Summer jobs for teens are already filling up - and are more difficult to find. Image: alovesdc / Flickr / CC-BY

Getting a summer job has long been a rite of passage for teens. For many this year, summer job hunts are proving more difficult than ever. Recent polls indicate that hiring managers plan on filling summer jobs by the end of this month.

Teen employment becoming more difficult

The U.S. Government started keeping specific statistics on teen employment in 1948. The government statistics track individuals 16 to 24 years old and their seasonal employment. During the summer of 2010, seasonal teen employment was the lowest it had ever been. The summer of 2011 is expected to show similar rates, with unemployment among young people expected to be between 25 and 30 percent over the summer months. This high unemployment rate is due to several factors – fewer available jobs, more available workers and many jobs being filled by employees that fall outside the 16-to-24 age range.

Jobs being filled earlier by those with more education

Many hiring managers in charge of filling summer positions are choosing to hire earlier than ever. In fact, one poll by teen hiring specialist website SnagAJob found that 43 percent of hiring managers planned on filling their seasonal jobs by the end of this month. Many full-time seasonal jobs are also being filled by employees hired as part-time until school lets out for the summer. Only about 33 percent of individuals with a high school diploma or less are able to find employment, while approximately 66 percent of college graduates are employed.

Improving the employment outlook

Teen or not, looking for a job nowadays is exceptionally tough. The number of applications for unemployment benefits are going down, but that may not necessarily be the result of more jobs. Underemployment and those who use up all available unemployment funds reduce the number of new applications for unemployment. For many long-term unemployed workers and teens, volunteering and other non-paid employment are both proving good paths to eventual jobs. But if you are seeking summer employment, now is the time to put your search into high gear.

Sources

Bureau of Labor Statistics
MSNBC

A majority of people in the U.S. support collective bargaining rights. (Photo Credit: CC BY-ND/Andrew Glidden/California Patriot)

A recent New York Times/CBS News poll indicates a majority of people in the U.S. support the collective bargaining rights of public employee unions. Poll results also show that a majority oppose cutting pay to reduce state budget deficits. The nationwide poll surveyed 984 adults, the majority of whom did not have a union member in the household.

Collective bargaining popular among Americans

Numerous Democrats from the Wisconsin Senate recently ducked a vote that could demolish collective bargaining, and the majority of U.S. residents who participated in the New York Times/CBS News telephone poll supported collective bargaining. However, only a third of the 984 polled supported labor unions, and a quarter were opposed. The rest were undecided.

Support for public employee unions was strong. By a two-to-one margin, poll participants objected to the “extreme” deficit recovery efforts of Republican governors like Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Democrats and Independents outnumbered the slim majority of Republicans who favored the loss of some collective bargaining rights, and as a result, poll results were 56 percent against and 37 percent for public employee pay cuts.

Governors say public workers are overpaid

Governors on both sides of the political aisle have presented concerns that public employees are overpaid or have overly generous health insurance and pension plans. Yet 61 percent of phone respondents – including a simple majority of Republicans – believed pay and benefits were “about right” or “too low” for public employees. Results were divided regarding whether private sector employees, such as firefighters and teachers, should enjoy government-style benefits like early retirement and pension collection.

Collective bargaining: ‘A job that needs to be done’

Retired 67-year-old Democratic poll respondent Phil Merritt of Crossville, Tenn., told the New York Times that collective bargaining is essential for U.S. families.

“I feel they do a job that needs to be done. If you work hard, you should be able to have a home, save for retirement and send your kids to college,” Merritt said. “Most public employees have to struggle to do those things, and generally both spouses must work.”

Republican view: Toppling labor union power

Representative of those who supported the dissolution of collective bargaining rights was Republican Warren Lemma, 56, an electrical contractor from Longview, Texas. States don’t have the money to pay such benefits, he said.

“Retirement benefits shouldn’t be taken from those near retirement, but the system should be changed for workers just starting out,” Lemma said. “The only way the system will change is to do something about union control, and the only way to do that is to remove collective bargaining.”

USA TODAY/Gallup Poll showed similar results

Protecting collective bargaining rights was also on the minds of the majority of respondents to a similar USA Today/Gallup Poll. Sixty-one percent opposed an anti-collective bargaining law like the one Wisconsin is attempting to pass, while 33 percent were in favor. While two-thirds of respondents recognized budget problems in their states, they were split on how to solve those problems, whether it be through tax hikes or other government spending cuts.

Sources

New York Times

The Caucus NYT blog

USA Today

Fascism and its effect on collective bargaining rights

A study found that the brains of 50 percent of the people diagnosed with Alzheimer's lacked the lesions associated with the disease. Image: CC Wikimedia Commons

Alzheimer’s disease is easily misdiagnosed, and that happens quite often, according to new research. Nearly half of the subjects with Alzheimer’s diagnoses examined in a study didn’t have the degree of brain lesions commonly associated with the disease. Researchers said an expected increase in Alzheimer’s cases and advances in treatment makes it critical that doctors correctly diagnose the condition.

