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240,000 Jobs Lost in October; Jobless Rate Hits 6.5%

Fri, 7 Nov 2008 18:00:00 EST

The latest jobs report from the U.S. Department of Labor has the jobless rate at 6.5%. 240,000 jobs were lost in October and the September job cuts were revised to 284,000 jobs. A total of 1.2 million jobs have been lost this year reports the Associated Press.

The jobless rate zoomed to 6.5 percent in October from 6.1 percent in September, matching the rate in March 1994.

Unemployment has now surpassed the high seen after the last recession in 2001. The jobless rate peaked at 6.3 percent in June 2003.

October's decline marked the 10th straight month of payroll reductions, and government revisions showed that job losses in August and September turned out to be much deeper. Employers cut 127,000 positions in August, compared with 73,000 previously reported. A whopping 284,000 jobs were axed in September, compared with the 159,000 jobs first reported.

So far this year, a staggering 1.2 million jobs have disappeared. Over half of the decrease occurred in the past three months alone.

It may be a while before we see a month with an increase in jobs as big companies like Merck, Yahoo, PepsiCo, Mattel, GM and Whirlpool have all already announced plans to layoff workers in 2009. The complete jobs report can be found here.

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Poll: Word of Mouth Best Way to Find New Job

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 18:00:00 EST

Internet Retailer reports that a poll from TopGrading Solutions has found that word-of-mouth is the best way to find a job.

The poll, conducted by search firm TopGrading Solutions found that 38% of employees found their last job through word-of-mouth or referrals, 20% found their jobs online and 24% via recruiting firms. 7% found their last position by walking in and applying, and 2% found their job through a newspaper or print advertisement. TopGrading Solutions is part of MRINetwork, which recruits for retail and other industries,

TopGrading Solutions surveyed unemployed and employed adults over four months for the poll.

Since all careers and all people are different it won't be the same techniques that work in each industry. However, hearing about job openings from friends and networking are certainly great ways to learn of a new job opportunity.

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Economy Lost 159,000 Jobs in September

Fri, 3 Oct 2008 19:00:00 EST

159,000 jobs were cut in September according to the latest jobs reports from the Labor Department. This was the biggest monthly jobs loss in five years. Unemployment remained at 6.1%. The AP notes that the economy has now lost 760,000 jobs this year.

The reduction in payrolls was much sharper than the 100,000 cuts economists were forecasting. They expected the jobless rate to be unchanged.

It marked the ninth straight month that the economy has lost jobs. The drop underscores fallout from a long slump in the housing market and a dangerous credit crunch that intensified last month throwing Wall Street -- and the economy -- into chaos.

So far this year, 760,000 jobs have disappeared.

"The economy is now sliding down the slippery slope of recession," said economist Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics.

Wall Street appeared relieved the decline in payrolls wasn't deeper. Stock futures were strengthening, pointing to a higher opening. The Dow fell 348 points Thursday amid worries about the broader economy.

The job cuts were widespread in several industries. Manufacturing jobs led with construction companies and retailers also cutting tens of thousands of jobs.

Manufacturers cut 51,000 jobs, construction companies axed 35,000 jobs, retailers got rid of 40,000 positions, business services shed 27,000 and financial services slashed 17,000 positions, with securities and investment firms accounting for 8,000 of those reductions. Leisure and hospitality companies also reduced employment by 17,000. That overwhelmed employment gains by the government, in education, health and elsewhere.

With the problems on Wall Street and deepening economic concerns it doesn't appear likely that the remaining three months of the year are going to be much different than the September report. You can see the jobs report here.

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More Hiring Managers Using Social Networks to Evaluate Possible Hires

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 21:00:00 EST

MediaPost reports (via Ypulse) that a new survey from CareerBuilder.com indicates that more hiring managers are looking at social networking profiles on social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn to evaluate possible hires. The study found 22% of hiring managers have used social networks in evaluations - a jump from 11% just two years ago.

A new CareerBuilder.com survey found that 22% of all hiring managers have combed through social media profiles to help evaluate potential hires, up from just 11% two years ago. HR execs from media and creative agencies like MediaVest and AKQA weighed in on the practice, identifying LinkedIn as their site of choice for new hire research.

"We use LinkedIn a lot. It's like resume shopping," said Lionel Carreon, creative recruiter at AKQA. "Sometimes we'll ask candidates why they aren't on LinkedIn or Plaxo, because it's the easiest way to be found."

