Before you agree to relocate for a new job, do the math on the cost of living change. Flickr/MoneyBlogNewz/CC-BY-SA

Finally, businesses are starting to hire again. Many people will be faced with the choice of whether they should move in order to take on a new job. Before you accept a job and a salary offer, be sure to take into consideration the cost of living in the location you’re moving to. Also, if you must sell your home, be smart about home-staging — getting your home ready to sell for the best price.

Small businesses making new hires

Thanks in large part to small businesses, unemployment is receding and people are finding jobs. For those who have been unemployed for a long time, taking the first job and salary offer that comes along is tempting. However, when that job offer comes with the caveat that you must relocate, take careful consideration. First, check the cost of living comparison. Second, if you own a home, consider what it will cost and how long it will take to prepare it for sale.

Cost of living comparison

A great salary in Spokane, Wash., might be only enough for Ramen Noodles and a studio apartment in Portland, Ore. Any time you receive a salary offer in another area, make sure that salary will be enough to maintain your lifestyle. CNN Money has a cost of living comparison calculator (linked below) that calculates what salary you’d need to make in a different area to maintain your current expenses. It also breaks down where the extra money goes. For example, housing in Portland is 53 percent more expensive than housing in Spokane.

Selling a home in a down housing market

If you are looking to sell your home, there are plenty of inexpensive ways to spruce up the place. Replacing bathroom and kitchen hardware and new paint are common ways to make an old home look new. However, many of the most important aspects of making a home attractive are free — but easy to overlook. HGTV provides a comprehensive that covers everything from clutter cleanup to furniture arrangement. Follow the link below to a solid checklist of ways to improve your chances of selling your home.

Sources

CNN Money Cost of Living Comparison

HGTV 15 home-staging tips

Navigating the dog days of unemployment can be made easier if you're careful with your unemployment check. (Photo Credit: CC BY-SA/Robin Alexa/A.K.A. Binsk)

The process of pounding the pavement for work can cause perpetual frustration for the unemployed. The sometimes fruitless nature of a job search must not blind consumers to the fact that they’ll have to make that unemployment check stretch. To accomplish this, financially sound decisions are necessary.

Reaching backward for relief

The U.S. job market may be slowly improving, but that doesn’t mean the necessity to live frugally on unemployment benefits has gone out the window. Simply cutting out the Starbucks and buying less at the grocery store won’t do it, advises AOL Jobs. To begin with, personal finance expert Jean Chatzky suggests working backward. Once you’ve locked down the essential, fixed expenses, you can focus on what may have to go.

“I think the easiest way to budget is backward,” she says. “This is where my money is going now and then you can make changes.”

Know your expenses outside fixed costs

Austerity measures must be put to action when you have only an unemployment check to rely upon. This goes beyond savings, reminds Chatzky. It’s about taking an ax to those things that aren’t essential, fixed monthly costs in your budget. Rent, mortgage and car payments are inescapable, and they also don’t change from month to month. If public transportation is an option, however, it would be wise to consider the expense of maintaining a vehicle.

That leaves the non-essentials like cable TV and Internet. If you have 600 channels but feel like there’s nothing on most of the time, consider the TV bill carefully. Similarly, the Internet can be a time-waster, although it can also be an invaluable job search tool. If you must cut that one, consider using the Internet at your public library.

“The people that I’ve seen throughout this recession that have the biggest problems are the ones who continued to live as if there were two salaries coming into the family when there was really only one,” says Chatzky.

More revenue-generating, future-preserving ideas

The unemployed may have to consider some difficult questions in order to remain above water financially. Will you rent out that room above the garage, pull the kids out of private school or sell your prized guitar collection?

Taking money out of a retirement account like a 401(k) is an option some consider, although financial experts advise that the unemployed not touch that money unless it is a dire emergency. That nest egg was built for a reason, and the tax penalties can amount to 30 or 40 cents on the dollar for early withdrawal. In the worst case scenario where debt is absolutely smothering, filing for bankruptcy may be an option, although doing so is not as easy as it was a few years ago. Consult with a credit counselor.

Source

AOL Jobs

North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue on unemployment benefits

Even Cylons have trouble finding work. (Photo Credit: CC BY/Nik Hewitt/Best of Both Worlds)

A lower percentage of Americans held jobs last year than at any point since 1983, reports USA Today. After a peak of 49.3 percent employment in 2000, only 45.4 percent of Americans were employed. In addition, only 66.8 percent of men were employed in 2010, the lowest figure on record.

