Tag Archives: unemployment

More signs the job market is warming up

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Even in a spring as full of gray chilly days with snow and sleet as this has been, eventually the tulips bloom and we start planting carrots, oregano and pepper plants. The U.S. job market may also be warming up nicely, with  268,000 jobs created by private-sector employers in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s the highest since 2006.

The report Friday had other encouraging news too: More than 200,000 long-term jobless found work or consulting projects, or were otherwise not counted as unemployed. And every sector, except government and temporary employment, added jobs last month, with retail, manufacturing and health care showing especial strength in hiring.

Two months ago, in a blog post for Glassdoor.com, I listed seven signs of spring  in the job market, including some BLS numbers and hiring by small businesses for 12 months. Lately, more green is showing up in the hiring fields – and more flowers are preparing to bloom. So with hopes that my optimism will ring true in the months ahead, here then are seven more signs of growth in hiring:

  1. Companies are recruiting more HR people. Human resources job penings increased 34 percent in the last year, same gain as health care, according to Indeed’s blog. Companies hire HR people when they need help with recruiting or retaining talent.
  2. Some areas experience labor shortages. Recruiters say it is increasingly difficult to find well qualified candidates, according to the latest Society of Human Resource Executives LINE survey. In IT security, database administration and nurse practitioner openings, there are more jobs than job-seekers, according to CareerBuilder. The two-to-one ratio of jobs for candidate is a standout.
  3. The number of quitters has inched up. The proportion of job leavers now is higher than the laid-off, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. This is a big shift, and indicates people are confident they have other work options.
  4. Hiring on college campuses has increased. This year, 42 percent of college seniors who had looked for work has received a job offer by graduation, up from 38 percent last year, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. More seniors also were saying no to offers, holding out for something better or more appropriate.
  5. Metro unemployment rates keep declining. More cities are adding jobs, according to the BLS. And Indeed reports that 15 metro areas – from New York to Milwaukee to San Francisco – have one job for every candidate, meaning much less competition to land the opening you seek than a year or two ago.
  6. Job openings are more plentiful. SimplyHired experienced a 33.9 percent increase in postings in the year ended in April, CareerBuilder’s job listings rose 23 percent as companies hire staff “in nearly every role.” These openings will mean more hiring in coming months.
  7. Innovation seems to be increasing. Some jobs available today didn’t exist two years ago, and some  companies  hiring hundreds of people didn’t either. Think Etsy and Groupon and all those app makers. Think filmmakers for YouTube. Think about hiring on or creating another Google or Netflix in your city. Consider the virtual internships and start-ups showing up not just in Silicon Valley but in Saline, Mich., and Southern Georgia.

To be sure, there are concerns that could freeze some green shoots of hiring. High oil and gas prices are cutting hiring in the travel sector, SimplyHired reported. Initial jobless claims are rising, and many companies are sitting on the sidelines of hiring, or adding jobs outside the United States.  State and local governments continue to shed jobs and some are in danger of insolvency. We still have 13.7 million Americans out of work, and at current levels of hiring, it could take another five years to reach pre-recession unemployment levels, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

Yet the pace of hiring is picking up – in the last three months it has averaged 233,000 jobs a month, double the rate of the previous three, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Small companies are being established and bringing on friends or part-timers to grow. Corporate profits are strong and many individuals have learned to grow gardens or their own jobs.

Call me an optimist, if you like, but the employment tulips have shown up in bright red and yellow and soon career roses and broccoli will bloom again – in the yards and lives of many.

