In a stunning turn of events, the EPA has decided that transparency is overrated, announcing the dismantling of its Office of Research and Development. Employees are left in the dark—literally and figuratively! Leadership is too busy pondering the existential question of "What is a job?" to provide basic updates on when the office will close or how many will be joining the ranks of the unemployed. Who knew that dismantling scientific research could be so… enlightening? It’s almost like they’re conducting a live experiment on job security! Let’s all raise a glass to bureaucratic brilliance! Cheers to progress! #EPA #ResearchAndDevelopment #JobSecurity #Bureaucracy #Transparency

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment rates have not shifted much in recent years. The current unemployment rate is reported as being 4.2%—just a slight increase from the 4% it hovered around between 2022 and 2024. But according to a new report, another measure of unemployment is much higher, and steadily growing. The April report, which comes from the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity, a nonprofit that produces original economic research, documents what it calls the “true rate” of unemployment. That rate refers to “functional unemployment,” which takes into account those who are job-seeking yet unable to find work, as well as those with full-time jobs but whose earnings put them below the poverty line. The functional unemployment rate has risen for three consecutive months and is currently 24.4%. That means about one in four U.S. adults are considered functionally unemployed.  LISEP Chair Gene Ludwig said in a press release that the outlook on the trend shows “little signs of improvement” amid lack of an “influx of dependable, good-paying jobs.” The report showed the functional unemployment rate rising 1.4% among Black workers to 26.7%. It decreased slightly for white workers, moving from 23.1% to 23%. While the rate for men increasedbringing the total to 20%, women narrowed the gender gap. Women’s true unemployment rate dipped 0.8 percentage points to 28.6%. While it’s no secret that the federal government has been steadily shedding jobs, there haven’t been major increases in the unemployment rate. However, the new findings paint a grim picture of how many U.S. workers are struggling to find employment and a livable income. Meanwhile, wage increases haven’t kept up with a rising cost of living, not to mention the cost to raise a child, which has ticked up 25% in the past two years alone. “Amid an already uncertain economic outlook, the rise in functional unemployment is a concerning development,” Ludwig explains. “This uncertainty comes at a price, and unfortunately, the low- and middle-income wage earners ultimately end up paying the bill.” #nearly #quarter #functionally #unemployed #heres

Wells Fargo says in a report that President Donald Trump's tariffs won't bring manufacturing back. Carlos Barria/REUTERS 2025-05-23T02:31:46Z d Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Wells Fargo said in a report that President Donald Trump's tariffs won't bring manufacturing back. High labor costs and a lack of workers would make building more factories an "uphill battle." US manufacturing needs trillion in investment to reach 1979 employment levels. President Donald Trump's push to revive American manufacturing through tariffs may face some hurdles.Despite some high-profile commitments, including Nvidia's plans for a US-based supercomputer plant and Apple's pledge to invest billion domestically, a new report from Wells Fargo economists predicts that bringing back offshored manufacturing jobs will be an "uphill battle.""An aim of tariffs is to spur a durable rebound in US manufacturing employment," Wells Fargo analysts wrote in the report. "However, a meaningful increase in factory jobs does not appear likely in the foreseeable future, in our view."The report attributes the potentially low factory job growth to high labor costs, a lack of suitable workers to fill vacant positions, and a subdued population growth from lower fertility rates and slower immigration."Higher prices and policy uncertainty may weigh on firms' ability and willingness to expand payrolls," the analysts added.The tariffs are part of Trump's broader economic agenda to revive American manufacturing as a pathway toward middle-class prosperity. The tariffs are meant to hike the costs of imports to incentivize companies to make goods domestically."Jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country," Trump said while announcing tariffs on April 2. "And ultimately, more production at home will mean stronger competition and lower prices for consumers."Some tariffs imposed on April 2 have been temporarily paused or greatly reduced, including tariffs on China. The 10% across-the-board tariff remains, as do some specific tariffs on Mexico and Canada, plus 30% in duties on China. Duties at their current level are still the highest they have been since the 1940s."In order for manufacturing employment to return to its historic peak, we estimate at a minimum trillion in net new