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Archive for August 17th, 2012

Women’s Job Gains Pick Up in July

August 17, 2012 By: admin Category: Consumer Education

www.nwlc.org

but Public Sector Job Losses Continue to Slow the Recovery for Women and Men, NWLC Analysis Shows

(Washington, D.C.) Analysis by the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) of jobs data released today shows that women made stronger job gains in July than they have for several months and added more jobs for the month (86,000) than men did (77,000). Men gained slightly more private sector jobs in July than women did – 89,000 compared to 83,000. But, in a change from the overall trend during the recovery, men bore the brunt of public sector job losses in July. Since the start of the recovery in June 2009, women have gained 970,000 net private sector jobs—and lost 403,000 net public sector jobs. Men have gained 2,414,000 net private sector jobs—and lost 239,000 net public sector jobs. For every 10 private sector jobs women have gained since the recovery began, they have lost more than four public sector jobs.

“Women’s job gains picked up last month, and that’s welcome news,” said Joan Entmacher, NWLC Vice President for Family Economic Security. “However, in the recovery, women have only regained 27 percent of the jobs they lost during the recession, compared to 41 percent for men. For both women and men – but especially for women – the recovery has been slowed by public sector job losses. Policy makers are causing job losses by continuing cuts to education, health care, public safety and other public services. They need to stop pretending that giving more tax cuts to the richest two percent will somehow trickle down and help the economy. It’s time to get serious about putting Americans back to work.”

The sectors with the most growth last month for women were professional and business services (including temporary help services), where women added 37,000 jobs, and education and health services, where women added 35,000 jobs. Men made the strongest gains in manufacturing (25,000 jobs) and leisure and hospitality (21,000). Men’s heaviest job losses were in the public sector, where they lost 12,000 jobs. Women gained 3,000 public sector jobs in July.

The unemployment rate for adult women (ages 20 and older) in July 2012 was 7.5 percent in July, up 0.1 percentage point since June. Adult men’s unemployment rate was 7.7 percent in July, down 0.1 percentage point from June.
The unemployment rates for some vulnerable groups of women moved in multiple directions last month. The unemployment rate for adult black women dropped dramatically, to 11.5 percent from 12.7 percent in June. For adult Hispanic women, the unemployment rate increased slightly, to 10.5 percent from 10.3 percent in June (not seasonally adjusted). The unemployment rate for single mothers declined slightly, to 11.7 percent from 11.8 percent in June (not seasonally adjusted). The long-term unemployment rate remained high; over four in ten jobless adult women and men had been looking for work for six months or longer.

“Millions of families still are struggling to get back on their feet,” added Entmacher. “We need to strengthen the economy for those who need help, not give more tax breaks to those who need them least.”

Basic PC Maintenance Tips

August 17, 2012 By: admin Category: Consumer Education

www.enjapc.com 
3223 W Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh · (412) 440-0099

Performing some basic PC maintenance can keep your PC running at its finest and may even save you some money. Here are just a few tips to keep your PC running at its finest.

1.Blow out the dust - Dust can clog up the cooling unit of you PC, reducing its ability to cool itself and possibly damaging the internal components. With the PC turned off, use a can of compressed air to blow out any dust from air vents and fans. With notebooks, blow into the fan outlet and ensure that the fan spins freely.

2.Delete them cookies- Internet Explorer has a built-in feature to clean your tracks including cookies and browsing history that accumulate while you browse. In IE9, simply click the gear icon on the top right-hand corner, select “safety” then “delete browsing history…” At least delete the temporary files and cookies.

3.Update Windows, Java, Adobe, etc. - Windows update is easily accessed via the Windows Update logo via the Start menu. In the case of the other products, we recommend removing Java, Adobe Flash, Shockwave and Reader via the Add/Remove or Uninstall Programs menus in the Control Panel. All that’s left is a reboot and going to each respective website to download the newest version.

4.Check your antivirus software - If you don’t have any, get some. If you have a reputable program, open it up. Double check that you have a valid license and the most recent edition. Most new programs will update many times during the day, be sure your virus definitions are no more than 48 hours old.

5.Backup, back-up, BACK IT UP - No matter how you say it, it needs to be done. PC hard drives frequently fail, people accidentally erase files, and laptops get stolen. For many different reasons, backups should be done often

SOCIAL SECURITY AND LIVING ABROAD

August 17, 2012 By: admin Category: Consumer Education

By Patricia Thibault
Social Security District Manager in Pittsburgh, PA

These days it is more common than ever for a person to travel across the globe – either for vacation or to live in another country permanently. If you are one of these people, Social Security offers a special website: “Social Security Payments Outside the United States.” The website features all you need to know about Social Security while living abroad. You can find it at www.socialsecurity.gov/international/payments.html.

If you’re in the planning stages of moving to another country, you may want to check out our “Payments Abroad Screening Tool.” It will ask you a few short questions and will let you know whether your payments can continue. It may make a difference in your decision to live abroad.

The page also offers links to publications, such as Your Payments While You Are Outside The United States, which explains how your benefits may be affected and other important information you need to know about receiving Social Security benefits while outside the country.

In the top, right corner of the page, you’ll find important information on how to contact Social Security when you are abroad — to ask questions, make requests, or report events and changes that may affect payments.
Whether you’re stateside or abroad, you’ll want to pay a visit to www.socialsecurity.gov/international/payments.html.

Voter Id: Are you registered?

August 17, 2012 By: admin Category: Consumer Education

Check whether you are registered at :
https://www.pavoterservices.state.pa.us/Pages/voterregistrationstatus.aspx

Because this only confirms if the first and last name exactly match the search, any middle name or initial is not used or displayed in the result. Call (412) 350-4500 (Allegheny County Elections Division) to get the complete registered name. Check, you may not be registered, many people have discovered they are ,in fact. not registered.

If it is necessary to change the name on your registration, you can use the same process to do a new registration as can be found from the above link. This has to be completed before Oct. 9 this year.

If you are aware of someone who may not have the proper credentials to vote in the upcoming election, find a way to get her or him the correct documents in order for that person to exercise their right to vote. Many senior citizens are without picture id’s or driver’s license, may not have access to a computer or social media and not have transportation, or
be physically be able to wait in the long lines for a photo ID

Information was obtained from this web site, check your state to see if this law affects you or your community:
www.ncsl.org/legislatures-elections/elections/voter-id.aspx

Pennsylvania
Each elector who appears to vote and desires to vote shall present proof of identification.

Identification must satisfy the following:

Shows the name of the individual, which must substantially conform to the individual’s name on the precinct register

Show a photograph of the individual to whom it was issued
Be issued by the U.S. government, Commonwealth of PA, a municipality of the Commonwealth to an employee of the municipality, an accredited PA private or public institution of higher learning or a PA care facility.

Include an expiration date and not be expired (exception for a military ID with an indication that it has an indefinite expiration date or a PA driver’s license or non-driver ID card that is not more than 12 months past the expiration date)

A voter who is indigent an unable to obtain ID without any payment or fee, or who is otherwise unable to obtain ID, may vote a provisional ballot.
A voter who casts a provisional ballot because he or she is unable to provide proof of identification must execute an affirmation that he or she is the same person who appeared to vote on election day and do one of the following within six calendar days after the election:

Appear in person at the county board of elections to complete the affirmation and present proof of identification;
Submit an electronic, facsimile or paper copy of the affirmation and the proof of identification.

A voter who is indigent and unable to obtain proof of identification without payment of a fee must submit an affirmation that he or she is the same person who appeared to vote on election day and that he or she is indigent in the same time frame and manner as described above