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5 trends for the job market this year

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It’s still all about work and creating jobs, sometimes in tiny increments.
Friday’s unemployment report showed very tepid growth in jobs – the private sector added just 50,000 jobs in January, or less than one-fifth what is needed to show improvement.  Snowy weather may have hurt some sectors, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported, noting the jobless rate fell to 9.0 percent.
Five trends became clear in the reports out this week on employment and the economy:
1. Manufacturing may be making a comeback. After shedding jobs steadily for years, the sector has started hiring again. Companies in fabricated metal products, machinery, autos, electronics and more added jobs in January. Some will keep hiring as exports and domestic consumer demand both increase. Half the manufacturers expect to hire this month, and their trendline is up, according to the SHRM Line hiring forecast. It’s starting to look like the trend may be developing momentum.  Check out the other sectors via the Bureau of Labor Statistics website and don’t be deterred by the array of numbers.
2. The United States has a huge jobs deficit to fill. Job losses in this downturn were twice as severe as the previous three recessions, the Economic Policy Institute reported this week. Besides the jobs lost to corporate and government cutbacks, the economy has not created an estimated 3.2 million jobs needed to keep up with America’s growing population, the EPI said in a report called The Great Recession’s Long Tail. This deficit will last for a long time, except in some labor markets that are strong.

3. Employers are selective in hiring. Job openings nationwide increased 65 percent from January 2010 to January 2011, Simply Hired reports. Yet many of those openings may remain unfilled for a long time, or may go to part-time staff or other insiders who jump into the opportunities. Many employers are cautious about adding costs; others want to avoid hiring problematic or un-adaptable people. For job seekers, this means you must be a “home run candidate” who is recommended by a current employee.

4. Small is beautiful for job seekers. Small companies – those with 50 or fewer people – hired more than eight times as many workers in January as large companies, according to the ADP National Employment report. Start-ups and smaller employers that fly below the media radar may be the best bets for job hunting. These can be found by attending business organization meetings, chamber mixers – or by wandering around a business park or an office complex. What Color Is Your Parachute? author Richard Bolles says this walking into any organization that looks intriguing is one of the most successful strategies.  When thinking small, think too of  health care, which dominates Simply Hired’s list of the top regional hiring companies.
5.  The gig economy is growing. People are taking freelance assignments, contract work, short-term projects as a way to tide themselves over. For many though, those turn into a new career path.
There’s no clear measure of this sector, though an indication may be the shrinking labor force which the EPI figures is 4.9 million smaller than at the start of the recession. Some of those turned themselves into reluctant entrepreneurs offering home repairs, dog walking and web design services. Some may be able to build up their clients and develop full-time work (as I am attempting to do as a freelance writer) but many will be stuck with very part-time work and pay.
The bottom line:  Pay attention to the national trends and see how you can capture opportunities or momentum from some of them, if that works for your career or business goals. Otherwise, focus on your own plans and work relentlessly to create your own trendline.

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7 More Ways to Help A Jobless Friend

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“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”  ~Mother Teresa

“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.” -Martin Luther King Jr.
Economic worries weigh heavy on so many people today – and the paths to prosperity seem so elusive.  For millions of jobless Americans, the world feels dark, bleak, frightening.

We know our unemployed cousin Leroy needs a hand or our Aunt Millie is facing foreclosure. And we know we could reach out to our neighbor or friend, who lost her job a year ago. Whether family or friend, former colleague or ex-teammate, jobless Americans need our help. They need encouragement, support – and a job. But what can we do that the Obama administration and Congress couldn’t? Plenty.

My blog post on Glassdoor.com gives five ways you can help. Here’s seven more in case you have a lot of jobless friends – or want to provide a variety of kindnesses:


1. Become their “goal buddy.” Help them set goals, work on them and achieve them. Hold their hand and hold them accountable for some action and outreach. They could do the same for you – and keep you advancing, whether you’re working to lose weight or launch a blog or business.

2. Free them to have fun. Watch local calendars for free events, lectures and other activities. Mix up the kinds of things you see together – to give them some fresh ideas and perspectives on the world. Before you head to the lecture or event,  remind them that the person sitting next to them could be their next boss or cubicle mate.

