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<ul class="summary-list"><li>New US jobless claims for the week that ended Saturday totaled 1 million, the Labor Department said Thursday. That matched the consensus economist estimate.</li><li>Thursday's reading comes after a surprise increase the prior week in which claims first rose back above 1 million.</li><li>The latest report brought total filings over a 23-week period to more than 58 million.</li><li>Continuing claims, which measure the sum of Americans receiving unemployment benefits, totaled 14.5 million for the week that ended August 15, a slight decrease from the prior week.</li></ul>More than 1 million Americans filed new claims for unemployment insurance last week as coronavirus fallout continued to hit the labor market.New US weekly jobless claims totaled just over 1 million last week, the Labor Department announced Thursday. The reading matched the estimate from economists surveyed by Bloomberg and is roughly in line with the prior period.It comes after a surprise jump the prior week in which claims rose back above 1 million. Jobless claims have hovered at that level over the past few weeks as hiring failed to speed up.In just a few months, the more than 58 million unemployment claims filed during the coronavirus pandemic have far surpassed the 37 million during the 18-month Great Recession. The latest figure is still far more than the 665,000 filed during the Great Recession's worst week.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-picks-to-buy-cheap-companies-strong-earnings-morgan-stanley-2020-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MORGAN STANLEY: Buy these 12 stocks underappreciated stocks that offer strong profit growth and are due for a surge</a>Continuing claims, which represent the aggregate total of people receiving unemployment benefits, came in at 14.5 million for the week that ended August 15, a slight decline from the prior period's revised number. The figure did, however, exceed economist forecasts.Other high-frequency data releases have shown the US economic recovery sputtering out in recent weeks. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/consumer-confidence-august-second-month-coronavirus-economic-toll-recession-spending-2020-8">Consumer confidence fell</a> for a second straight month in August. Credit- and debit-card gauges have shown consumer spending slowing its growth through the month with fiscal stimulus drying up and Americans remaining wary of COVID-19 hot spots.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-picking-strategy-from-portfolio-manager-who-spots-100x-winners-2020-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chris Mayer wrote the book on how to make 100 times your money with a single stock. He gives an in-depth assessment of the latest company that 'checks all my boxes.'</a>

US weekly jobless claims stay above 1 million for a 2nd straight week as labor-market recovery stalls