Challenges to U.S. social programs

The dramatic shift in employment numbers over the past decade springs from the three-pronged attack of a bad economy, aging Baby Boomer population and a relative plateau in the number of working women, according to Marc Goldwein of the non-partisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

“What’s wrong with the economy may be speeding up trends that are already happening,” Goldwein told USA Today.

Considering that jobs have been more difficult to come by since the recession, fewer adults have been working until later in life. Hence, more stress falls upon an already overtaxed Social Security system. Also, from 2000 – when the U.S. had roughly the same number of non-working adults and non-working children under 18 – to today, there has been a shift. Now, there are nine times more non-working adults.

Other key findings from the 2010 Census

Until the 1960s, more than 80 percent of adult men were employed. Since then, U.S. Census data has reflected a long, slow downward slide. When construction and manufacturing jobs began to dry up from December 2007 through June 2009, the percentage of working men plummeted to record low levels.

The trend of women obtaining work helped offset the dwindling numbers of men until the late 1990s, according to USA Today. From 1995 to 2010, the percentage of working women has hovered around 56 percent. Part of the reason women have not experienced the same job decline as men over the past few decades, suggests Heather Boushey, a senior economist at the Center for American Progress, is that women have traditionally been employed in fields like education and healthcare. These professions have been less prone to market fluctuation over time.

“Given how stark and concentrated the job losses are among men, and that women represented a high proportion of the labor force in the beginning of this recession, women are now bearing the burden — or the opportunity, one could say — of being breadwinners,” Boushey told the New York Times.

The expense of looking after retirees

As more than 77 million Baby Boomers reach retirement, the costs of caring for seniors becomes painfully apparent. In today’s dollars at current life expectancies, the National Center for Policy Analysis estimates that it costs $500,000 to care for a senior in post-retirement years. As the average retiree only receives $25,000 a year in benefits (between Social Security and Medicare), the proportion of unemployed Americans who aren’t contributing to the tax base becomes a mathematical conundrum.

Sources

New York Times

USA Today

McDonald's will hire 50,000 people on April 19. (Photo Credit: CC BY/David Neubert/Flickr)

McDonald’s is doing its share to melt through the recession hiring freeze, reports MSNBC. On April 19, through its U.S. stores and website, McDonald’s will hold a hiring spree event in which as many as 50,000 people will be hired. The company acknowledged that the hiring spree has been made possible by improved business on the domestic front.

McDonald’s hiring spree boosts workforce 7 percent

All positions, from restaurant workers to senior managers, will be involved in the McDonald’s hiring spree, which will boost the chain’s total workforce by 7 percent to approximately 700,000. On average, that will equate to three or four new hires per restaurant.

On the money

Estimates by a California State University professor indicate that McDonald’s wages and salaries will increase by more than $518 million in 2011. That will also translate into $54 million in additional payroll taxes and nearly $1.4 billion in annual expenditure, or $3.5 million per day, reports FOX Business.

The numbers bode well for the U.S. job market as a whole, writes FOX. Currently on a warming trend, the U.S. job market added 216,000 jobs in March after taking on 192,000 in February. In the private sector, 230,000 new jobs were created in March after a 240,000-job infusion the previous month.

The 24-hour goal for the Golden Arches

McDonald’s currently operates 14,000 restaurants across the U.S., 90 percent of which are administered by franchisees. The McDonald’s hiring spree (alternately called “McDonald’s Hiring Day”) will enable more of those restaurants to remain open 24 hours per day. Such is the case with the 111 Golden Arches locations in southern Nevada, where the unemployment rate is currently 13.7 percent – 14.2 percent in Las Vegas – and 193,000 Nevadans are unemployed.

McDonald’s Co-op Vice President Ron Smith is well aware of the difficult job landscape.

“We feel that it’s very important, especially in light of the critical economic situation, that we put as many people as possible back to work,” he said.

Even though McDonald’s jobs in Nevada will be part time, benefits like free meals and flexible schedules will help people who are struggling financially.

A strong foundation

McDonald’s USA President Jan Fields affirmed via a statement how important employees are to the success of the company.

