guidelines for business operations.

Last night, the General Assembly voted to end the disaster declaration with many members claiming their actions ended the business guideline orders. That is not true. Not only does any concurrent resolution need to come to the Governor for approval or disapproval, but the disaster declaration is separate from the orders signed by Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine under the Disease Prevention Act that include provisions for business reopening and for worker and building safety. Those orders remain in place. The legislature did nothing to end those.

Rather, the legislature chose to attempt to end the disaster declaration – a measure that would ostensibly end protections passed for businesses, workers, and residents.

If the declaration were to end, these protections would go away:

• Burdensome eligibility requirements for more than a million Unemployment Compensation claimants would immediately go back into effect, and employers across the commonwealth would no longer receive relief from charges.
• Certification requirements under the public-school code and child protective services law would end.
• A school meal eligibility waiver, which has allowed more than 300 meal sites to open for distribution of food to school-age children in need, would end.
• Telehealth and other health care services provided by out-of-state providers for Pennsylvanians would end.
• Utility assistance for thousands of families and individuals would end, leaving people without water or electricity.
• Hospitals and alternative care sites would no longer be able to add capacity or repurpose facilities (i.e., beds) without having to abide by the 60-day notice requirement.
• License renewal and training requirement suspensions for health care professionals, child care workers, direct care workers, direct support professionals, among other professional groups who provide life sustaining services to our children, seniors, and vulnerable residents would end, meaning all of these workers would need to choose between not returning to work until those credentials could be renewed or trainings completed and the option of returning to work with the understanding that they are practicing out of compliance with Pennsylvania law and regulation, very well opening themselves up to personal liability.
• PennDOT waivers for commercial motor vehicle weight limitations and permitting requirements for the transport and delivery of agricultural feed, food, and dairy products, fuel, pharmaceuticals, and medical supplies to assist in supply chain challenges would end and motor carriers would be restricted in their ability to directly assist in supporting emergency relief efforts necessary to respond to the pandemic.
• Mortgage foreclosure and eviction moratoriums that offer protection to vulnerable Pennsylvanians at risk of losing their homes during the pandemic would end.

In addition to these immediate waiver and legislative enactments being removed, ending the disaster declaration also would remove many practical aspects of the state’s response to this disaster, including the authority to activate the National Guard to help with nursing homes; deploying commonwealth personnel, services and distributing supplies and equipment; implementing emergency funding; suspending rules and regulations that would hinder or delay necessary action in coping with the emergency; and using all available resources of the commonwealth government and its political subdivisions to deal with the emergency.

The state could also lose federal public and individual disaster assistance, and any additional state funding sources available through transfer of unused General Fund dollars.

During a state of emergency declared by the governor, commonwealth agencies and departments may implement their emergency assignments without regard to procedures required by other laws pertaining to performing their work, entering into contracts, purchasing supplies and equipment, and employing temporary workers.

Click play button to hear part of Gov Wolf’s statement:

Audio Courtesy of Commonwealth Media Services

How to participate

A livestream for people with smart devices or computer access will be online at https://access.live/PAlabor. Those without internet access can listen by calling 1-833-380-0719, however access is limited so we ask that they be reserved for individuals who need them.

Participants will be able to ask questions live during the town hall. At the beginning of the event, the moderator will explain how to submit questions. To protect participants’ personal confidential information, questions about individual claims cannot be answered during the town hall.

Pennsylvania recently implemented all of the new programs under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act:

• Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) – for self-employed, gig workers, contractors and others not normally eligible for UC.
• Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) – additional 13 weeks of benefits to people who exhaust their regular UC.
• Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) – extra $600 per week for anyone receiving unemployment benefits.

Unemployment Benefits Statistics

Since mid-March, nearly $14.2 billion in benefits has been paid to claimants:

• $7.7 billion from regular UC
• $5.4 billion from FPUC
• $993 million from PUA
• $69 million from PEUC

UC Claim Statistics

Since March 15, 2.5 million total unemployment compensation claims have been filed:

• 2 million for regular UC
• 526,000 for PUA

Improving Customer Service

• L&I UC staff has worked more than 110,000 overtime hours since mid-March.
• UC service center staffing levels have also increased 80 percent since March 15:
  • We’ve added 312 new employees, bringing the total of UC service center staff to 1,491.
  • We’ve added 358 additional state employees who have been reassigned from other offices/agencies to assist in UC.
• 220,000 calls have been answered by IBM Watson, an automated virtual phone assistant that answers many common UC questions.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Regular UC
• Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA)
• Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC)
• Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC)

Recordings of prior public town halls are available here. Additional unemployment benefits information is available on L&I’s website, Facebook or Twitter.

Stocks turn lower…Consumer prices down for third month…Mall deal is off
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are lower on Wall Street as traders turn cautious ahead of a policy announcement on interest rates later Wednesday from the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 was down in the early going. The index has staged a huge comeback since its late March low and is now within just 5% of the all-time high it reached in February, before the coronavirus lockdowns started happening. Global markets were mixed after the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said the coronavirus crisis has triggered the worst global recession in nearly a century. Bond yields fell.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer prices dropped in May for the third straight month as the coronavirus pandemic pushed the American economy into a recession. The Labor Department said Wednesday that its consumer price index fell 0.1% last month after tumbling 0.8% in April and 0.4% in March. Excluding food and energy prices, which bounce around from month to month, so-called core inflation fell 0.1%, falling for the third consecutive month for the first time ever. The pandemic and the quarantines meant to contain it pushed the U.S. economy into recession. Weaker demand from customers pushes prices down.
NEW YORK (AP) — The nation’s biggest mall owner is backing out of a $3.6 billion deal to buy a major rival as the coronavirus pandemic shakes the retail economy. It is the second major retail deal signed just before the pandemic began to spread in the U.S. that has crumbled. Last month, a deal to sell Victoria’s Secret to a private equity group fell apart. Simon Property Group said it would buy Taubman Centers in early February, just weeks before the CDC said a California patient was being treated for coronavirus, the first known case in the U.S.
UNDATED (AP) — Ford expects to have its U.S. factories humming at pre-coronavirus levels by July 6. Chief Operating Officer Jim Farley told a Deutsche Bank autos conference that the company hit 96% of its production targets in the first three weeks after it reopened factories on May 18. Many plants reopened working two shifts and have since added production with workers on overtime. He said the company plans to go to three shifts per day at some plants. Most of the U.S. auto industry reopened last month. Ford initially had trouble restarting in Chicago and Dearborn, Michigan due to employees testing positive for the virus or due to parts shortages.
UNDATED (AP) — Starbucks took a virus-related revenue hit potentially exceeding $3 billion in its third quarter. The brewer said in a regulatory filing Wednesday that the virus outbreak also slashed its operating income between $2 billion and $2.2. billion as the virus raged. Starbucks was forced to close its stores to customers, but continued to operate pick-up and other services in most locations.