The Alzheimer’s diagnosis study

Researchers concluded that doctors in the U.S. have a tendency to misdiagnose Alzheimer’s. The researchers performed autopsies on 426 Japanese-American men in Hawaii who lived to the average age of 87. Among those men, 211 were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in their later years. However, when doctors examined their brains, only about 50 percent of the men diagnosed with Alzheimers had the amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles expected to be seen in Alzheimer’s patients. Researchers also found that the degree of Alzheimer’s misdiagnosis increased with the age when the patient was diagnosed.

Alzheimer’s diagnosis based on symptoms

Alzheimer’s patients usually start noticing symptoms after age 60. Alzheimer’s symptoms affecting memory, thinking and behavior get worse over time. Risk factors for Alzheimer’s include age and family history. Other risk factors for Alzheimer’s may include a history of head trauma such as concussions and chronic high blood pressure. Females also have a greater tendency to develop Alzheimer’s than males. The cause of Alzheimer’s disease isn’t fully understood. An Alzheimer’s diagnosis is made by observing symptoms. But as the study has proven, the only way to know for certain if someone has Alzheimer’s is to analyze the brain tissue after death.

Bracing for a wave of Alzheimer’s

The authors of the Alzheimer’s study said a dramatic increase in cases of dementia is expected in the U.S. in the next 10 years as baby boomers grow older. As new therapies are developed to slow and reverse cognitive decline, further studies are needed to help figure out how to correctly recognize Alzheimer’s and other forms of age-related dementia.

Sources

Psychcentral

Science Daily

Medicine Net

NCBI

Shark attacks increased 25 percent worldwide, but the recession and BP oil spill may account for a reduction of shark attacks in Florida. Image: CC Jeff Kubina/Flickr

Shark attacks increased worldwide, according to an annual shark attack report released Monday. The trend reversed in Florida, which leads the U.S. in shark attacks, but recorded a decline in 2010. A recent shark study showing sharks are colorblind suggests that traditional black wet suits may increase the likelihood of a shark attack.

International shark attack statistics

The International Shark Attack File, an annual report compiled by the University of Florida, recorded 79 shark attacks in 2010, the most since 80 were documented in 1980. Six shark attacks were fatal. The latest total is a 25 percent increase from 63 shark attacks worldwide in 2009. The U.S. was the world leader in shark attacks with 36, considered an average year. Australia, a country famous for sharks, was runner up with 14. South Africa had eight, Vietnam and Egypt had six. In Egypt, four of five of the shark attacks happened in five days. The report attributed the Egypt attacks to an abnormally hot summer, a passing cargo ship that dumped dead sheep overboard and recreational divers feeding reef fishes and sharks.

Florida sees drop in shark attacks

Florida, normally the worldwide capital of shark attacks, showed a decline for the fourth straight year. Florida lead the U.S. in shark attacks with 13, but the 10-year Florida shark attack average is 23. Other states listed in the Shark Attack File include North Carolina (5), California (4), Hawaii (4) and South Carolina (4). Georgia, Maine, Oregon, Texas, Virginia and Washington had one shark attack. The recession and the BP oil spill, which reduced the number of tourists coming to Florida, may have been a factor in Florida’s relatively low number of shark attacks in 2010.

Preventing shark attacks

Surfers accounted for more than half of the shark attack cases in 2010. A recent study showing that sharks are colorblind suggests ways to protect them. Sharks see in shades of gray and wet suits and surfboards with a lower visual contrast may be less attractive. Most sharks, rather than going after a meal, are thought to be merely curious when they attack. The black wetsuits often worn by surfers offer a high contrast sharks will notice. Sharks have also shown an attraction to yellow, which has been nicknamed “yum, yum yellow by the U.S. Navy. Blue or green wet suits with a lower contrast could prevent shark attacks.

Sources

MSNBC

Gainsville Sun

Los Angeles Times

Think the picture for the U.S. job market is crystal clear? Think again. (Photo Credit: CC BY-ND/Renee Silverman/Flickr)

Forbes reports that January unemployment figures paint what some people consider to be a rosy picture. A decline to 9 percent unemployment has been hailed as “the fastest pace in half a century,” and people say they’re finding work. However, this data conflicts with a recent business survey reflecting weak job growth in January, hinting once again that the national media’s view of the unemployment rate is as blurry as ever.

Labor Department encouraged by unemployment data

Government surveys attribute the unemployment slide to 9 percent as a natural by-product of strong January data. One government survey that included the self-employed found that more than 500,000 people found work, but a survey by the U.S. Department of Labor noted that only 36,000 net jobs were created, which happens to be only a quarter of what the U.S. needed to keep up with population growth.

Nigel Gault, the chief U.S. economist at job forecasting firm IHS Global Insight, told Forbes that the drop in unemployment was not a drop in the labor force, but of actual job creation – even if many of those jobs come via self-employment. The total gain of 165,000 jobs via self-employment in January is the highest total since last May. Yet the self-employed do not factor into unemployment surveys that focus on corporate payroll numbers, which causes some confusion when job market numbers are reported.

