It is starting to look a little better for jobs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the U.S. added 165,000 jobs in April. The unemployment remained unchanged at 7.5%.
The biggest gains were in professional and business services, which added 73,000 jobs and in leisure and hospitality, which added 38,000 jobs. Retail trade employment added 29,000 jobs.
There were also some positive revisions. The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for February was revised from +268,000 to +332,000, and the change for March was revised from +88,000 to +138,000.
The March 2013 jobs report raises fresh concerns about the economy. Once again there is reason to be concerned that future jobs report and the overall economy could go negative as we fall back into a recession. Only 88,000 jobs were created in March according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. ABC Newssays economists were expecting about 190,000. The unemployment rate held steady at 7.6%. This was the worst jobs report in nine months.
The biggest gain was in professional and business services, which climbed by 51,000. Health care employment was up 23,000 and construction employment was up 18,000. Retail trade fell the most with a drop of 24,000 jobs in March. Take a look:
April's Fool's: Google's Levity Algorithm Helps Liven Up Office Meetings
Google has launched the Levity Algorithm on April 1st. The app helps liven up boring office meeetings, presentations and communications.
You know the drill. Dreary two hour meetings you can't wait to escape. Emails that go on forever without getting to the point. Another invite to a meeting with no clear purpose. Today we're introducing the Levity Algorithm in Google Apps to help you spice up even the most boring of work days.
The app also helps liven up business emails and presentations. Take a look:
Home Depot Plans to Hire 80,000 Associates for Spring Season
Home Depot is anticipating a busy spring. The retailer plans to hire 80,000 new employees - part-time and full-time - for the spring season. CNN/Money notes that this is 10,000 more associates than Home Depot hired last spring.
Tim Crow, executive vice president of Human Resources for Home Depot, said in a statement, "Spring is always a special season for us, when we can offer employment opportunities for literally tens of thousands of Americans. We find some of our best associates during our peak season, and many of them have built long, meaningful careers with us."
The economy added 155,000 jobs in December according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 7.8 percent. Employment increased in health care, food services and drinking places, construction, and manufacturing.
As has been the recent trend, the biggest increases were in health care, which added 45,000 jobs. Health care employment grew by 338,000 jobs last year.
Food servies and drinking places jobs were up 38,000 in December 2012. Consturction added 30,000 jobs and manufacturing added 25,000 jobs. Take a look:
November was another mediocre month for the U.S. economy. The economy added 146,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 7.7%. If the economy were healthy we would be expecting job creation in the 250,000 to 300,000 range, but at least it was plus 100,000 number.
Hurricane Sandy was not much of a factor in November in employment. The U.S. Department of Labor noted in the report that "Hurricane Sandy did not substantively impact the national employment and unemployment estimates for November."
Rebecca Jarvis reports for CBS News that the reason the unemployment rate fell is because people gave up on looking for work, which is depressing. Gains came in retail, professional services and health care. Take a look:
Economy Adds 114,000 Jobs in September. July and August Revised Upward
There was a little bit of good news in the September job report from the Labor Department. 114,000 jobs were added in September. July and August were also revised upward by a total of 86,000 jobs. This makes for an average of 146,000 jobs created per month between July and September. It is an improvement and it is looking better than the first six months of the year as you can see on a chart here from the Wall Stret Journal. However, it is still shy of the 250,000 to 300,000 range we really need to pull out of the slump. The U.S. unemployment rate also fell to 7.8%. It will be interesting to see if retailers can help provide an additional boost with their holiday hiring. Take a look:
Department of Labor Calculates Most Dangerous Jobs
The Department of Labor has calculated the deadliest jobs in America. The Department of Labor used jobs per 100,000 workers to rank the deadliest jobs. The Wall Street Journal reports on the list, which includes jobs that involves use of heavy equipment and power tools. Here is the list with the number of deaths per 100,000 workers:
Fishing
Logging
Pilots
Transportation
Roofers
Iron/Steel Workers
Farmers/Ranchers
Take a look:
The BLS also has a report on fatal occupational injuries in 2011 here.
The economy added 163,000 jobs in July 2012. This was much better than the last three months and could help ease concerns the economy is slipping back into a recession. However, the unemployment rate climbed to 8.3%. 163,000 jobs is still much fewer than we need. The economy should really be creating about 300,000 jobs a month if we are ever going to recover. Another concern is that many of the new jobs seem to be low-paying or temporary jobs and not the full-time high paying jobs people really need.
CBS News business and economics correspondent Rebecca Jarvis says there have been 41 straight months with the unemployment rate at 8% or higher. Take a look:
June was another weak month for hiring in the United States. The economy managed a very unimpressive gain of 80,000 jobs in June. This is almost identical to the meager 77,000 jobs created in May. The last three months have been disappointing and there are concerns negative numbers could appear again in the months ahead.