capital investment is required," Wells Fargo analysts wrote. "Assuming businesses are willing and able to invest such ample sums, questions over staffing remain."The Wall Street bank says that US manufacturing employment currently stands at 12.8 million, down from its 1979 peak of 19.5 million. To get back to that mark, the US would need to add roughly 6.7 million jobs. Wells Fargo added that the figure is nearly the same as the entire pool of unemployed Americans, which in April was 7.2 million, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics."Population aging, negative perceptions, and skill mismatches also underpin workforce concerns," Wells Fargo analysts wrote. "New jobs will require different skills than those previously lost."In 2024, Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC said it delayed the opening of its Arizona chip factory due to a shortage of skilled workers. A report released in April 2024 by Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute also found that nearly half of the 3.8 million new manufacturing jobs anticipated by 2033 could remain unfilled due to skill gaps and other population factors."Tariffs must be high enough to make the cost of domestic production competitive in the US market, and they also must be kept in place long enough for producers to bring on additional workers and expand capacity," the report concluded. "If the economic or political costs are deemed too high, the current administration could quickly dial-back prevailing duties further."The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comments. #tariffs #won039t #bring #manufacturing #jobs

To the list of jobs that will not exist in the future, we must add Janitor. Loki Robotics, a San-Francisco-based startup, is developing an autonomous cleaning robot. At first blush, it doesn't look like much: A single robot arm and two storage bins.Then you see what it can do in the bathroom:And in the kitchen:It's not clear how much of what the 'bot is doing in the videos is purely autonomous versus being teleoperated, as it has the capacity for both. But the company's goal is full-autonomous. At present they're using teleoperation to train the 'bot when it encounters tasks it can't yet handle autonomously.As with Somatic, the other cleaning robot we looked at, Loki Robotics plans to roll the robots out with a monthly lease model. And while their target market will be offices, with the 'bot to replace cleaning staff, the company's marketing copy is written as if addressing a different audience:"We spend over a year of our lives doing chores - time that could be spent raising kids, calling grandparents, making music, building things. We believe tasks like scrubbing toilets don't belong on a human to-do list."In other words, don't worry about the unemployed janitorial staff: Call your Nana and sign up for piano lessons! #loki #cleaning #robot #here #end

As Memorial Day approaches and National Military Appreciation Month comes to a close, here’s a timely fact: the largest private funder of veteran employment in the United States is a video game. Tied to Activision’s long-running military game franchise “Call of Duty,” the aptly named Call of Duty Endowmenthas placed over 150,000 veterans in jobs since 2009 and has been surpassing the federal government’s placement efforts since 2022, according to the organization’s president, Dan Goldenberg. Related Stories The initiative has raised million through sales of special accessory packs in “Call of Duty” games alone, in addition to other donation streams, and “every cent of which is going to putting vets in jobs,” Goldenberg says. Popular on Variety “The ‘Call of Duty’ community has been generous. Activision, as partners, have been incredible. They’ve all kind of come together in this ecosystem,” Goldenberg told Variety. “And one thing I know for sure is we’ve had more measurable social impact than anyone I know of in the gaming industry. I can’t think of another cause where it’s not so much the money raised, it’s the impact out. Others may have raised more money, but we’ve put — including the in-game stuff and other donations and corporate partnerships — close to million against this problem. And as a result, 150,000 vets have jobs, their families are more secure. Meaningful employment is just so core to so many other challenges a vet may encounter. If you have a meaningful job, you probably have health care, you have colleagues, you have purpose.” According to C.O.D.E., it costs per placement of each vet. The average starting salary for vets in these placements is and 93% are receiving full-time placement. Goldenberg says the program has seen an 89% retention rate at six months. Additionally, 20% of the program’s veterans placed are women. Launched in 2009 by former Activision chief Bobby Kotick and co-chaired by General James L. Jones beginning in 2012, the Call of Duty Endowment started out a time when the unemployment rate for veterans “was super high,” Goldenberg said. “It stemmed from this very successful gaming franchise that said, ‘We’ve gotten really big, and we owe a lot of our success to the people