Carreon also said that the digital agency has hired employees they found through blog searches. "We look for some of the more serious blogs, particularly for positions like art directors and developers," he said. "Blogging about what they do and how they're being innovative makes candidates that much more attractive."

According to Tricia White, SVP and director of human resources at MediaVest, LinkedIn profiles can even substitute for resumes in some cases. "They both have a list of jobs and basic accountabilities," White said. "If I'm searching for a position like a media planner, for example, I can fill in the blanks with LinkedIn."

You know the number of recruiters using social networks is only going to climb. Using more business-like social networks like LinkedIn seems to make the most sense. It's possible social networks could eclipse resume databases at some point in the near future.

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What Should Laid Off Financial Professionals Due Now?

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 18:00:00 EST

Many financial professionals are concerned about layoffs with all the upheavel in the financial markets. The Fed had to step in to save AIG. Lehman Brothers is going to file bankruptcy and Alan Greenspan is calling this the worst economy he has ever seen. An article on ERE says that some Lehman, Merrill, and AIG employees are being bombared by recruiters.

In the video below, recruiter Deborah Marcus of the Gerson Group shares some tips with the Wall Street Journal's Sarah Needleman. Deborah Marcus said there is some demand in marketing and client interfacing roles. She says there are still some hedge funds and boutique investment banks looking to bring in new talent. Marcus also talks about using a focused network of contacts as opposed to casting a wide net. She also says workers may want to consider other sectors outside of the financial industry. Job seekers may also want to look at opportunities overseas.

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Anti-Theft Lunch Bag Won't Work

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:00:00 EST

Life Hacker calls this this an anti-theft lunch bag. It was originally found at skforlee.

If office gremlins are making off with your daily meal, innovative designer Sherwood Forlee has a clever solution: the Anti-Theft Lunch Bag. Simply put, Anti-Theft Lunch Bags "are regular sandwich bags that have green splotches printed on both sides." With your sandwich inside, the bag simulates mold and makes the contents look disgusting. These bags aren't available for purchase, but the idea shouldn't be difficult to replicate if you need more sandwich security at your workplace.

Yes, it would discourage someone in your office from eating your sandwhich. The real problem with this faux moldy sandwhich bag is that it might encourage someone to throw it away.

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August Jobs Report is Grim

Sat, 6 Sep 2008 18:00:00 EST

The August jobs report is in from the U.S. Department of Labor. The unemployment rate climbed to 6.1%. In August the economy lost 84,000 jobs in August. That makes a total of 605,000 jobs lost this year.

As CNN reports each of these final job reports as we get closer to the November elections is very significant and the presidential candidates are jumping on each report.

The jobs report immediately drew comment from the presidential candidates as well as the Bush administration.

The White House pointed to other economic readings, including last week's gross domestic product report. It showed second quarter growth jumping to a 3.3% annual rate, helped by economic stimulus checks and strong exports.

"While these (jobs) numbers are disappointing, what is most important is the overall direction the economy is headed," said the White House statement.

But the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said the report points out the failure of Republican policies.

"John McCain showed last night that he is intent on continuing the economic policies that just this year have caused the American economy to lose 605,000 jobs," Obama said in a statement. "John McCain's answer is more of the same: $200 billion in tax cuts to big corporations and oil companies, and not one dime of tax relief to more than 100 million middle-class families."

One thing that could help create jobs is holiday hiring by retailers. However, retailers have a bleak outlook for sales this holiday season so they may not hire as many positions are they would during a more upbeat holiday shopping season.

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Study: Small Wage Increases Expected in 2009

Tue, 2 Sep 2008 14:50:00 EST

The Associated Press reports that a new study from Hewitt Associates found that base pay will climb only by an average of 3.8% in 2009. However, performance-based payments are expected to climb.

A study released Tuesday by Hewitt Associates, a human resources consulting firm, found base pay will rise by 3.8 percent in 2009, marking the seventh consecutive year of flat growth.

One-time performance-based pay, however, is expected to grow by 10.6 percent. That's down slightly from 10.8 percent this year and 11.8 percent in 2007.

Performance-based rewards are popular since they don't commit companies to ongoing costs, said Ken Abosch, leader of Hewitt's compensation consulting business. The survey measured one-time performance-based awards and did not include raises based on performance.

"Most of the compensation growth today comes from (one-time merit-based) pay - it accounts for almost three-quarters of the increase," he said.

Wages have barely been keeping ahead of inflation over the past several years and earlier this year inflation overtook wage increases. A post on a New York Times blog shows that earlier this year wages were not keeping up with inflation for many employees meaning employees were actually taking home less pay.