“Our restaurant employees are the foundation of our business. They are the men and women who interact with our customers every day, enhance the McDonald’s experience and continue to help make our business strong,” she said.

For additional information about the McDonald’s hiring spree, see the McDonald’s Careers website or visit your local McDonald’s restaurant. Applicants must be at least 16 years old.

Sources

FOX Business

FOX 5 Las Vegas

McDonald’s Careers

MSNBC

McDonald’s hiring spree set for April 19

“Another hard day at work from home” is anything but facetious. (Photo Credit: CC BY-ND/Ashley/Flickr)

The U.S. job market has been sluggish to recover from the recession, which means many Americans are still out of work. Work from home opportunities abound, however – and most of them don’t even involve eBay. Here are some work from home ideas to get you started.

Why work from home?

Most people pursue gainful employment because they need money to meet their expenses. However, by working at home or even telecommuting 50 percent of the time, U.S. workers and employers could save more than $750 billion per year, according to the Telework Research Network.

A hefty percentage of that total comes from reduced dependency on oil. Productivity would increase by a projected 6.2 million man-years, which equates to $200 billion worth of labor annually. Businesses would reduce spending on real estate and utilities by at least the same amount each year, while highway maintenance costs and traffic accidents would drop significantly.

What work from home idea is best for you?

Selling on eBay is always an option, although amassing significant returns can be difficult unless you have access to a product everyone wants that can be delivered in great volume at minimal cost. Luckily, there are lots of work from home options you can research online without having to wade through the many work at home scams that tend to congregate on Craigslist (there are some gems, but they’re hard to find). As Clark Howard says, if a company says it will find you a work from home job for a large fee upfront, it’s probably a scam. Avoid the red tape with these work from home ideas. Keep in mind that some may charge a background check fee.

Work from home opportunities to fit your lifestyle

• AlpineAccess.com: After paying $45 for the required background check, AlpineAccess.com can match you with a virtual call center job. Positions typically involve customer service work.
• ConvergysWorkatHome.com: In addition to customer service telephone positions, Convergys can help you find work from home human resources and billing service opportunities.
• Elance.com: A great source for freelance talents who like flexibility. Small businesses look to Elance for web design, programming, SEO, graphic design and copywriting professionals. Bid for jobs, but watch out: Elance is so popular that unless you’re a highly experienced, award-winning professional, you may have to bid lower than you’re comfortable in order to secure work.
• LiveOps.com: Want to work from home as a virtual call center agent for a Fortune 200 company? LiveOps.com can get you there, provided you pay $175 for a more extensive background check than the standard $50 check gets you. A dedicated land phone line for LiveOps.com work only is required.

Worried about work from home scams?

Check with the Federal Trade Commission and Better Business Bureau websites for advice on how to spot work from home scams. It can save you time, money and big headaches.

Sources

Better Business Bureau

Clark Howard

Dr. Phil

Federal Trade Commission

John Tesh has everything you need to work from home

Businesses are exploiting desperate people willing to work for free to keep their employment prospects alive. Image: CC Mark van der Chijs/Flickr

U.S. businesses are benefiting from a huge pool of unemployed workers who are willing to work for free to gain experience. The rise of unpaid labor has some analysts concerned that the phenomenon will further undermine the anemic labor market. However, the Labor Department has strict rules about unpaid internships that bring legal risks to companies who benefit from desperate people who will work for free.

Desperate people will work for free

Unpaid internships aren’t just the realm of recent college graduates anymore. With the economy only creating enough jobs for one-sixth of the nation’s nearly 14 million unemployed, seasoned workers are joining the ranks of unpaid labor. Although there are few official statistics about unpaid labor, all it takes is a quick look at the job listings on Craigslist to see that businesses are exploiting workers ranging from accountants to nurses who will work for free now in hopes of a paying job later. Unpaid workers can gain valuable experience, references and avoid a glaring gap in their resumes, but some businesses get what they pay for. Without careful screening, unpaid workers can be difficult to manage, and some companies could be better off simply paying an employee.

Are unpaid internships getting out of hand?