who inspired us. We’d like to find a good way to give back to them,'” Goldenberg said, adding that “initially, we looked like a lot of corporate foundations writing big checks. But the difference was the discipline that had made Activision and ‘Call of Duty’ so successful was being applied to trying to solve a social problem here.” C.O.D.E. is currently bracing for a higher number of unemployed veterans amid the recent job cuts across government service, a popular sector for vet placement, under the administration of President Donald Trump. But Goldenberg says the techniques the endowment already has in place — methods it has been building on through years of trial and error — will help significantly with this influx. “A lot of it was vetting our partners, and we insisted on a return on our investment,” Goldenberg said. “The difference was, it was a social return. We wanted to see a lot of vets put in jobs. And when we started, we were at parity. Our cost per placement was about the same as the federal government’s efforts.” And with “consistent disciplined vetting and accountability of our grantees on a quarterly basis,” Goldenberg says the Endowment has pulled ahead. “It works. So last year, we placed vets in jobs for 1/15th the cost of placement of the government with much higher quality outcomes in terms of average starting salary, retention rates, and the percentage of those jobs that are for full-time employment,” Goldenberg said. “And I guess the big lesson out of it is the discipline of business can really make a big difference for social cost. That’s been our unequivocal experience. We didn’t go in for brands. We looked for nonprofit partners who we thought for the dollar could accomplish the most social impact, and that’s what we’ve gotten.” As for how the actual “Call of Duty” video games can help vets, a study done by the Entertainment Software Association found that 86% of surveyed U.S. vets said video games provided them with a “healthy outlet for stress and anxiety.” “And not surprisingly, ‘Call of Duty’ is their favorite game,” Goldenberg says of the study’s findings. “When I’ve talked to friends who’ve been forward, when I’ve gone forward, you would think, and people from outside will say, ‘Don’t you get enough of the military thing?’ And no, it’s like a great way for them — especially when we were in active combat, people would come back to the forward operating bases, and they use it to decompress and have fun,” Goldenberg says. #how #call #duty #getting #more

Nature, Published online: 21 May 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01553-7Unemployed researchers face some tough career choices as they flood the job market after the Trump administration’s cuts to science. #opentowork #how #laidoff #scientists #are

Unity is on a mission to empower more learners to become real-time 3D creators. We made our online learning platform, Unity Learn, free for all in 2020 to give everyone the opportunity to access high-quality education and achieve their dream careers.Unity Learn Pathways are intensive online courses designed to take you from complete beginner to career-ready. To demonstrate this better than we ever could, we recently sat down with Pathways graduate Robbie Coey to chat about his experience with starting his own studio and working toward releasing his first game after finishing the Junior Programmer Pathway.Robbie Coeyis a founder and director of HoloMoon Games, an indie game studio based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Robbie, K Andrews, and Michael McArdle founded Holomoon in September 2021 to create weird and wonderful narrative experiences. They’re currently working on Guitar Zeros, a narrative deck-builder about bringing a band from humble beginnings to the world stage.Keep reading to learn more about Robbie and the integral role Unity Learn has played in getting his career and studio off the ground.How did it feel when you completed the Junior Programmer Pathway?In a word, brilliant. It felt as though I finally had something that I was passionate about and could focus on. I could spend hours on various tutorials and building my own projects and it would feel as if no time had passed at all. The only other time I have that feeling is when playing games.How long did it take you to complete the course?It took around a month, and I completed it alongside part-time work. I advise anyone embarking on it to work little and often – you'll burn out if you try to do too much in a short time. It's easier to build the habit if you're able to work consistently over a long period, and if that means only doing half an hour every other day, that's what you do. Find a schedule that works for you and avoid burnout at all costs.What was your career before you started learning Unity?I had worked briefly in film and television in a range of roles on documentaries, dramas, and animations. I’d explored film and television a lot, and while there were things I enjoyed about working in that industry, I always felt a little out of place.What career challenges did you face?I felt as though I lacked hard skills. I was good at communicating and being a team player, but whether it was due to lack of confidence or something else, I always felt uncomfortable putting myself forward to do more technical work.What made you want to switch careers?The COVID-19 pandemic had dried up all opportunities in the industry I worked in previously. It was a move almost out of desperation. To even my older siblings, games were an idle pastime at most. Unity Pathways and the support from Unity really showed me how much of an opportunity there was in the games industry. I have met people and done things that I would never have dreamed of prior, as well as found a huge passion that continues to drive me to push myself further.