A record number of U.S. workers voluntarily quit their jobs in August, led by bar and restaurant employees as well as retail staff, according to figures released Tuesday by the Department of Labor. The Labor Department’s monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, known as the JOLTS report, showed that 4.3 million left their jobs. The…

The Labor Department is giving $240 million to states for measures like beefing up cybersecurity defense and identity verification in a bid to fight an explosion of unemployment insurance fraud. The move, announced in an Aug. 12 press release, is part of a broader thrust to modernize the unemployment insurance system, the shortcomings of which…

Thirty House members, all Republicans, asked the Labor Department acting inspector general to do an “official audit” of unemployment insurance fraud during the COVID-19 pandemic. “It is past time we learned how much of American taxpayers’ dollars have actually been given to fraudulent claims,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter (pdf) to Acting Inspector General…

WASHINGTON—U.S. employers posted a record-high number of open jobs for the second straight month as a rapidly rebounding economy generates intense demand for workers. The number of available jobs on the last day of May rose slightly to 9.21 million, from 9.19 million in April, the Labor Department said Wednesday. That is the highest since…

WASHINGTON—The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell last week for a fifth straight week to a new pandemic low, the latest evidence that the U.S. job market is regaining its health as the economy further reopens. The Labor Department said Thursday that jobless claims dropped to 385,000, down 20,000 from the week before. The…