Those who give up are invisible

Another problem that plagues unemployment rate reports is that the U.S. government no longer counts people who have stopped looking for work as being unemployed, but independent surveys do keep track. According to Forbes, in January 2.8 million threw in the towel; 200,000 more than in December. Some were simply discouraged, while others returned to school. Regardless of the reason, the participation rate – or the percentage of those working-age people out looking for employment – hit a 26-year low of 64.2 percent.

Fewer jobs created in 2010 than previously thought

Government analysts’ early estimate was that 1.1 million jobs were created in 2010, but further analysis found that 950,000 was a more accurate total. As analysts continue to struggle with conflicting data, consumers in need of more money than their jobs provide will continue to look to payday loans, perhaps until the country’s economic direction becomes more clear.

Source

Forbes

Are you actually unemployed?

Do you live in one of the top 10 most credit card debt-ridden cities? (Photo Credit: CC BY/MoneyBlogNewz/Flickr)

Credit-card-wielding consumers have found that old habits die hard. That’s why it comes as no surprise that a recent study by credit reporting agency Equifax states that the U.S. is buried $790 billion deep in credit card debt. Broken down by city, here are the top 10 most credit card debt-ridden cities.

10. Winston-Salem, N.C.

On average, credit card debt per household is a robust $6,505. As the median household income is $42,869, the percent of annual income owed to credit card companies is 15.17 percent. Imagine what could have been accomplished with payday loans, rather than high-interest revolving debt that most people nurse along with monthly minimum payments.

9. Fayetteville, N.C.

One of four N.C. cities on this list, Fayetteville has 126,723 households that owe $6,519 per household on credit cards. A sizable percentage (15.34 percent) of median annual income – $42,506 – is paid in attempt to eliminate that credit card debt. With short term loans with a two-week maturity cycle, a great deal of interest debt could have been avoided.

8. Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio/Penn.

Median income here is lower – $39,304 – but so is the average household credit card debt: $6,142. However, that’s still 15.63 percent of the annual income on credit card debt alone. That’s about $1.4 billion in total debt, citywide.

7. Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, Fla.

The 170,817 households in the Pensacola area owe $6,649 each to credit card companies, 15.79 percent of the median household income, $42,106. With personal loans, there would have been no cycle of debt.

6. Asheville, N.C.

North Carolina has heavy anti-payday loan legislation in place, so the credit card debt comes as no shock. Households owe 16.12 percent of annual income.

5. El Paso, Texas

Average credit card debt is lower at $5,349. That’s still 16.15 percent of annual income in El Paso, though.

4. Duluth, Minn.

Median household income: $38,392

Percent owed on credit cards: 16.72 percent

3. Toledo, Ohio

Another state that makes payday lending impossible, Toledo households owe 16.72 percent of annual income on credit cards. If payday lenders were allowed to operate at market rate in Ohio, hitting that percentage would be nearly impossible.

2. Canton-Massillon, Ohio

Median income: $40,912

Percent owed: 17.23 percent

1. Wilmington, N.C.

Households earn $42,392, but owe 17.26 percent on credit cards.

Sources

About.com

Yahoo Finance

‘I’m going to come steal your toys because your mommy didn’t pay her Discover bill’

An insurance industry study found that traffic fatalities dropped 26 percent in cities equipped with red light camera systems. Image: CC stevelyon/Flickr

Use of red light cameras by city governments has become more common in the past decade. Motorists typically denounce the presence of red light cameras as revenue-raisers rather than public safety devices. But a recent study shows that red light cameras reduce traffic fatalities, as well as increase revenues.

Red light cameras work as advertised

Red light cameras work as the cities that install them advertise they do, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. A study released by the research arm of the insurance industry found that traffic fatalities dropped by 26 percent over five years at intersections equipped with red light cameras. Researchers compared traffic accident data from 14 large U.S. cities with red light cameras against 48 others without them from 2004 to 2008. Traffic fatalities fell for cities in both categories, but the rate of deadly crashes dropped faster in cities with red light cameras. Rear-end collisions increased at intersections with red light cameras, but the more deadly T-bone collisions decreased.

Red light camera statistics

Red light camera statistics in the study also drew on traffic accident data recorded by the federal government. In 2009, 2.2 million crashes occurred at intersections, about 41 percent of all crashes. Those collisions seriously hurt 81,112 people and killed 7,358. Running red lights caused 113,000 of those injuries and 676 of the deaths. About 64 percent of the people who died, including passengers, other drivers, pedestrians and cyclists, were killed by the person running the red light. If red light cameras had been in use in all 99 cities included in the study, the researchers estimated that 815 lives would have been saved.

Red light camera revenue backlash

Red light camera revenue adds up to millions of dollars for the cities that use them. In Washington, D.C., red light cameras netted nearly $7.2 million on 85,678 red-light citations from June 2009 through May 2010. In the U.S. about half the states permit red light cameras. In 2000, just 25 cities installed them. Today red light cameras are present at intersections in about 500 cities. The National Motorists Association, a long-time critic of red light cameras, said that longer yellow lights would make intersections safer. Some U.S. cities have passed voter initiatives banning red light cameras as heavy-handed enforcement and an invasion of privacy.

