Restaurants’ struggle to find qualified help intensifies

MIDDLEBURY — An ongoing labor shortage is forcing an increasing number of area food-service businesses to either reduce their operating hours, transition to takeout only, or temporarily replace some of their in-house hours with a food truck option requiring less staff to manage.In related news, Middlebury College and Better Middlebury Partnership officials are organizing a job fair that would pair college student workers with local businesses in dire need of employees. A specific date and time for the job f … (read more)

MONTPELIER — The Vermont Department of Labor is reminding claimants the federal expansion of unemployment insurance benefits created under the CARES Act will end Sept. 5. This includes Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Federal Pandemic Unemployment … (read more)

As the Vermont Department of Labor begins to deny unemployment benefits to people whose job search does not please them, remember some factors.Schools are starting to reopen, but less experienced workers often must work odd hours. With summer coming, and … (read more)

Vermont has received $38.5 million in federal money to provide temporary payments of $300 per week to people collecting unemployment benefits. The new “lost wages” program from the federal government comes after $600-a-week unemployment payments expired a … (read more)

More than $542 million has flowed into Vermont since March, when the federal government started supplementing Vermonters’ unemployment checks with $600 a week to help them through the COVID-19 pandemic. With those payments due to stop at the end of July, … (read more)

MONTPELIER — As many Vermonters struggle to file unemployment claims, and lawmakers call for the administration to drastically build out the system, Gov. Phil Scott this week vowed to improve the state’s support for people who lost their jobs during the c … (read more)

MONTPELIER — The Vermont Department of Labor on Monday announced it will continue its Virtual Town Hall events for the week of April 13. The Department announced the events in response to the impact of COVID-19. Dates and employer-focused conversation top … (read more)

MONTPELIER — A Vermont Department of Labor report issued Thursday showed that — no surprise — claims for unemployment insurance in the Green Mountain State skyrocketed in the first week of April. Claims in Addison County were more than double what they we … (read more)

MONTPELIER — The Vermont Department of Labor, overwhelmed with claims for unemployment benefits and questions from business owners and workers during the COVID-19 crisis, has increased its staff, added a second phone line, and created an electronic form f … (read more)