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Cubicle Warfare Author Visits CBS

Fri, 8 Aug 2008 18:00:00 EST

This clip from CBS celebrates the cubicle's 40th birthday as a workplace institution. They were joined with Cubicle Warfare author John Austin. He shows Harry Smith some mean pranks for the office. One of the pranks involves taping a can of tuna underneath a co-worker's desk. Another prank involves posting sticky notes that say so-and-so wants to see you so that everyone in the office will go to that person's cubicle. A third prank is a package with the bottom cut out and filled with peanuts so that when the person picks it up the peanuts spill all over his or her desk. The last two pranks are pretty harmless but the can of tuna prank is just wrong and stupid because eventually everyone in the office would be smelling it.

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July Planned Layoffs Up 26% Over June

Wed, 6 Aug 2008 22:10:00 EST

A Reuters story says a new report from consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas indicates planned layoffs by employers have climbed 26% over June's figures. Planned layoffs at U.S. companies for July exceed 100,000 jobs.

Planned layoffs at U.S. companies jumped 26 percent in July from June, depicting further deterioration in the labor market, a report showed on Monday.

Planned layoffs at U.S. companies totaled 103,312 in July, compared with June's 81,755, employment consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc said.

Announced job cuts at U.S. companies last month were the second highest total so far in 2008, more than double the 42,897 a year earlier, the report said.

eWeek takes a close look that the report to see what it means for IT workers. A couple other articles on the planned layoffs report can be found on TheStreet.com and Forbes.

The economy shed over 50,000 jobs in June so increasing signs of more layoffs to come is not a good thing.

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Economy Continues to Shed Jobs

Mon, 4 Aug 2008 17:44:00 EST

The latest jobs report indicates that employers are continuing to layoff workers. Another 51,000 jobs were shed by the economy in July reports the Huffington Post. That makes a total of 463,000 jobs lost this year. The unemployment rate also ticked up to 5.7% - up from 5.5% in June.

Employers clamped down on hiring and cut 51,000 jobs in July, the Labor Department said Friday. The economy has shed jobs each month this year _ 463,000 in all.

The unemployment rate rose to 5.7 percent, up from 5.5 percent in June.

The jobs report contributed to another day of grim news for the economy. General Motors reported a staggering quarterly loss of more than $15 billion and said its sales fell by more than a quarter from last year.

The Commerce Department said spending on construction projects around the country dropped 0.4 percent in June as cutbacks in home building eclipsed gains in commercial construction.

An article from U.S. News has comments from several experts on what the jobs drought means for you. Here's an AP video about the jobs report which says it is the teen demographic that is being hit the hardest.

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More Workers Working Less Hours

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 05:00:00 EST

It goes unseen in the jobs report that Wall Street typically follows but the New York Times reports that many workers are losing working hours. The Times says the number of workers who have lost hours or can't find full time work accounts for 3.7% of all those employed. The Times says is up from 3% a year ago.

On the surface, the job market is weak but hardly desperate. Layoffs remain less frequent than in many economic downturns, and the unemployment rate is a relatively modest 5.5 percent. But that figure masks the strains of those who are losing hours or working part time because they cannot find full-time work - a stealth force that is eroding American spending power.

All told, people the government classifies as working part time involuntarily - predominantly those who have lost hours or cannot find full-time work - swelled to 5.3 million last month, a jump of greater than 1 million over the last year.

These workers now amount to 3.7 percent of all those employed, up from 3 percent a year ago, and the highest level since 1995.

"This increase is startling," said Steve Hipple, an economist at the Labor Department.

The loss of hours has been affecting men in particular - and Hispanic men more so. Among those who were forced into part-time work from the spring of 2007 to the spring of 2008, 73 percent were men and 35 percent were Hispanic.

If someone loses hours or gets laid off and has to accept part-time work they are going to have considerably less income. Less hours worked combined with rising inflation and you have someone who is probably going to have to find a way to cut back on spending to make up for the loss in income. As this trend continues it will have a bigger and bigger impact on the economy.

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U.S. Jobless Claims Rise

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 18:40:00 EST

Signs the economy is getting worse for workers increase this week as jobless claims climbed to over 400,000. This was the highest level in nearly four months according to the International Herald Tribune

The number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits rose last week to the highest level in almost four months, a sign the slowing economy is weakening the labor market.

Initial jobless claims increased by 34,000 to 406,000 in the week ended July 19, from a revised 372,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said Thursday in Washington. The filings exceeded economists' forecast and were the most since 406,000 in the week ended March 29.