Sources

Washington Post

Wall Street Journal

Fair Warning

The Iowa Catholic Conference would be happy if payday lending disappeared. (Photo Credit: CC BY-SA/stallio/Flickr)

Bloomberg reports that payday lending is under fire in Iowa, a state where lending laws are already among the tightest in the nation. Payday loan rollovers are forbidden and fee limits are less than permissive, but consumer advocates that include members of the Iowa Catholic Conference and National Association of Social Workers are lobbying the Iowa Legislature to clamp down the rate cap on payday loans to 36 percent APR.

Iowa payday loans bill sponsored by 16 senators

Sixteen unnamed Iowa State senators have co-sponsored a measure that will be brought before the state Senate this week. The measure would limit the rate cap on payday loans to 36 percent APR. While various advocates claim this is fair, the mathematics are far from practicable. Applied to a two-week loan, a 36 percent APR amounts to $1.38 that a payday lender earns for every $100 loaned. That’s less than 10 cents per day, and it doesn’t  take into account a payday loan company’s operating costs, including employee salaries.

Personal responsibility is paramount

While it is true that some borrowers use payday loans irresponsibly, current independent payday lending research suggests that this is far from the norm. As rollovers – where a second loan is taken out to repay the first – are not allowed with Iowa payday loans, those who argue the “cycle of debt” in that state are misinformed.

What payday lending comes down to is personal responsibility on the part of Iowa consumers. While the Iowa Catholic Conference and others argue that government must protect people from themselves, nanny-state style, Republican Iowa Sen. Brad Zaun of Urbandale sees through the endless legislative loop, reports Payday Pundit.

“It’s just more government regulation,” Zaun said. “There has to be some personal responsibility.”

If a consumer only borrows what they can afford to repay and only resorts to the use of credit in essential situations, they’re exercising financial responsibility.

Sources

Bloomberg

Payday Pundit

Payday loans discussion at the 2010 Iowa Catholic Conference

Consumer spending is up with the CCI, but new jobs remain scarce. (Photo Credit: BY-SA/Quinn Dombrowski/Flickr)

The Associated Press reports that the U.S. Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) rose in January to the highest level experts have seen in the past eight months. The CCI climbed to 60.6 in January, up 53.3 from December, according to the global non-profit organization Conference Board. Shrinking unemployment and improving business conditions are believed to be key factors in the increased optimism U.S. consumers have shown in both their spending and saving habits.

Consumer Confidence Index better, but still not healthy

While economists are encouraged by the CCI’s rise to 60.6, that level is still far below the 90 that indicates at least semi-healthy consumer confidence in spending and use of short-term credit like payday loans. The Consumer Confidence Index measures how people feel about the state of the U.S. economy. The figure is based upon a survey of 5,000 households, according to the blog Banker Notes. The CCI hasn’t been above 90 since December 2007.

January’s 60.6 CCI is the highest since a 62.7 mark in May 2010, when it appeared that the U.S. economy was ready to take off again. Yet the summer was sluggish economically, and the CCI flagged. Unemployment surged to the highest levels seen in the U.S. since the 1930s, and unemployment levels still haven’t regained their footing since they hit bottom in June 2009.

Hope of job deliverance

The AP reports that a survey from the National Association for Business Economics shows that the number of companies optimistic about hiring is at a 12-year high. This coincides somewhat with the reaction consumers gave to a Conference Board survey regarding the state of the job market, as the percentage of respondents who feel jobs are too hard to come by is down to 43.4 percent. That’s about a 3 percent drop from December. The percentage of those polled by the Conference Board who expect to see more jobs available in six months was also on the rise, from 14.2 percent in December to 16 percent in January.

Consumer spending up, unemployment down

The 2010 holiday shopping season was a boon for consumer spending, as sales increased at the fastest rate in six years. The new Social Security tax cut is expected to contribute to further consumer spending. Meanwhile, unemployment was down 0.4 percent from November to December, yet U.S. job creation only produced 103,000 jobs.

Sources

Associated Press

Banker Notes

Plunkett Research on U.S. retail

New reports on retail sales and consumer confidence present conflicting data until one reads between the lines. Image: CC Svadifari/Flickr

Retail sales and consumer confidence are key economic indicators closely watched by economists and investors. People often assume retail sales and consumer confidence would rise and fall in tandem. But separate reports released Friday show a strong 2010 retail sales trend followed by declining consumer confidence in January.

Retail sales surge in 2010

Retail sales in the U.S. increased at a greater rate in 2010 than in any year since 1999, according to the Commerce Department. From 2009 to 2010, U.S. retail sales increased 6.8 percent, the strongest growth since an 8.2 percent surge in 1999. December retail sales rose for the sixth month in a row, increasing 0.6 percent to $380.9 billion after rising 0.8 percent in November. Despite the holiday shopping season, December’s gain was less than expected, largely due to harsh winter weather. Department store sales dropped 1.9 percent, the steepest decline in two years. But online sales rose 2.6 percent month-over-month to ensure an overall monthly gain.

