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New Study Reveals Secrets to Finding a Job
Tweet Share on Facebook September 24, 2009 Comment (24)Most career advice is highly subjective, offered by experts rather than researchers. A new study, however, suggests that there are methods and activities that can maximize your chances of success.
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Why Michigan's Unemployment Rate Could Be Worse
Tweet Share on Facebook September 21, 2009 Comment (23)It would appear that Michigan, the state with the highest unemployment rate in the nation, could have a higher unemployment rate were it not for its dwindling workforce.
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Congress to Consider Unemployment Extension Next Week
Tweet Share on Facebook September 17, 2009 Comment (275)Some good news for job seekers who are nearing the end of their unemployment benefits: CQ is reporting that Congress will next week take up Rep. Jim McDermott's bill providing another extension of unemployment benefits. The bill would not affect all unemployed workers (and this is generally the case with extensions), it would add an additional 13 weeks of benefits for states with unemployment rates averaging 8.5 percent or higher over three months.
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Many Employers May Rehire Workers They Laid Off
Tweet Share on Facebook September 16, 2009 Comment (22)With 14.9 million Americans out of work and looking for jobs in August, economists are less than optimistic about the prospects of getting the unemployment rate back to pre-recessionary levels in a reasonable amount of time. But some workers may be able to find a home back where they last worked, according to a couple of new reports.
[See the good and bad news about job openings.]
It turns out that 40 percent of employers expect they will hire back some of the workers they laid off in the recession, according to a new survey by OI Partners. The employers surveyed said they would be rehiring workers as full-time employees, consultants or freelancers. About half of financial companies surveyed said they planned to rehire workers, and 47 percent of manufacturing companies said the same.
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The Good and Bad News About Job Openings
Tweet Share on Facebook September 9, 2009 Comment (13)Just when all were hoping for an end to any downward-trending data—the Labor Department reports that the number of job openings in July fell by 121,000 to 2.4 million, the lowest since the series began to be recorded in 2000. That was also half of the number of job openings at peak, two years ago.
But the report is not without its bright spot. Employers made nearly 4.1 million hires in July—140,000 more than in June. Some industries saw their hires rates increase from June (the hires rate is the number of new hires as a percentage of total employment): In construction the rate jumped from 4.5 to 5.6 percent; in professional and business services, from 3.9 to 4.3.
[See the 10 least competitive job markets.]
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A Quiet Factor in the Unemployment Rate
Tweet Share on Facebook September 2, 2009 Comment (6)Last month, 19 of the nation's metro areas had unemployment rates that reached 15 percent or higher. The national average was 9.4 percent. Of those 19 areas, 8 were in California and 5 were in Michigan. Cities with the highest unemployment rates were El Centro, Calif., at 30.2 percent, and Yuma, Ariz., at 26.2 percent. "In addition to being affected by the economic downturn, these two adjacent areas are highly agricultural and experience extreme weather during summer months," the Labor Department reports.
One interesting thing to look at is how labor force growth, or decline, may contribute to the unemployment rates in these cities.
Between July 2008 and July 2009, the total U.S. civilian labor force actually fell by a tiny margin—about 2,000 workers. Labor force participation generally falls in very bad job markets, as people who are not in need of work, or become discouraged, stop looking for it.
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