“Unity Pathways and the support from Unity really showed me how much of an opportunity there was in the games industry.”Has the career change had an impact on your salary?It's a lot more stable, for one. I came from a work-for-hire industry, and immediately before learning Unity I was unemployed due to the pandemic. Having mostly done short contract work in the past, learning Unity has allowed me a lot more financial freedom and opportunities to increase my salary.“Learning Unity has allowed me a lot more financial freedom and opportunities to increase my salary.”Can you tell us about your new career?I’m now a director in my own studio. I was very lucky to receive funding from Northern Ireland Screen after completing my Unity Pathways course. With that initial investment I, along with two others, were able to start our own studio, HoloMoon Games. We want to make games that reflect our culture and make people laugh. We're currently working towards our first official release, Guitar Zeros, which will hopefully be on Steam sometime next year. And, I’ve recently become a BAFTA Connect member, which I never thought I could achieve. I keep wondering when they're going to realize and kick me out.“We're currently working towards our first official release.”Can you tell us how you secured funding for your project?We applied for an incubator scheme with Northern Ireland Screen called MiniGame, which involved written and in-person pitching. My advice for anyone looking to do the same would be to get comfortable talking about your game idea in front of others. One thing that helps is to ask three questions: Can I make this? Should I make this? And, do I want to make this? If I answer yes to all three, then I know I can comfortably pitch that idea. In general, I'd recommend keeping an eye out for funding opportunities, especially those provided by local organizations in your area. Without the support from Northern Ireland Screen, I wouldn't be in the position I am now.Why do you think learning real-time 3D and Unity is so important?For me, it unlocked so many ways in which I could express myself, and also allowed me to understand the digital world we live in. After I started learning Unity, I began to see it and real-time 3D technologies everywhere, from film and TV to the automotive industry. Real-time 3D is really becoming ubiquitous, and understanding how it works means you won't get left behind.“After I started learning Unity, I began to see it and real-time 3D technologies everywhere.”Has learning Unity had an impact on your life and career?It has completely changed the trajectory of my life and career, given me skills I never thought I had, and ignited a passion for games and programming that I didn't know was there. It made it possible for me to access a new industry which, to even my parents’ generation, seemed esoteric and mysterious. My life and career are infinitely more interesting since I completed the Unity Pathway.“My life and career are infinitely more interesting since I completed the Unity Pathway.”What are your plans for the future?I would like to continue running my own company, improve my craft, make interesting games that I can be proud of, and really try to push the storytelling of the medium forward. Games are unique in the way that they tell stories, and I feel there is still a lot to learn about what kind of experiences they are able to create.“Games are unique in the way that they tell stories, and I feel there is still a lot to learn about what kind of experiences they are able to create.”What advice would you give to anyone learning Unity?Rome wasn't built in a day. You won't learn everything about Unity overnight, but you also don't need to learn everything about Unity to get creative. In fact, I find setting yourself limitations can oftentimes make you more creative. You will get the knowledge you want with hard work and dedication, and there's no point rushing it. Also, network – find peers that are at your level and find others that are where you want to be in the future. There's a great community of people out there and they all want to lift each other up.You mentioned finding your peers. How did you go about doing this? Do you have any advice for anyone trying to find a community?The best source for me to find other game developers was through the Northern Ireland Game Developer Network. I would keep an eye out for local developer networks or more specific communities