Consumer confidence a fickle index

Despite the strong retail sales trend, consumer confidence in January declined unexpectedly. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer confidence index for January fell to 72.7 from 74.5 in December. A Bloomberg News survey of economists predicted a bump in the consumer confidence index to 75.5. Analysts are saying rising gas and energy prices, combined with the snail’s pace of job creation are to blame. Unemployment fell to 9.4 percent in December, but at the present rate of economic growth, the labor market will take years to recover. Higher gas prices increased sales at gas stations 1.6 percent last month. Energy prices rose 4.6 percent in December.

Data bode well for consumer spending

Consumer confidence has dropped so far this month, but economists say the consumer expectations index is a more accurate economic indicator. The consumer expectations index looks at how people feel about what their finances will look like six months down the road. The Commerce Department reports that it increased to 68.2, the highest mark since last June. The strengthening consumer expectations index bodes well for consumer spending, the lion’s share of U.S. economic output. Although recent reports offer conflicting information, the trend in retail sales appears strong enough to drive economic recovery, if not employment.

Sources

Bloomberg

Financial Times

Wall Street Journal

Sugar cane depends on tropical weather to grow well, and not all countries are producing expected crops. Image: Wikimedia Commons

In yet another record gain, sugar prices hit a 30-year high on Tuesday and went up even more Wednesday. The sugar prices 30-year high comes after last year’s double in sugar prices. The volatility in the sugar market means more than just increasing consumer prices, though.

Sugar prices 30-year high

Sugar prices reached a record 30-year high of 30.64 cents per pound on Tuesday. Then Wednesday, the sugar prices 30-year high jumped again to 34.77 cents per pound. These prices apply to sugar expected to be delivered and refined in March. Expectations of shortages thanks to unpredictable weather and smaller-than-expected crops in Brazil, as well as increased demand, are driving the prices up.

Volatility in commodity and sugar prices

Commodities, such as sugar, cotton, coffee and cocoa have experienced extreme volatility in the last few years. In the last year, sugar has been as low as 14.35 cents per pound and as high as 30.64 cents per pound. Cotton futures have set 130-year highs, and coffee recently set a 13-year price high. Extreme weather in many commodity-growing countries has played a major part in this volatility. Governmental policies in countries such as India are also contributing to the volatility. This volatility affects everyone from the growers who sell their crops to the final consumer price paid, two to nine months later, when the commodity finally reaches the market.

Increased demand for sugar

The increased demand for “real” sugar has been playing a part in the sugar prices 30-year high. The U.S. department of agriculture has recently released a report showing that demand for high fructose corn syrup, a popular alternative to sugar, has dropped 11 percent this year. Corn, the basis of high fructose corn syrup, is also at historically high commodity prices of about 10.72 cents per pound — still three times less expensive than sugar. In the United States, many companies are choosing to replace HFCS with sugar. However, food manufacturing operations in Mexico and other sugar-producing countries are opting to use the less-expensive corn option. This, combined with weather, tariffs and governmental factors, likely means that the price of sugar and other agricultural products will continue the volatile rise-and-fall.

Sources

Index Mundi
Sydney Morning Herald
Bloomberg
Financial Times

The East Coast Blizzard of 2010 left many shoppers and commuters stranded. (Photo Credit: CC BY-SA/Mariordo/Wikipedia)

The massive East Coast blizzard that has crippled the northeastern U.S. of late has made life difficult for many people, retailers included. According to CNN Money, retailers that were hoping for lots of shopper traffic to take advantage of after-Christmas sales and boost retail sales received a rude awakening. Because the blizzard kept shoppers at home, it has been projected that retailers lost approximately $1 billion in after-Christmas sales.

Retail sales buried by blizzard

According to ShopperTrak, a company that records retail sales and shopper traffic at more than 70,000 stores and malls, the Dec. 26 walk up shopper traffic was 11.2 percent lower than had been predicted, and the East Coast blizzard is considered the culprit. Overall, shopping traffic in the Northeast was down 6.1 percent the day after Christmas, while the following day was even worse, as thousands were completely snowbound and couldn’t  commute or travel.

Bill Martin, the founder of ShopperTrak, pointed out that the East Coast blizzard “halted nearly all retail visits and spending” at the worst possible time for retailers.

Walk-up shopper traffic much lower than last year

According to ShopperTrak figures, Dec. 27 retail shopping traffic was down a whopping 42.9 percent when compared with last year. The projected loss of $1 billion in sales will not bode well for retailers who are struggling to maintain the bottom line. While Martin and others hold out hope that the weather will clear and retailers will see more of the numbers they were expecting, there exists a great deal of uncertainty.

Will online retail sales be enough to counter the blizzard effect?

Marshal Cohen, chief retail analyst with the NPD Group, told CNN that “the loss of post-Christmas weekend is brutal” for retailers. He is unsure as to whether retailers will be able to pick up the blizzard slack in stores, although online retail sales more than likely experienced a welcome bump, thanks to snowbound shoppers.

The two-year retail sales slump brought on by the recession had lessened somewhat this year, in large part due to big Black Friday numbers. The East Coast blizzard effect is an unwelcome slowdown. Cohen predicts it will take retailers two to three weeks to regain sales momentum.