3. Help  change their perspective, attitude, outlook. Buy them a book “Life Is So Good” by George Dawson and Richard Glaubman  or AdaptAbility by M.J. Ryan, What Color Is Your Parachute by Richard Bolles or something else that uplifts and encourages. Suggest a mantra that reinforces their talents. Send an uplifting quote by email every day for a week. Buy a pack of Goddess Cards or Power Thought Cards (yes, I’ve used both and they are useful for difficult times).

4. Drop off a care package. The food may differ from what you’d send a college student. But the idea’s the same – the care and feeding of someone starts with some good food. Make homemade soup and buy a loaf of bread. Pick up a pound of roasted almonds, a few energy bars and a gift card for their favorite restaurant. Or buy them a couple bags of groceries – including a small luxury item they’ll savor – and drop it by their place.

5. Listen. Just be there.  In the book When Bad Things Happen to Good People.  Rabbi Harold Kushner says when you go through the toughest times, through tragedies and loss, friends can help just by being there. Sit and listen to them, assure them they are loved. No need to give advice or answers.

6.  Volunteer for success. Encourage them to sign  up for some volunteer work that will work for them. Help the chamber of commerce at its quarterly mixer by registering guests.Assist the local hospital with a fundraiser or a business incubator’s open house or other project. Give time to nonprofits where successful business people are engaged and involved and be clear that you want to work for a socially responsible enterprise and boss like them. More from my Washington Post article on volunteering for career success or my blog post from March.

7. Write them a love letter. Platonic love of the whole person can lift them up and help combat depression and despair. Remind them of the hard times they’ve gotten through before. Tell them how much you appreciate their innate skills and nature. Appreciate their lifetime of accomplishments. Appreciate their friendship and the things they’ve already done for you and others. Write the letter long-hand or print it out from your computer and mail it to them. That way they will have it to pull out and look at when they need to recall how good they are, and how much they are appreciated.

There must be a dozen other ways to help those in need, many  small and many easy. What are you doing to lend a hand? How are you helping?

The Quote Garden creator Terri Guillemets says: “If I had to sum up friendship in one word, it would be comfort.”   This week and every week, be a friend to someone who’s out of work.

Huge thanks to my friend Anita LeBlanc and my sweetheart, Mark. Both help many people and both shared ideas for this post.  And thanks to to QuoteGarden and ThinkExist, which supply me with amazing and uplifting quotes here and on Twitter (@ WorkingKind) .

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Statistics that speak to the need for kindness – and economic growth

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Today, the United Nations and some numbers groups have declared World Statistics Day. And today, the world is full of numbers that measure how we are faring, what we are producing and the losses we experience.

As a numbers whiz in high school and a business editor for years, I’m up to the challenge. So I’m offering five telling  statistics that cry out and ask each of us to give another person a hand, a job, some encouragement.

  • 6.1 million Americans are considered long term unemployed – out of work for a half year or longer.
  • Some 9.5 million U.S. workers were stuck with part-time jobs when they really want more hours – and their number is growing.
  • The jobless rate for veterans who have served since 2001 was 10.2 percent last year, higher than the civilian rate.
  • Around 43.6 million Americans – including 15.5 million children – lived in poverty last year. One in five children is considered poor.
  • Women are CEOs of 12 Fortune 500 companies and hold the top job at 26 of the Fortune 1000 companies. And women’s wages, while catching up, still lag men’s – even when they’re in comparable jobs for the same tenure.

Certainly there are other important statistics that measure our economy – from the S&P 500 index to the prime interest rate to how much profit your employer earned in the latest quarter.

Yet I believe the best measure of our times may be how much kindness we bring to each other and to the people injured by the sharp statistics of difficult times.

Source materials:  The Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Census Bureau (poverty) and Catalyst, a women’s research and advocacy organization.