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Deanna Ransom is the head of global marketing for <keyword id="9391879" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="televerde">Televerde</keyword>, an integrated sales and marketing tech company based in Phoenix, Arizona.</li><li>Ransom says that it's vital for employers and business leaders to not only be there for their Black employees during this challenging time, but to listen to their needs and be vocal in supporting them.</li><li>Beyond listening, Ransom adds that leaders need to actively foster uncomfortable conversations about <keyword id="44060" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Racism">racism</keyword> and <keyword id="43748" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="discrimination">discrimination</keyword>, and enact policies that drive real change in their companies.</li></ul>This has been a tough couple of months — <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/breonna-taylor-police.html">Breonna Taylor</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/ahmaud-arbery-shooting-georgia.html">Ahmaud Arbery</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/investment-firm-suspends-central-park-woman-rang-nypd-black-man-2020-5">Central Park Karen</a>, and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/us/george-floyd-investigation.html">George Floyd</a>. I'd describe it as soul crushing. It's one thing to have to take on the burden of racism and violence as a Black woman. I've done this my whole life and I keep on doing it. But as a mom of three Black young adults who are now out from under my watchful eye, I'm scared for them. And this fear doesn't leave me. I've simply learned to compartmentalize it. It's getting harder to do. I'm looking for a new path forward and I'm counting on the business community to help provide it.<div type="image" title="Deanna Ransom Televerde" height="375" width="500" msid="76342552" hostid="261"></div>I'm on social media every day. Companies and <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/31/apple-ceo-tim-cook-email-to-employees-about-george-floyd.html">business leaders like Tim Cook</a> are all saying the right things. It gives me hope. We're publicly acknowledging that the death of George Floyd by four police officers is unconscionable. But we've done this before, so my worry is that our reactions will once again lead to inaction, and this can't be if we want real change.<h2 style="font-weight: 400;">Talk with your Black employees</h2>I've spent my career in technology. In my professional meetings, I'm more often than not the only person of color. Yet during my 20+ year career, I've never been asked about race. I find this odd considering that <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/black-professionals-hold-only-3-percent-of-executive-jobs-1-percent-of-ceo-jobs-at-fortune-500-firms-new-report-says/">Black people occupy just 3.2% of the senior leadership roles</a> at large companies in the United States. And when there is a lack of <keyword id="61889" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Diversity">diversity</keyword> in the c-suite, you absolutely need to reach out to Black employees across your business. You can't understand racial issues without them.I get that it's hard and definitely more than a little intimidating. When you haven't lived an experience, you're coming into discussions knowing far less than those who you're speaking with. But here's the thing: We tell employees all the time to lean into their work, their thinking, etc. Leaders need to do the same with uncomfortable conversations about race: lean in, and listen. You don't always have to be the one speaking. Don't let fear hold you back from this full engagement. This is the only way you can create inclusion programs that actually improve opportunities for people.Know this: part of the reason why the George Floyd <keyword id="6354896" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="protests">protests</keyword> have escalated to riots is because people don't feel heard. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar articulated this point well in a <a href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-05-30/dont-understand-the-protests-what-youre-seeing-is-people-pushed-to-the-edge">recent op-ed in The Los Angeles Times</a>. This is a horrific outcome that could have been avoided simply by listening without judgement and the preconceived notions that perpetuate negative stereotypes and attitudes.<h2 style="font-weight: 400;">Be present, available, and communicative</h2>Now more than ever, your Black employees need to hear from you. We need your support. We want to know that you are committed to help put an end to the racism and violence that permeates our society. This isn't just a personal weight we are carrying. My burden comes with me to the office every single day. When I see executives and colleagues tiptoeing around racial issues and consciously not addressing the elephant in the room as I have in the past, it hurts. I don't feel included. I feel like I was brought on to make diversity numbers look better, or even worse, that they want my work product but not me.Unconscious biases are everywhere, even in the heads of the most evolved minds and workplaces. It's evident in where we choose to live, the neighborhoods we drive around instead of through, the friends we keep, the people we hire.The only way to end these biases is to have honest discussions about them. Starbucks did this really well in the wake of the George Floyd protests with a <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2020/letter-from-ceo-courageous-conversations-in-the-wake-of-george-floyds-murder/">meeting and letter to employees</a>.I was also blown away that four members of my Televerde executive team reached out to me personally to ask how I was, including my CEO and CFO. That one question, "How are you doing?" meant the world to me. I felt like I wasn't alone and that I as a person was valued for the first time in my professional career.Later, our operating committee addressed the issue head-on in an all-employee letter. This will open up the door to conversations with other Black employees, <a href="https://televerde.com/who-we-are/model/">many of whom are incarcerated,</a> so their experiences with race and injustice will offer insights that I don't have. In this way, we are all learning and growing together. And when we know better, as Maya Angelou said, we do better.<h2 style="font-weight: 400;">Do the hard work</h2>Now the real work begins. We need to move past words and to action. We can't let this moment get away from us. Breonna, Ahmaud, and George — we can't let their tragic deaths be in vain.As business leaders, we must recognize our responsibility to help solve issues of inequality and injustice more broadly.We must lead by example and get our own houses in order and then be more present in the communities that need our help. This is how we build trust. From trust, the people hurting can move from discomfort to comfort and start on their journey to reach their human potential.We are all in this together and it will take every one of us to fix this. Racism isn't a Black problem; it's a societal ill — the pandemic of the human consciousness. We are all human beings who want the same things: love, respect, opportunity. More than that, we want to feel as though our life is valued as much as our lighter skin brothers and sisters.I'm calling on all business leaders to have the tough conversations, to be a public voice for the oppressed, and to turn your outrage into action so we can finally break the cycle of "reaction/inaction" and put an end to racial injustice.Deanna Ransom is the head of global marketing for <a href="https://televerde.com/">Televerde</a>, an integrated sales and marketing technology organization based in Phoenix, Arizona. Seven of Televerde's 10 engagement centers are staffed by incarcerated women, representing 70% of the company's 600+ global workforce.

