** FILE ** In this March 5, 2009, file photo, job seekers join a line of hundreds of people at a job fair sponsored by Monster.com in New York. The Labor Department said Thursday, Nov. 4, 2010, that the number of people seeking jobless benefits jumped sharply last week, after two straight weeks of declines. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, file)
Electrical power lines are seen below storm clouds in a field near Newtown, Pa., on May 8, 2010. The Labor Department reported Wednesday that energy prices fell 1.5 percent in May, the biggest drop since a 2.2 percent decline in February. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
Thomas E. Perez, 51, has led the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division since 2009 as an assistant U.S. attorney general. Previously, he served as labor secretary in Maryland. He is seen as President Obama’s likely pick to head the Labor Department. (Associated Press)
A job hunter fills out an employment application at the Fort Lauderdale Career Fair in Dania Beach, Fla., on Friday, Nov. 30, 2012. The U.S. economy added a solid 146,000 jobs in November, and the unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent, the lowest since December 2008, the Labor Department announced. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)
Former General Electric Chairman Jack Welch tweeted his skepticism five minutes after the Labor Department recently announced the unemployment rate had fallen to 7.8 percent in September from 8.1 percent the previous month. (Associated Press)
Former General Electric Chairman Jack Welch tweeted his skepticism five minutes after the Labor Department recently announced the unemployment rate had fallen to 7.8 percent in September from 8.1 percent the previous month. (Associated Press)
Secretary of the Interior Kenneth L. Salazar visited the Abound Solar Inc. plant in Longmont, Colo., in 2009. The company has filed for bankruptcy, but the Department of Labor says its laid-off employees aren’t eligible for federal trade assistance. (Associated Press)
Secretary of the Interior Kenneth L. Salazar visited the Abound Solar Inc. plant in Longmont, Colo., in 2009. The company has filed for bankruptcy, but the Department of Labor says its laid-off employees aren’t eligible for federal trade assistance. (Associated Press)
A worker directs traffic for street construction in Portland, Ore., Friday, Oct. 5, 2012. The Labor Department reported Friday that the unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent in September, a decline of 0.3 percentage point and the lowest since January 2009. The government said the economy created 114,000 jobs, about as expected, and generated 86,000 more jobs in July and August than first estimated.(AP Photo/)