related to what you would like to do. Discord is a great meeting point for many of these groups, including Unity's own Discord server. Partaking in game jams is also a great way of meeting people. Itch.io has a terrific list of upcoming jams that suit all sorts of game developers, most of which will have some kind of forum to meet others who are participating.With Pathways, you can build all of the skills you need to master Unity and join the real-time 3D industry, just like Robbie. These free online courses cover everything from downloading and installing the Unity Editor to coding, VR development, lighting and shading, and more.Junior Programmer is designed for anyone interested in learning to code or obtaining an entry-level Unity role. In this free, fully virtual, self-guided course, you will learn about fundamental programming concepts such as variables, functions, and basic logic through two practical projects. You’ll also join a community of Unity learners enrolled in your Pathway where you can share your progress, get help, and interact with Unity's learning team.Follow HoloMoon Games’ progress on Twitter and don’t forget to wishlist Guitar Zeros on Steam. Did learning Unity help you achieve your dream career? If you’d be interested in sharing your story, please complete the following form for the chance to be featured: Share your Unity journey. #how #achieved #dream #career #with

The Bureau of Labor Statistics published new consumer price index data on Tuesday. FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images 2025-05-13T12:33:18Z Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? The inflation rate unexpectedly cooled in April to 2.3% from March's 2.4% year over year. The year-over-year increase is the smallest since 2021. The Fed held interest rates steady in May, partly due to uncertainty around tariffs' effects. Inflation unexpectedly slowed in April to 2.3% over the year, progressing toward the Federal Reserve's 2% target and the smallest increase since February 2021.Price growth was expected to stay flat at 2.4%, but now inflation has cooled for three consecutive months.A recent UBS note predicted that April data would mark the start of the impacts of Trump's implemented tariffs, and that May through October would show larger impacts if the trade policies stand. Last week, the Federal Open Market Committee members decided to hold interest rates steady, as they wait for more certainty around tariffs' impacts. CME FedWatch, which shows what traders think will happen to interest rates, showed a 92% chance before the inflation report that rates will be unchanged at the FOMC's next scheduled meeting in June.Trump announced what he called "reciprocal" tariffs on countries around the world on April 2, before quickly pausing many of them for 90 days. A baseline of 10% has been in effect, along with a 145% tariff on most imports from China and 25% tariffs on autos, steel, and aluminum. On Monday, the Trump administration announced a trade deal with China, a key trade partner for the US. Both countries will cut rates by 115 percentage points for 90 days. Last week, Trump said the US and UK reached a trade deal. The 10% tariff is still in effect, but the two countries negotiated agreements on vehicles, steel, and aluminum from the UK.Karoline Leavitt, the ​​White House press secretary, said on Friday that Trump "is committed to the 10% baseline tariff, not just for the United Kingdom but for his trade negotiations with all other countries as well."BeiChen Lin, senior investment strategist at Russell Investments, said that businesses likely stocked up before Trump's 10% tariffs, which could be delaying their impact on inflation figures."If the broad 10% universal tariff doesn't get negotiated away, then eventually we will likely see a one-time boost to price levels, which would also translate into a temporary boost to the inflation rate," Lin said.Tariffs could also affect overall economic growth and the job market."If the large increases in tariffs that have been announced are sustained, they are likely to generate a rise in inflation, a slowdown in economic growth, and an increase in unemployment," Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in a May 7 press conference.Powell said at the press conference that the economy is resilient, with a solid job market and inflation just above the Fed's target of 2%. Real gross domestic product shrank in the first quarter of 2025, the first time since 2022, but a large rise in imports that subtracts from growth contributed to that contraction. Job growth was better than expected in April, but still indicated a tougher job market for unemployed Americans.Powell said the Fed's policy is "100 basis points less restrictive than it was last fall. And so, we think that leaves us in a good place to wait and see."This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. Recommended video Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/inflation-april-cpi-consumer-price-index-federal-reserve-interest-rates-2025-5 #inflation #unexpectedly #cooled #april #despite #trump039s #big #tariffs #announcement