Archive for the 'Employment' Category

Archives for Employment

Today’s papers tout that April’s job losses aren’t quite as bad as feared. One possible exception to that would be if you’re the one affected.

U.S. employers cut only 20,000 jobs in April - some economists had predicted four times that number. That gap’s not surprising considering all the announced corporate layoffs, particularly in the automotive and financial sectors, but some of these won’t go into effect immediately.

April marked the fourth consecutive monthly decline, according to the NY Times. The unemployment rate dropped from 5.1% to 5%, not a big drop, but given that under 5% is a proxy for healthy national employment, these numbers matter in an election year.

Archives for Employment

Upon learning that the US economy suffered a net loss of 80,000 jobs in March, the Democrats snapped to action and proposed a stimulus package to help relieve impacted workers.

After three consecutive months of job losses, the unemployment rate has shot up to 5.1%.

“These job numbers strengthen the case materially that we are in a recession,” Edward McKelvey, senior United States economist at Goldman Sachs told the New York Times. “They remove all but a sliver of doubt that the economy is contracting.”

If you’re a laid-off worker, you should have the best package possible. But can a job stimulus package add more workers to the employment rolls?

Archives for Employment

Corporate interviews have become endurance tests, a common way of simulating how candidates will respond if hired. Job candidates sitting on the hot seat can expect to hear the same questions posed four to seven times in a single afternoon. While job seekers are judged on every little detail, feeling pressure not to make mistakes, paradoxically, interviewers often believe they have latitude to come across as aloof, disorganized or rude.

But in a tightened labor market, candidates may experience a role reversal. Savvy employers may drop the fortress mentality - lowering a drawbridge across the moat of fire. For example, some firms may devote more of the interview process to “sell” candidates on the company. And some firms hit by the labor crunch are lowering skill-level or experience requirements for new hires, especially when it’s possible to shape raw talent in a matter of weeks or months.

Not surprisingly, job seekers have a litany of complaints about the interview process. According to a 2007 study of 3,725 job seekers, conducted in five global regions by Development Dimensions International (DDI), in conjunction with Monster, the biggest complaints interviewees make are these:

Interview Habits That Most Annoy Job Seekers

Source: Development Dimensions International, Inc.

Archives for Employment

It’s no joke: there really are too many lawyers. And there are too few nurses and accountants. At least, that’s the employment outlook this year.

What if you could glimpse the future and foresee low demand for your skills in 2012? Would you change careers based on that data or would you continue to chase your dream?

Most of us would pursue our passion - after all, we only get one shot at life. Still, amid an oversupply of lawyers (was it ever otherwise?), many of whom are struggling to pay off six figure law school debts, you have to wonder shouldn’t they have seen this coming?

Archives for Employment

The US economy coughed up 63,000 jobs in February, its worst performance in five years. Despite President Bush’s recent attempt to downplay recession talk, the markets and media aren’t listening.

The New York Times said the recent jobs report “revealed widespread cracks in the nation’s labor market.”

What troubles economists is that employment is considered a lagging indicator, meaning that by the time jobs are slashed revenues have dropped, pipelines have slowed, and inventory is in oversupply.

I’m watching to see whether a long-term employment split emerges in which demand remains high for “skilled” workers, particularly in the tech and healthcare fields, while “unskilled” workers account for most of the new unemployed. Think of this split as skills warfare.

Archives for Employment

The graying of America’s workforce is an oft-reported megatrend that is yet to shake up the workplace or economy. Will 2008 be the year that mass numbers of Baby Boomers dust off their golf clubs?

There’s a lot of speculation about the repercussions of this shift. In theory a lot of good jobs will become available as younger workers try to fill the gaps left behind by retiring boomers. From what I have seen, however, boomers don’t always shut down their careers at 62.

Archives for Employment

Check out this funny, possibly prescient look at the latest Internet bubble. It’s amazing how many people - especially here in the San Francisco Bay Area - aspire to live the dream of building a social app and getting it funded.

Let’s hope the Web 2.0 bubble doesn’t burst too soon!