employment

Texas Legislators clashed this week in Austin over whether to raise the state’s minimum wage.

As The Austin American-Statesman reports, Republicans praised the current rate as an efficient entry-level pay rate, while Democrats called the hourly wage a “misery rate,” too low for anyone to live on.

Graduation ceremonies are happening this month, and employers are planning to hire 11 percent more college grads this year over last.

Something big is happening in eastern Colorado, says Colorado State University. The first Rural Colorado Apparel Manufacturing—or RCAM—center has been established in the town of Wray. RCAM is one of several grassroots apparel and lifestyle business manufacturing efforts underway around Colorado. The program hopes to revive a US cut-and-sew workforce decimated by decades of jobs moving overseas.

When Jon Slutsky’s dairy farm in Wellington, Colo. is fully staffed, it’s a moment to celebrate. A full roster of employees at Slutsky’s La Luna Dairy is rare these days.

“We’re doing really well with our employee base,” Slutsky said. “A year ago, we couldn’t say that. We were short.”

With the farm’s 1,500 cows waiting to be milked, Slutsky and his wife Susan Moore felt panicked, worried they didn’t have enough hands on deck to milk about 200 cows per hour.

Typically, cities fuel job growth, but a recent article in the Wichita Eagle reveals urban employment levels in Kansas are level, while rural areas are experiencing growth.   Much of the rural improvements can be attributed to increased oil drilling, oil services, overall farming wealth increase, and government transfers like Medicare.