The rise of illegal unpaid labor in the aftermath of the recession has raised red flags with the federal government. “Not So Equal Protection — Reforming the Regulation of Student Internships,” is a report issued by the Economic Policy Institute last April. The report calls for more federal regulation of unpaid internships. According to the institute, current regulations controlling unpaid internships must be reformed, not only for the protection of unpaid workers, but to maintain a healthy labor market and prevent any further decline in wages, which have been sliding for 40 years. In the report, the institute contends that the present lack of clear regulations exposes unpaid labor to workplace discrimination and encourages businesses to replace paid positions with unpaid internships.

Current regulations for unpaid labor

Despite the institute’s call for more government regulation, federal and state rules require that workers must be paid the minimum wage and overtime. Larger companies planning to take advantage of unpaid labor must follow provisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act. Under the FLSA, an unpaid internship must primarily benefit the intern, who must be closely supervised and not replace a paid position. Companies violating the law often must provide back pay, pay fines up to $1,100 per violation and damages that equal the amount of wages not paid. But the FLSA doesn’t apply to small businesses — companies with less than $500,000 in annual revenue — the sector that does most of the hiring in the U.S. However, if small businesses engages in interstate commerce, which can be as innocuous as accepting credit cards or placing phone calls to another state, they forfeit the exemption from the FLSA.

Sources

Fortune

Inc.com

The Hoya

Experts claim the SSDI plate will be empty in just a few years. (Photo Credit: CC BY-SA/Alpha/Flickr)

In 2005, the Social Security Disability Insurance fund began to dish out more money than it was bringing in via tax receipts. That trend has continued each year — plus the number of Social Security beneficiaries grew by 489,488 in 2010, the highest one-year increase in history. This has led experts to predict that SSDI will exhaust surplus funds in four to seven years, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Social Security will spend $22 billion more than it makes

By 2015, projections indicate that Social Security will spend $153 billion in benefits and other costs. That’s $22 billion more than it is expected to take in, underscoring a problem that many Americans will soon face. With no changes at all, the Social Security retirement fund will last until about 2040 (and Medicare until 2029). Federal intervention will be required to keep SSDI alive for more than 7 years, say government auditors.

Social Security: Drowning in applicants

The recession sent a huge wave of new applicants into the Social Security program. Over the past decade, numbers swelled from 6.6 million beneficiaries to 10.2 million. Numerous U.S. states and territories depend upon SSDI funds. Texas’ enrollment has reportedly increased by 85 percent over the last 10 years, while New Hampshire’s has grown by 69 over the same span. As a percentage of total population, West Virginia receives more SSDI money than anywhere else.

Health problems related to manual labor are believed to be the cause, a common theme among states where agriculture and manufacturing are vital. U.S. territories like Puerto Rico heavily depend upon Social Security, considering the rash of factory and military base closures in recent years. Not coincidentally, such states also tend to have the highest unemployment numbers. In the case of Puerto Rico, political corruption is also an issue.

SSDI depends upon doctor’s orders

Unlike age-based programs like Medicare and Social Security retirement benefits, SSDI is closely tied to medical opinion. As someone else pays the bills, local medical officials don’t have the immediate incentive to keep enrollment numbers down. While SSDI benefits can be modest in scope – payments averaged $1,064 per month in 2009 – participants gain access to other government benefits, which increases the cost for taxpayers. SSDI expert David Autor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology estimates that such additional programs amount to an average of $300,000 paid out per person over the lifetime of someone who receives SSDI benefits regularly.

Are higher taxes on the way?

In the short term, the only way Congress can save SSDI without tax increases is to fold it into the main Social Security fund. This would drain away retirement funds, forcing retirees to swallow benefit cuts sooner than they would have otherwise. However, as Nancy Altman of the activist group Social Security Works contends, something must be done.

“This is a program of crucial importance to every working American and his or her family,” she said.

Sources

Social Security Online
Wall Street Journal

Milton Friedman on Social Security: Save your money

Small businesses, which have been bearing the lion's share of job creation in the economic recovery, are picking up the pace. Image: CC Nonsequiterlass/Flickr

Small business hiring has markedly increased in the past three months. The turnaround in small businesses hiring, which creates a majority of U.S. jobs, is seen as a possible turning point for the weak labor market. While hiring in large companies has been relatively flat, a three-month surge in small business hiring is being credited for lowering the U.S. unemployment rate nearly an entire percentage point.