U.S. employers are reducing workers as surging fuel costs, a three-year housing slump and a crisis in credit markets restrains demand. Rising joblessness reinforces concern that consumers will pull back on spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the economy.

"The job market is weakening, and the numbers this morning confirm that," Brian Bethune, an economist at Global Insight Inc. in Lexington, Massachusetts, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. "The economy is growing but at very slow rates."

This news comes on top of what has already been a grim year for job growth. In 2007 the economy created an average of 91,000 jobs each month. This year the economy has lost jobs each month.

Over a six-month period, payrolls have declined for a total loss of 438,000 workers and the payroll in April and May was revised to 52,000 more jobs.

The U.S. economy has lost jobs every month since the beginning of this year and it shed 62,000 jobs in June and up to 49,000 jobs in May. Last year, the economy created on average 91,000 new jobs each month.

If the new jobless claim figures are any indication July will probably be another month that loses jobs. Maybe by the end of the year there will some new job creation as retailers hire workers for the holiday shopping season.

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GM to Reduce Labor Costs by 20%

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:00:00 EST

General Motors (G.M.) has announced plans to cut its labor costs by 20%. The methods it will use include layoffs, pay freezes and early retirement packages.

The moves, which include selling at least $2 billion in assets and borrowing as much as $3 billion, are expected to raise about $15 billion by the end of 2009, the chief executive Rick Wagoner said.

Mr. Wagoner said the automaker would stop providing health care coverage to salaried retirees at age 65, offer buyout and early retirement packages to reduce its salaried work force and freeze base pay for salaried employees through 2009.

In addition, G.M. executives will no longer receive discretionary cash bonuses.

"These are tough but necessary actions," Mr. Wagoner said, "and these, along with current cash and available credit lines will provide us with ample liquidity through 2009 even under conservative U.S. industry sales assumptions."

GM has already made considerable job cuts since 2006. This time they are targeting white-collar positions as Freep.com notes. A satirical Onion headline earlier this year read, "GM Introduces New 2008 Line Of Layoffs."

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ADP Report Says 79,000 Jobs Were Lost in June

Thu, 3 Jul 2008 18:00:00 EST

TheStreet.com reports that 79,000 jobs were lost in June according to a report from Automatic Data Processing (ADP).

Declines were much broader than previous months, as continued weakness in the housing and financial sectors bled into other areas. Even the services sector -- which had not posted a decline since November 2002 -- slashed 3,000 jobs over the course of the month.

The overall drop was nearly four times as high as the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. ADP also downwardly revised its May figure to an addition of 25,000 private, nonfarm jobs, rather than the initially reported 40,000. Figures are adjusted for seasonal shifts.

Sectors related to the housing market -- including residential construction, home sales and mortgages -- were especially hard hit again, as the housing sector struggles to find solid ground. Construction companies dropped 34,000 employees, the 19th consecutive monthly decline. Since the height of the housing market in August 2006, the sector has lost 349,000 jobs.

Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers, which develops the report with ADP, noted that small businesses posted weak growth, despite having been the "the savior" of the drab employment picture for the last year and a half. That sector added 7,000 jobs in June, compared with 50,000 in May.

The reports shows the economy is weak and the weakness is spreading. The estimated change in employment from April to May was also revised down from an increase of 40,000 to an increase of 25,000. Jobs are likely to continue if the recent Starbucks layoff announcement is a sign of things to come. You can find a PDF version of the ADP report here.

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Bad Grammar Acceptable When Applying for Lolcats Job

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:15:00 EST

The normal rules of proper grammar and spelling may not apply when applying to at I Can Has Cheezburger says this article in the Sydney Morning Herald.

"I can haz dream Job? My rezumez! let me showz u thm"

That's the subject line of a cover letter sent by a job applicant to I Can Has Cheezburger, one of the premier sites for so-called Lolcat pictures.

Don't think the letter will be rejected out of hand - bad spelling is no obstacle to a job in Lolcat world. It may even be an asset.

Lolcats became an internet craze last year. According to Wikipedia, a Lolcat is an image combining a photograph of an animal, most frequently a cat, with a humorous and idiosyncratic caption in (often) broken English - a dialect which is known as "Kitty Pidgin", "lolspeak", or Lolcat.

Sometimes it is ok to be different in your resume. Obviously you wouldn't want to do this when applying for the vast majority of jobs available today. If you don't have a resume the I Can Has Cheezburger website says, "No resume? No problem. Recreating Tetris using lolcode may also get you the job."

