WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The jobs outlook is growing dimmer and dimmer for the U.S. public sector.

Federal employment data released on Friday shows that state and local governments are shedding thousands of jobs even as Republican political leaders say more layoffs are on the way.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Counties across the United State are still reeling from the effects of the recession, slammed by declining aid from state governments and lower tax revenues, according to a survey by the National Association of Counties released on Thursday.

Almost one-quarter of the 500 counties surveyed said they have laid off workers, with all counties of populations topping 1 million having eliminated jobs, the study found. Counties are also reorganizing, delaying projects and using reserves.

WASHINGTON, March 1 (Reuters) – The costs to U.S. states of
the Medicaid insurance program for the poor will grow by
hundreds of billions of dollars under the healthcare law passed
last year, according to a report released by Republicans in the
Senate and House of Representatives on Tuesday.

“This law, because of Medicaid expansions, has put a strain
on state budgets,” Senator Orrin Hatch, one of the report’s
sponsors, told a meeting of hospital administrators on Tuesday.
“Medicaid expansions threaten to bankrupt the states.”

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama extended an olive branch on Monday to U.S. states struggling to implement his healthcare law, offering support for a proposal that would give them some flexibility in carrying out its key parts.

Obama’s signature healthcare reform plan aims to lower costs and extend coverage to millions of uninsured Americans, but the controversial law has divided Democrats and Republicans and handed states — more than half of which are suing over its constitutionality — a handful of bureaucratic challenges.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Rising oil prices could trample prospects for economic recovery in many states, three governors warned on Sunday, as a leading economist said they also threaten the country’s economic comeback.

“Oil prices — I hope don’t go any higher,” said Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, a possible contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. “But everywhere now one hears there’s more than a minor risk they’re going to go a lot higher.”

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Governors of U.S. states see a new threat to their fragile budget and economic situations: the federal government.

On Saturday, governors from across the country warned that federal budget cuts and a government shutdown could hurt states’ slow economic recovery and said suggestions to allow states to declare bankruptcy damaged their ability to borrow.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – State governors and their Chinese counterparts agreed on Saturday to strengthen ties between their local governments and increase economic opportunities, as states seek help for their hefty budget struggles.

“Expanding exports is key to our economic recovery,” said Washington Governor Christine Gregoire, who chairs the National Governors Association, before signing the accord along with Chinese officials and Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman.

WASHINGTON, Feb 25 (Reuters) – As the U.S. Congress
frantically negotiates budget and spending measures to avoid a
federal shutdown, residents of the U.S. capital wonder if their
own government will have to come screeching to a halt.

Washington, D.C., is in the unique position of being a city
without a state, and its budget is tied to the federal
government. Like many states, it also faces the threat that a
prolonged shutdown could damage its tenuous fiscal situation.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The federal government on Thursday announced funding to help states evaluate health insurance rates and run preventive medicine programs, just as many state officials worry they cannot afford to carry out reforms included in the massive healthcare law.

Starting in August, states can apply for three-year grants worth $3 million to create or enhance their reviews of the premiums health insurance companies charge, said Steve Larsen, director of the Health and Human Services Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight.

WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (Reuters) – The federal government on
Thursday announced funding to help U.S. states evaluate health
insurance rates and run preventive medicine programs, just as
many state officials worry they cannot afford to carry out
reforms included in the massive healthcare law.

Starting in August, states can apply for three-year grants
worth $3 million to create or enhance their reviews of the
premiums health insurance companies charge, said Steve Larsen,
director of the Health and Human Services Center for Consumer
Information and Insurance Oversight.