3 actions that Black employees need from leadership right now

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">TeleverdeTeleverde trains and employs incarcerated women in Perryville, a prison center in Arizona.</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Televerde, a sales and <keyword id="6354839" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="marketing">marketing</keyword> company that works with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/sap">SAP</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/adobe">Adobe,</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/microsoft">Microsoft</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/dell">Dell</a>, and others, provides training and employment for currently and formerly incarcerated women in Arizona and Indiana.</li><li>At Televerde, these women have the opportunity to save some money, get promoted, and possibly even find themselves on a career track there after their release. </li><li>Critics say that while programs like Televerde can provide employment opportunities for incarcerated people, it's also important to raise questions about private companies profiting off prison labor.</li><li>Business Insider spoke with four women - three formerly incarcerated; one currently so - who have worked with Televerde.</li><li>They share what it's like to work at Televerde while in prison and what it's like to transition back to society after their release.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Read more on the Business Insider homepage.</a></li></ul>When Erin Ford, 28, was still incarcerated in Perryville, a women's prison center in Goodyear, Arizona, she would see a group of women still in their prisoners' uniform, leaving the facility gates every morning. These women were off to work at Televerde, a sales and marketing company that works with the Department of Corrections in Arizona and Indiana to provide call center jobs for currently incarcerated women - and provide jobs for some of them upon their release. Televerde counts tech giants like SAP, Adobe, Microsoft, and Dell as clients."I wanted to know how I could be a part of that," Ford told Business Insider. "It was kind of like, a position up on a pedestal for anyone that was incarcerated...It was an opportunity to get out of the yard every day.Since it was founded about 25 years ago, Televerde says that it has employed 3,000 incarcerated women. After their release, they have the possibility of getting hired with Televerde for a full-time role. Indeed, today, about half of Televerde's workforce at the headquarters in Phoenix are former Perryville inmates. Televerde says that when it hires inmates, it doesn't ask applicants for any information about their crimes, following a "don't ask, don't tell" hiring practice.Televerde now has eight contact centers, five of which are staffed entirely by incarcerated women from prisons in Arizona and Indiana. To a visitor, it might look like any other call center - except the employees are all wearing orange.We spoke to four women - three who were former inmates at Perryville, and one current prisoner there - about what it's like to work at Televerde.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">TeleverdeTeleverde employees work at call centers and help clients with sales and marketing.</div></div></div><h2>A day of work at Televerde</h2>Televerde says these employees are paid an hourly wage, which starts at federal minimum wage and includes time and a half for overtime. They have immediate access to one-third of their wages for discretionary spending. Another third goes to the Department of Corrections and the state to pay for room and board, as well as fines, restitution, child support or room and board, if applicable. The remainder goes into a savings account.Valerie Ochoa, who is currently incarcerated at Perryville, now works as an inside sales representative for Televerde. Over the last three years, she's worked her way up the ranks - she <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl1Bpdg0mKY">even spoke about her experience</a> at a TEDx event at the prison. Ochoa works from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. At work, each employee has her own desk, cubicle and computer at work, and during the day, she'll call clients and assist them through the customer life-cycle. "Once I step into Televerde, I'm no longer an inmate. I take that hat off and I'm a professional," Ochoa told Business Insider.While at Perryville, Ford, who was released in 2015 and now working at Televerde, studied for her GED specifically so she could get a full-time job after her release. She saw it as a chance to make good on her past mistakes. <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">TeleverdeTeleverde provides workshops and training for incarcerated women.</div></div></div>"Growing up I had a really strong sense of family but a not-so-strong sense of self," Ford said. "I was a bit lost, and it led to me making poor choices."Not every Televerde employee is a former or current prisoner - the company does hire through more conventional avenues, too. Televerde CEO Morag Lucey says that the company looks to ensure there is equality at the company between current and former prisoners, and anyone hired from outside "There is a feeling that they're not as good as some people on the outside because they are incarcerated," Lucey told Business Insider. "They're working to understand they are absolutely capable of participating within the company and society. It's empowering them to feel like they have a voice and a purpose."<h2>Perspectives on prison labor</h2>Marc Mauer, executive director of The Sentencing Project, says that establishments like Televerde can play an important role in the lives of formerly incarcerated people: It's hard to find work with prior convictions on your record, and even the jobs that are available may not pay enough to support themselves or their families. "When a person comes home from prison, it can take quite a long while to get a job because of all the obstacles in their way," Mauer told Business Insider. "Having a job commitment when you're still in prison just makes that transition far more smooth when coming home."Beyond the financial stability, Mauer says that jobs at places like Televerde can provide stability and peer support, further reducing the risk of recidivism. At the same time, it's not exactly mission accomplished, says Andrea James, founder and executive director of the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls. While it's good that Televerde and companies like it provide jobs to current and former prisoners, she says, it's not a perfect solution: It's important to advocate for their labor rights, like fair wages, how much of their salary they can keep, and to what extent these opportunities are transferred after their release. These jobs tend to pay very little, and incarcerated people often earn less than a dollar an hour, according to the <a href="https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2017/04/10/wages/">Prison Policy Initiative</a>. With a few exceptions, regular prison jobs are still unpaid in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, and Texas."People say any job is better than no job, but it doesn't negate the fact we need to keep demanding fairness," James said. "There's always this caution we have whenever we create more opportunities for private companies to use prison labor. "<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">TeleverdeEmployees at Televerde, which provides job training for incarcerated women, take a break.