Remote and hybrid work options have contributed to more sporadic weekday foot traffic in the heart of the city. That’s made things even harder than usual for the small businesses who used to rely on both regulars and passersby.
workforce
Older workers are a growing share of the American workforce
The share of older Americans who are working has doubled in the past 35 years, a new report finds. They’re also working longer hours and earning higher wages.
Maine asks for federal waiver to let asylum seekers go to work
Although there is no provision for such waivers, the request comes as advocates lobby Congress to support a bill sponsored by Rep. Chellie Pingree to shorten the waiting time for work permits.
National campaign launches to promote Pingree’s asylum seeker work bill
The campaign is rallying support for the bipartisan House Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act, which would reduce wait times for work permits from at least 180 days to just 30 days.
What’s in the pipeline to help Maine workers with children
A bill sponsored by Sen. Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, and signed by Gov. Janet Mills devotes about $60 million to Maine’s child care system over the next two years.
Maine employers step up to relieve child care pressures on working parents
Finding ways to make child care more affordable and accessible is a strategy Maine businesses hope will help them find and keep employees.
As students head back to school, some districts struggle to find the staffing to serve them
The problem is particularly severe in Skowhegan-based Maine School Administrative District 54, which still needs more than 20 educational technicians as the 2023-24 school year launches.
With no place to go, some patients in Maine spend months in hospitals
A lack of beds and staffing at assisted living facilities and nursing homes creates an unwelcome situation that benefits neither the languishing patients nor the hospitals shouldering their care.
Office romance in work-from-home era? It’s not as remote as you think
Maybe it’s isolation fatigue, but surveys and psychologists suggest workplace relationships could be on the rise and are definitely here to stay.
Child-care funding cliff nears, putting Maine families and facilities at risk
As pandemic relief dwindles, ‘the workforce behind the workforce’ worries about its ability to keep providing high-demand services without significant and sustained support.