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Economy Lost 80,000 Jobs in March

Fri, 4 Apr 2008 21:00:00 EST

The economy lost jobs in March for the third month in a row. 80,000 jobs were lost and the job losses were spread over a number of industries according to the Associated Press.

The new snapshot of the job market, released by the Labor Department Friday, underscored the damage that a trio of crises --in the housing, credit and financial sectors -- has inflicted on companies, jobseekers and the economy as a whole.

"The labor market has indeed turned south," said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors. "That was the one last bastion of hope to stay out of a recession. Now the question is how deep and how long will it last?"

The unemployment rate was the highest since September 2005, when significant job losses followed the devastating blows of Gulf Coast hurricanes.

Job losses were widespread in March. Construction, manufacturing, retailing, financial services and various business services all racked up losses. That overwhelmed gains elsewhere, including in education and health care, leisure and hospitality as well as in government.

The national unemployment rate climbed from 4.8% to 5.1% in March. The complete March jobs report can be found here. The report indicates that construction and manufacturing have been hard hit.

Employment in construction declined by 51,000 in March and has fallen by 394,000 since its peak in September 2006.

Manufacturing employment fell by 48,000 in March and by 310,000 over the past 12 months.

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Banking Industry Could Lose 200,000 Jobs

Wed, 2 Apr 2008 18:00:00 EST

The Associated Press is reporting that the U.S. financial industry could shed as many as 200,000 jobs over the next 12 to 18 months because of the credit crises.

The U.S. financial industry has been shedding jobs at a record clip, and some analysts predict the pace will only accelerate over the next year-and-a-half as banks cut costs in the face of the housing market slump and the weak economy.

Analysts at the financial research firm Celent LLC said in a report Tuesday that it expects the U.S. commercial banking industry - essentially, all companies that lend or collect deposits - to lose 200,000 of its 2 million jobs over the next 12 to 18 months.

An annual loss of 200,000 jobs at the nation's commercial banks would be an unprecedented number.

These kind of losses would also expand the economic weakness we have already been seeing. These would be in addition to the 153,000 financial services jobs lost in 2007. Most of these losses came in the mortgage-lending business according to the AP story.

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A Lecture About How to Give a Lecture

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 18:00:00 EST

This is an introduction to a lecture from MIT Professor Patrick Winston about How to Speak. Winston was director of the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory from 1972 to 1997. He applies some of his AI knowledge in his explanation about how to speak. It isn't directly related to job interviewing but you might be able to apply some you learn in the lecture to giving an interview.

How to Speak shows how even someone who isn't naturally charismatic can become an effective speaker. In this presentation recorded before a live audience, Professor Patrick Winston of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology offers advice on all aspects of academic presentations. He discusses how to begin and end a lecture, how to cycle in on the material, how to use verbal punctuation to indicate transitions, and how to devise "near misses" that strengthen understanding by showing what a particular concept is not. In addition, his presentation covers do's and don'ts of blackboard use, overhead projectors, and props. Throughout his lecture, Winston not only describes his techniques, but actively adopts them, illustrating each as he goes. The result is a detailed, practical guide designed for anyone who wishes to communicate effectively with an academic audience.

You can see the full 45-minute lecture here.

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Economy Loses Jobs in January and February

Fri, 7 Mar 2008 18:00:00 EST

February's job report is in and it isn't pretty. The economy lost 63,000 jobs last month. The jobs report for January was revised downward to a minus 22,000 jobs so the economy has lost over 80,000 jobs already this year. The IHT quotes economist Jared Bernstein as saying he hasn't "seen a job report this recessionary since the last recession."

The economy shed 63,000 jobs in February, the government said Friday, the fastest falloff in five years and the strongest evidence yet that the nation is headed toward - or may already be in - a recession.

Manufacturers and construction companies, reeling from the worst housing slump in decades, led the declines in payrolls. But the losses were spread across a broad range of businesses - including department stores, offices and retail outlets - putting increased pressure on consumers' pocketbooks.

The unexpected decline raised anticipation on Wall Street that the Federal Reserve would lower interest rates again this month, perhaps by as much as a full percentage point, as the central bank scrambles to stave off a steep economic slowdown.

"I haven't seen a job report this recessionary since the last recession," said Jared Bernstein, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington. "This is a picture of a labor market becoming clearly infected by the contagion from the rest of the economy."

Unless there is a big positive number in March then the first quarter is going be negative for job growth. You can see the February, 2008 jobs report from the BLS here.

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