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Strumming a bitter-sweet blues song for Labor Day and us all

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My Labor Day Lament could sound like a blues song from Muddy Waters or Etta James.  It’s deep and rich and has some sweetness mixed in with all the sorrow.
The news for workers is bitter-sweet and for the unemployed and the under-employed it is as dreary as a February day in Detroit, where the unemployment rate was 15.2 percent in July
Consider these blue notes:

  • -The recession and job cuts have cut a wide swath through America. More than half of workers have a family member who’s lost a job, including one in eight who say someone in their immediate family has been unemployed. That data comes from a new Rutgers University survey of 802 workers.
  • For what really qualifies as a double-dip recession, one-third of current job seekers say an immediate family member has also been unemployed in the last three years, the Rutgers poll shows.
  • The “99ers” are not such an elite group of Americans unemployed for 99 weeks or longer. That’s 1.3/1.4 CK million people who have spent two solid years of life without a regular paycheck or work friends. The New York Times wrote a poignant piece about 99ers (and I hope to find a link to it and add it soon).
  • The U.S. jobless rate is not coming down and companies are hiring sparsely if at all. One third of U.S. metropolitan areas are stuck with jobless rates of 10 percent or higher, and 17 are really bad with rates at or above 15 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. California, once the golden state, now has 12 cities with very high unemployment.  Three cities in Michigan are at or near 15 percent. Even Ann Arbor, the city where I live and one viewed as thriving and adding jobs, has  ahas a jobless rate of 10.0 percent in July.
  • When the poverty statistics come out later this month, they are likely to show more Americans at or on the brink of desperation. More than half of workers surveyed for Rutgers rate their finances as “only fair” or poor and it’s 90 percent for unemployed.
  • Workers are seeing decelerating wage growth in the last two years, which is hurting family incomes and the economic recovery, according to report from the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank. The EPI also found that four of the five fastest growing jobs between 2006 and 2009 paid between $8 and $14 an hour – well below the median U.S. worker’s wage of $15.95.
  • Almost two-thirds of workers in a Spherion Staffing survey say they feel less secure about their job, and more than one-third feel more negative about their situation since the recession began. Perhaps that negativity comes from a bigger workload: Half say they’ve added responsibilities thanks to a coworker’s layoff, and of course they aren’t paid any more for it.

The blues could go on and on, with job loss leading to health problems or lack of medical care and families split up. The anguish of being jobless for months, especially without close family to help you through, could be plotlines for many books and movies.

And what gives this Labor Day weekend some sweetness for workers? Much of it is far less quantifiable than the blues I was just singing. Many more people seem attuned to the plight of others and willing to help them with a lead on work or a few dollars for a meal. And Friday’s unemployment report does provide some glimmers of hope, as well as many worrisome signs. Factory overtime is rising and the average workweek for “nonsupervisory employees” in companies inched up too.
Hiring will continue slowly in September, with fewer layoffs, the Society for Human Resource Management reports. SHRM also reports more openings for both salaried and hourly jobs than a year ago, when things were really really blue.

Another encouraging sign: The Labor Department’s revised the job losses for June and July. Both numbers are still negative, but the declines shrunk considerably (by 50,000 or more each month).
EPI economist Heidi Shierholz called the BLS report “positive but underperforming” and suggested the government needs to step in with “bold action to create jobs and put America back to work.” I’m no politician, nor a blues singer either but I know that we’ve got a world of hurt out there, with 6.2 million workers who’ve been jobless for half a year or more.
And so we need to encourage and help the jobless – and if we have the means, take action. Many of us could hire people to rake our leaves or renovate a bathroom; tutor our children or staff up our small businesses. We also could press politicans for more help for the worst cities and more aid for long-term jobless. Then perhaps we could turn America’s  Labor Day Lament into a more upbeat song.

More information:
Bureau of Labor Statistics U.S. joblesss report and metropolitan area reports  http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm   http://www.bls.gov/news.release/metro.nr0.htm
The Economic Policy Institute’s report called Recession Hits Workers’ Paychecks: Wage growth has collapsed, is available online http://bit.ly/c3WI24

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