Sources

CNN Money

The retail chill

Clock watchers of the world, unite! But don't give up your job unless you're prepared. (Photo Credit: CC BY-SA/GRC ImageNet)

The reality for many when it comes to being gainfully employed during the recession is that one should be thankful to have a job at all. However, a recent employee satisfaction survey by national job placement firm Manpower indicates that employees are ready to look the gift horse square in the mouth. A whopping 84 percent of those surveyed will search for a new job come 2011.

Employee satisfaction survey shows huge difference from last year

When Manpower conducted the same employee satisfaction survey at the end of 2009, a much smaller number of respondents openly admitted to gearing up for a job hunt: 60 percent. This only takes into account people who are already consistently employed. It should be a given that those out of work will keep looking, but frustration has lurked around every corner for many of these employment seekers.

The “quits” rate as calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor is still at an all-time low, which likely indicates that a worker’s ability to change jobs could currently be classified as “severely challenged.”

Longing and disappointment

Paul Bernard, a veteran executive coach and career management adviser, told CNN Money that long-term employees who have suffered through years of frozen compensation have become disenchanted with their jobs. The necessity to earn a paycheck is there, but the emotional investment in one’s place of employment becomes more difficult as the work employees are asked to do – and paid no more for than they were a year or two before – begins to matter less with each passing day.

The level of employee dissatisfaction expressed in the Manpower survey should be taken as “a wake-up call to management,” said Manpower division COO Douglas Matthews. This has to do with dissatisfied workers and general discontent, rather than standard projections of employee turnover.

Failures of expectation

One respondent named Lauren told CNN Money that the job she was able to get out of college is in an environment where “I’m not learning anything and am not challenged by any of my work. … It just makes me feel like I’m wasting my time.”

Sources

CNN Money

‘Freakonomics’ author on the failure of employee incentives

Are California legislators getting the whole story on payday loans? (Photo Credit: CC BY/Clinton Steeds/Flickr)

As mainstream media is quick to assert, the APR charged for California payday loans is typically somewhere between 300 and 400 percent. If San Diego installment loans were actually 12-month loans, those figures would indeed be frightening when compared with traditional bank and credit union loans. However, some California personal loan customers don’t have the option to pursue such “traditional” forms of credit because of their personal financial situation. Thus, the argument used by the media is that short term loans are too expensive is far too simplistic.

This fails to present a balanced San Diego installment loans argument

Yes, there are stories like the recent California payday loans piece by Mike Cassidy of the Silicon Valley Mercury News. Sarah Portales, an employed 51-year-old single mother, claims she is trapped in what appears to be an endless cycle of debt from which she cannot escape. Portales tells Cassidy that she fully supports proposed legislation in the California Senate that would reign in San Diego payday loans, if not eradicate them entirely.

But what of those who have no other options and need cash immediately? It can happen. Auto repairs and family medical bills can strike at the worst possible time. In those situations, paying $15 to $30 for each $100 borrowed seems like a relative bargain, compared with losing work and good health.

How did Sarah Portales use California short term loans?

The Mercury News makes vague references to paying bills, without identifying the situations in which Portales used cash advances. Without that information, it is impossible to make a convincing case that she is a victim. Perhaps she made errant decisions. Cassidy does not make this clear, but his bias is overwhelmingly clear. After building a shaky case in several different ways to claim that any California or San Diego payday loan is a financial quagmire, he only uses one supporting quote to make the case for the payday lending industry. A note that the California State payday loan regulatory board attempts to work with cities like San Diego in a “friendly manner” leaves the door open for many questions that Cassidy doesn’t even attempt to answer, such is his fascination with drowning out well-documented studies regarding the installment loans industry.

Sources

Silicon Valley Mercury News

A more balanced payday loans argument

Underwater mortgages declined as foreclosures increased, while negative equity is expected to grow as home prices continue to slide. Image:; CC 666isMONEY/Flickr

Underwater mortgages in the U.S. declined for the third straight quarter for the period ending Sept. 30. The decline in negative equity is a result of increasing foreclosures. Negative equity is expected to increase in the near future as U.S. home values continue to decline.

Decline in negative equity deceiving

The number of homeowners with underwater mortgages fell from 23 percent in the second quarter to 22.5 percent in the third. According to CoreLogic, a housing market research firm, in a healthy housing market only 5 percent of homeowners owe more on their mortgages than the house is worth. The decline in negative equity was credited mainly to a surge in foreclosures taking people out of their mortgages. CoreLogic said homes for sale in foreclosure auctions averaged 110,000 a month from July to September, an increase from 98,000 in the same period last year. Banks foreclosed on a record 288,345 homes in the third quarter, a 7 percent increase from the second quarter and a 22 percent year-to-year increase.