</div></div></div><h2>Preparing to return home</h2>Leading up to release, women can go through six months of workshops to prepare for transitioning back to society. Those workshops cover topics like financial planning, family reintegration, and career placement. At Perryville, when women are released, they refer to it as "graduation."About 25 percent of inmates continue to work with Televerde after their release, while others may find work with Televerde's clients. Not every woman who worked at Televerde while in prison is guaranteed a job, but the company considers them for open positions. Last year, 58 formerly incarcerated women worked at Televerde's office in Phoenix with an average annual base salary of $52,089.11 plus bonus and benefits. Televerde says it has formerly incarcerated women at every level of the organization, including in its top ranks of executive leadership. These women are also less likely to return to prison, a cycle that many former inmates may be trapped in. Nationwide, the <a href="https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/18upr9yfup0514.pdf">three-year recidivism rate is</a> 68%. Televerde says its formerly incarcerated employees have a 6% recidivism rate. It also offers continued support for these employees through life skills training, a mentorship program, and other initiatives. Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/justice-reform-advocates-warn-first-step-act-is-just-the-start-2018-12">Critics are warning that the criminal-justice-reform bill being hailed as a bipartisan victory doesn't go nearly far enough</a><h2>Life after graduation</h2>Initially, Korbi Johnston, strategic account manager at Televerde and a former Perryville inmate, stayed with her parents until she could find a house. She says she was fortunate that she had housing - others often have trouble finding a place to stay after their release. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, formerly incarcerated people are nearly <a href="https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/housing.html">10 times more likely</a> to be homeless than the general population.They also face barriers in accessing public benefits, like welfare and food stamps, as well as receiving licenses for certain occupations, The Sentencing Project's Mauer says. According to The Sentencing Project, <a href="https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/a-lifetime-of-punishment-the-impact-of-the-felony-drug-ban-on-welfare-benefits/">180,000 women</a> in the 12 most impacted states are subject to a lifetime ban on financial assistance for their families.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">TeleverdeIncarcerated women work at a contact center for Televerde. About a quarter of women will continue working with Televerde after their release.</div></div></div>"When we transition there is a lot of fear - how things have changed, how your family has changed," Johnston said. "The one thing that was stable was I felt comfortable with was my job."Like Johnston, Virginia Mireles, now a corporate people development specialist at Televerde, was also offered a position after her release in 2018. "I already made a commitment that no matter what it was, the feedback that I received, I was going to adopt it, and everything had to change," Mireles told Business Insider. "I was learning technology, learning how to speak effectively, and learning how to interact with C-levels while I was sitting in my orange uniform."Today, Mireles participates in mentorship programs to help women who are in a similar situation to the one in which she found herself. For Mireles, the biggest challenge after graduation was establishing a relationship with her children again."They grew up while I was gone," Mireles said. "They're adults. How do you parent children who are not children? Setting boundaries and having open communication was the part of it. I always imagined how hard it would be to do what normal people do every day."Ochoa's planned release date is May 1, 2020, which is less than a year from now - and she is counting the days. When she leaves prison, she looks forward to being with her family, participating in society, and dining out. She hopes to continue her education and eventually become a sales executive."I'm already in preparation for thinking about my long term and short term goals for release," Ochoa said. "I know I'm capable of that, and I'm so ready to participate and give back as this company and this program have given to me...I'm confident that when I graduate, it's a matter of choosing the right direction. I never stopped learning and I continue to grow every day."Got a tip? Contact this reporter via email at rmchan@businessinsider.com, Telegram at @rosaliechan, or Twitter DM at <a href="https://twitter.com/rosaliechan17">@rosaliechan17</a>. (PR pitches by email only, please.) Other types of secure messaging available upon request. You can also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-tip-business-insider-securely-guide-signal-securedrop-2017-6">contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop</a>. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stewart-butterfield-advice-for-millenials-2015-7">Stewart Butterfield, co-founder of Slack and Flickr, says 2 beliefs have brought him the greatest success in life</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

This call center company relies on a workforce of incarcerated women to help companies like Microsoft, SAP, and Dell power their customer support

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US weekly jobless claims stay above 1 million for a 2nd straight week as labor-market recovery stalls

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3 actions that Black employees need from leadership right now

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This call center company relies on a workforce of incarcerated women to help companies like Microsoft, SAP, and Dell power their customer support

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