There was a noteworthy slow down in Q2. In the second quarter, employment growth averaged just 75,000 per month, compared with an average monthly gain of 226,000 for the first quarter of the year.
The unemployment rate was steady at 8.2%, however CNN/Money reports that the underemployment rate rose to 14.9% in June.
The strongest category in June was professional and business services which added 47,000 jobs.
A much weaker than expected jobs report for May arrived today from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A mere 69,000 jobs were added in May. Economists were forecasting higher numbers - an average of 158,000 jobs. The unemployment rate was about the same at 8.2%. Employment increased in slightly health care, transportation and warehousing, and wholesale trade but declined in construction.
The May figure is a complete reversal of the scenario from the first quarter, which suggested a sign the economy may be starting to grow again. The average monthly gain was 226,000 per month in quarter one was 226,000 jobs. These new numbers may it appear that the economy could be about to shrink again.
In May, jobs were lost in accounting and booking and construction. Minimal gains were reported in other industries. Health care employment was the strongest with a gain of 33,000 jobs.
Study Finds Two-Thirds of IT Administrators Have Considered Switching Careers Over Job Stress
GFI Software recently conducted an IT Admin Stress Survey, which found that 67% of IT administrators have considered switching careers due to job stress. Managers, users (employees), and tight deadlines were cited as the biggest job stressors. The survey results also revealed that IT professionals tend to work long overtime hours, with one third working the equivalent of 10 additional weeks per year.
The independent blind survey, which polled 204 IT administrators in U.S. organizations ranging from 10 to more than 500 employees, was conducted by Opinion Matters on behalf of GFI Software. Here are some highlights of the study:
Nearly 70% of all IT administrators surveyed consider their job stressful.
Greater than 67% of IT administrators consider switching careers on either an occasional (43%) or regular (25%) basis due to job stress.
72% of respondents consider themselves either just as stressed as or the most stressed compared to others in their social circle.
While less than half (47%) of IT admins at companies with between 10 and 49 employees say their jobs are stressful, that number skyrockets to 83% when those at companies with between 50 and 99 employees are polled, representing the most stressed group in the respondent base.
The top three sources of stress for IT admins are: management (28%), tight deadlines (20%) and the users they support (18%).
IT admins in the Northeast are the most stressed in the country (74%). Midwesterners are the least stressed, with nearly two-thirds (64%) still saying their job is stressful.
Nearly 85% of respondents feel as though their job has impacted their personal life in some way.
42% say they have lost sleep over work
39% say they have missed time with their kids due to work
20% say they have experienced stress-related health issues such as high blood pressure
22% say they don't feel great physically
Phil Bousfield, general manager of GFI Software's Infrastructure Business Unit, says, "IT is a critical component of a company's success, yet many SMBs, particularly those with between 50 and 100 employees, are not equipping IT managers with the budget, staffing and resources they need to be effective. Not only is this creating a high stress environment for IT admins to operate in, but as evidenced by the survey results, it's also resulting in long overtime hours and impacting their professional and personal lives. SMBs need to take these findings as a wake-up call, and ensure their IT staff is supported, productive and armed with the tools they need to be successful. Doing so will deliver business value and help IT admins have a better work-life balance."
You can see a larger version of the infographic here.
Some Workers May Sleep in Pods at Work to Avoid Lengthy Commute During London Olympics
London is going to overwhelmed with traffic during the upcoming Summer Olympics. The Olympics may make commuting a nightmare or impossibility for some London workers. Some employers are trying out sleeping pods as a way for employees to sleep at the office. Some of the mattresses fit a mirror and stereo in addition to a mattress. Take a look:
The U.S. economy added 120,000 new jobs in March. This low number sadly ends the streak of 200,000+ jobs created a month since December. The number of unemployed persons (12.7 million) and the unemployment rate
(8.2 percent) were both little changed in March. This is not good. The number of unemployed persons should be going down.
Philly.com reports that
Nigel Gault, chief U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight, says, "March was expected to bring another good jobs report, and it failed miserably."
Job gains were spread out over several industries, including business services, health care, leisure and hospitality and manufacturing. Retail trade employment fell by 34,000 in March. Take a look:
The U.S. economy added 227,000 new jobs in February according to a new report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.3 percent. Employment rose in professional and businesses services, health care and social assistance, leisure and hospitality, manufacturing, and mining.
Health care and social assistance employment rose added 61,000 jobs in February. Employment in leisure and hospitality increased by 44,000, with nearly all
of the increase in food services and drinking places (+41,000). Manufacturing employment rose by 31,000 in February. Mining added 7,000 jobs. Employment in construction and retail changed very little. Government employment also remained essentially unchanged.
This is the third straight month the economy has created over 220,000 new jobs. The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for December was revised from +203,000 to +223,000, and the change for January was revised from 243,000 to +284,000. Take a look:
Home Depot is anticipating a busy spring. The retailer plans to hire 80,000 new employees - part-time and full-time - for the spring season. CNN/Money 