Negative equity feeds on falling home prices

Total negative equity in the third quarter was $744 billion, declining from $800 billion a year ago. Negative equity is expected to rise because about 2.4 million homeowners hold equity of 5 percent or less. Any further decline in prices will pull their mortgages underwater. CoreLogic estimates that home values in the U.S. will have dropped by $1.7 trillion in 2010. The Federal Reserve said the value of residential real estate fell $649 billion in the third quarter to $16.6 trillion. Morgan Stanley issued a report last week stating that home prices could drop another 11 percent before finally hitting bottom in the first quarter of 2012.

A solution to negative equity

Underwater mortgages have a detrimental effect on residential real estate. Homeowners with negative equity quit maintaining their property and many are motivated to default on their mortgages. The Obama administration has been pressuring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to give underwater homeowners a few percentage points back on their mortgage. Real estate experts say such an equity handout is a temporary, hollow gesture. The only real solution to the negative equity problem, which is holding back the entire economy, is significant price appreciation in a competitive housing market.

Sources

Bloomberg

Associated Press

MSNBC

Remember, proper workplace behavior is required at holiday office parties. (Photo Credit: CC BY-SA/Richard Clifford/Flickr)

December is here, and that means that holiday office parties can’t be far behind. In the next few weeks, co-workers will gather together at one office Christmas party or another, but just because there’s Jack and Coke doesn’t mean that public drunkenness and inappropriate behavior are OK. Standard workplace behavior still applies, suggests Fast Company – but plenty of people still need a wing man or two to guide them out of trouble.

Holiday office parties can affect your reputation

Dancing and having a good time at holiday office parties is fine, but getting sloppy drunk and feeling up your co-workers under the mistletoe is not. Rest assured that for every obscenely embarrassing action at an office holiday party, there will be cell phone cameras capturing it all. And if the boss is a witness, there could be a pink slip in your future.

In spite of this, holiday office parties remain a breeding ground for naughtiness. A recent survey by the HR firm Adecco points out that bad behavior at the office Christmas party is fairly common. About 40 percent of workers admitted that they have engaged in embarrassing behavior or know someone who has at holiday office parties. Twenty-three percent have been officially reprimanded for inappropriate behavior. Taking things a step further, 11 percent of respondents have been or know someone who was fired for inappropriate behavior. Insulting a colleague (7 percent) or boss (4 percent) was not uncommon.

Not many workers are hooking up

Fast Company reports that very few respondents to the Adecco survey admitted to hooking up at an office Christmas party (the key word being “admitted”). Only 3 percent of workers said they had hooked up with a co-worker at a holiday office party; it seems understandable that only a small number of people were willing to confess.

Holiday office parties demand some self-control

Getting drunk and mouthing off at your office Christmas party is a bad idea, particularly during a recession. If you don’t trust yourself around liquor and your office crush, make sure you have a wing man or two.

Sources

Fast Company

‘The minty flavor will put them off’

As the U.S. changes, "family" is taking on new definitions. (Photo Credit: CC BY-SA/Iverson/Picasa)

There are many ways to define the concept of marriage. Whether it is considered an affirmation, commitment, bond, contract or any combination of such concepts, one thing a recent Pew Research Center study suggests is that marriage may be becoming obsolete in the United States. The Associated Press reports that not only are divorce numbers still high, but more children than ever are living in single parent families where that parent is divorced, separated or never married.

Does marriage define family?

In conjunction with Time magazine, the Pew group study indicates that not only is the notion of the importance of marriage in flux, but the definition of the American family is more fluid than ever. The sea change has reportedly prompted the Census Bureau to adopt broader definitions of what constitutes a family, particularly where matters of poverty and unmarried couples are concerned.

Marriage does not dominate family life the way it used to, according to the Pew group. Dr. Andrew Cherlin, sociology and public policy professor at Johns Hopkins University, told the AP that “Now there are several ways to have a successful family life and more people accept them.”

The new American family, by the marriage numbers

According to the Pew marriage and family study, 29 percent of children live in single- or two-parent families who are unwed or not longer married. That’s five times the number of such families in 1960. The big number is 39 percent; that’s the percentage of Pew respondents who said marriage was becoming obsolete. In 1978, just 28 percent of Americans felt that way. Considering the U.S. census data from September 2010 – where marriage was down to an all-time low of 52 percent of adults 18 and older – it becomes clear that the Pew findings are no coincidence.

Mercy, mercy me (the economy)

While most Americans seem to agree that a married couple constitutes a family, a whopping 80 percent of respondents also recognized a family as “an unmarried, opposite-sex couple with children or a single parent,” while 60 percent recognized same-sex couples with children as families. Economic conditions have played a major role in unmarried cohabitation. For opposite-sex unmarried couples, numbers jumped by 13 percent from last year alone. Long-term marriage commitment has declined in the face of unemployment, and as benefits such as health insurance become more readily available to “alternative” family structures, marriage rates have declined.

Sources

Associated Press

New Yorkers’ views of marriage

Instead of teaching kids that being thin is an ideal, researchers suggest that parents focus on health. (Photo Credit: CC BY-SA/Jennifer/Flickr)

According to Live Science, a recent Pepperdine University study indicates that girls as young as 3 years old are already worried about watching their weight. Being thin is something in which girls are “emotionally invested,” claims the study, even at preschool age. Experts in child wellness and psychology find the study results troubling, as body image and body dissatisfaction issues at that age can easily lead to eating disorders.

An obsession with being thin

Lead researcher Jennifer Harriger told Live Science that worrying about being thin has been linked in numerous other studies to both eating disorders and depression. Taking a dim view of those who are overweight is also problematic, according to Harriger, as weight hazing and other forms of bullying behavior can become ingrained.

Getting creative to understand body image

The age of girls included in the study was generally not old enough for the children to verbalize complex thoughts and feelings, so Harriger had to use creative methods. In order to understand whether girls favored thin types or fat types, the preschoolers responded to three figures identical in every way except body size – thin, average and fat. With each, the kids were asked to associate six positive and six negative adjectives. Words like “nice, smart, friends, neat, cute and quiet” were available as positive descriptors, while “mean, stupid, no friends, sloppy, ugly and loud” the given as negative options.

On average, 3.1 negative and 1.2 positive words were affixed to the larger figures, while 1.2 negative and 2.7 positive adjectives were associated with the thin figures on average. When the girls were shown three of each body type and had to circle the three they’d most like to play with and one they’d want as a best friend, the preschoolers chose thin most often in both scenarios. Further game scenarios tended to reinforce these results.

Commercial messages color views of being thin

America’s obsessive connection between being thin and being beautiful is deeply ingrained, argues Harriger. Commercial messages are pervasive, even for preschoolers. What would be more productive would be to stress health rather than being thin or fat. Parents limiting mainstream media exposure, modeling healthy eating habits, exercising and practicing positive talk promotes healthier lifestyles.

Sources

Live Science

Hunger is now defined in a number of different ways, including “food insecure.” (Photo Credit: CC BY-SA/pingnews.com/Flickr)

According to a new Department of Agriculture report, American families continue to struggle with hunger at the same recorded rate as last year. However, the level of food insecurity – difficulty feeding one or more family members because of lack of money – is at the highest recorded level since the federal government began keeping track of the statistic in 1995.

Nearly 15 percent of U.S. households suffered food insecurity

In 2009, 14.7 percent of American households met the qualifications for food insecurity status. That’s 17.4 million households, or roughly 45 million people. One-third of those households earned the dubious distinction of having “very low food security,” says the Department of Agriculture.

Not enough money for food

Food insecure households cited in the study typically went as least a few days per month over a seven-month period with moderate to severe food problems. Those households run by single parents were significantly more likely to experience food security troubles than two-parent homes. African-American and Hispanic households were more prone to food insecurity, as were households in suburbs and outlying rural areas.

Benefits for food insecure households

Not surprisingly, the vast majority of households that qualified as food insecure according to the Department of Agriculture’s study were on some form of federal assistance. Specifically, these households benefit from one or more of the following initiatives: the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the National School Lunch Program, or the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). The first Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program saw an 18.7 percent increase in benefits granted last year, while the lunch program (5.4 percent) and WIC (5.8 percent) also showed significant gains.

Critical assistance

The Department of Agriculture’s annual report emphasizes the importance of such federal benefits programs, some of which face the possibility of being trimmed down as the Obama administration’s bipartisan committee looks to tame the federal deficit. USDA Undersecretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Kevin Concannon told CNN that the increasing numbers of people claiming benefits should outline just how critical such programs are to the well-being of American families. Opponents of such programs, however, would highlight the need for tighter restrictions as to how benefits may be used.

Sources

CNN

Too many children are hungry

Ignoring mainstream consumer debt while criticizing payday loans as a debt trap is like killing the anchovies to save the sharks. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Even with a down credit market, consumer debt levels make a payday loan debt trap seem like small potatoes. Most studies of the payday lending industry indicate that all payday lenders in America do less than $50 billion a year in business. There is 20 times that amount in outstanding debt on credit cards. Consumer debt, which people are encouraged to take on, is more of a debt trap than any payday loan could be.

$11 trillion debt trap is not from payday loans

According to Fortune, the mortgage industry does far more in business than payday loan lenders do. In fact, there is $10.6 trillion in outstanding mortgage debt. Mortgages, if they are configured with prepayment penalties, are meant to keep people paying.Credit cards are, too. There’s about $822 billion in debt on credit cards. Aside from mortgage loans and credit cards, installment loan debt, or debt from student loans, auto loans, and so forth, totals $1.6 trillion. Even more astounding is that these figures are a reduction from previous years.

The payday loan industry could not compete if it wanted to

The payday loan industry is 20 times smaller than the credit card industry.  The sum total of the all cash advances and payday loans lent out is less than $50 billion per year. Furthermore, most studies of profitability of the short term loan industry indicate profits at the largest of payday lenders are 10 percent or less. With such small margins for profit, according to the research that has been done, there is no way that any loan until payday is nearly as bad as critics contend.

Small fish in a huge pond

Payday loans are such a small portion of the overall credit market, that it seems ridiculous to single them out compared to other sources of debt. However, payday lenders don’t have the benefit of multi-billion dollar ad campaigns. You can read more in the Payday Loan Facts and Statistics Report on Personal Money Market.