Small business hiring statistics

Hiring at companies with less than 50 employees has been increasing over the past 12 months. From December through February, small business hiring has increased by more than 100,000 jobs per month. In that time period, the U.S. unemployment rate has dropped from 9.8 percent in November to 8.9 percent in February, according to the Department of Labor Statistics. Of the 217,000 jobs created in the U.S. in February, 46 percent of the hires were by small businesses. Payrolls at large companies have only grown by about 10,000 in each of the past three months, just 5 percent of the total jobs created for an employment sector that accounts for 16 percent of non-government jobs.

A turning point in the labor market?

Small business hiring has been increasing, but it still has a long way to go to fix the devastation wrought by the recession. Between April 2008 and February 2010, the small business sector cut 2.7 million jobs. Until December, small business hiring was lackluster. In the past year, 607,000 jobs have been created by small businesses. But the recent surge has analysts optimistic that the trend will continue. Over the past five months, employers have consistently reported that they plan on hiring more employees, according to the National Independent Business Association. A turning point in labor demand was also indicated by a survey conducted by Discover Financial Services, which reported that 11 percent of small businesses planned to hire in February, up from 6 percent in August. Only 20 percent of businesses in the survey planned layoffs, down from 20 percent in August.

Offsetting public sector layoffs

The labor market has improved so slowly up until now because the U.S. economy actually generates greater output currently than it did in 2007, before 7.2 million jobs were lost. The surge in productivity has lessened the need to hire more workers. Small business owners appear to be more confident, but despite the recent significant gains, small business hiring will have to pick up the pace if government budget cuts trigger massive layoffs at the federal and state level. A survey conducted by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas found that planned layoffs increased by 32 percent from January to February, largely because of job losses in state and local governments and the U.S. Postal Service.

Sources

MarketWatch

CNNMoney.com

BNET

Providence, R.I., may be short 1,926 public school teachers by quarter's end. (Photo Credit: CC BY-SA/Juliancolton/Wikipedia)

At the end of the current winter public school quarter, every one of the 1,926 teachers in Providence, R.I., schools will be dismissed, reports the Providence Journal. The desperate move on the part of the Providence School Board will culminate in a vote that insiders believe will favor teacher dismissal as a means of addressing a $40 million deficit. The budget deadline for Providence schools is March 1.

Providence schools issued pink slips en masse before

Last year, Central Falls High School in the Providence area dismissed 88 teachers because students weren’t meeting standardized test score requirements. Yet the scale of the Providence School Board’s upcoming move is unprecedented. In accordance with state law, Superintendent of Providence Schools Tom Brady told all teachers and staff via e-mail that the move is a “precautionary action” designed to address the $40 million shortfall in the 2011-2012 budget.

“Since the full extent of the potential cuts to the school budget have yet to be determined, issuing a dismissal letter to all teachers was necessary to give the mayor, the School Board and the district maximum flexibility to consider every cost savings option, including reductions in staff,” said Brady.

Maximum flexibility to alienate the voting public

The fact that the Providence School Board’s blanket action may not actually dismiss all Providence teachers offered little consolation to teachers’ union leadership.

“This is beyond insane,” said Providence Teachers Union President Steve Smith. “Let’s create the most chaos and the highest level of anxiety in a district where teachers are already under unbelievable stress. Now I know how the United States State Department felt on Dec. 7 , 1941,” the day of the Pearl Harbor bombings.

Providence Mayor Angel Taveras told local press that the unsettled state of city finances, coupled with the March 1 deadline, led to the decision to issue the statement that all Providence teachers would be fired. It was a move that provided the school board and Providence city government with “maximum flexibility,” but minimum public sentiment.

Blowing the student-teacher ratio out of the water

Smith exclaimed that sending pink slips to all Providence public school teachers is senseless if the school district is still committed to educating its students, regardless of the budget problem.

“You have so many students,” he said. “You need so many teachers. You have a student-teacher ratio of 26 to 1. Do the math.”

Sources

CNN

Providence Journal

‘Exciting times in Rhode Island public education’

http://youtube.com/watch?v=wOCJ2Jnu4KY

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?

The best fields to find jobs in for 2011 include health care, information technology and other scientific and technical positions. Image: CC Lori Greig/Flickr

The unemployment rate may be stuck on high, but there will by more jobs available in 2011 than last year. Hiring is expected to increase in a variety of industries and regions of the country. Based on economic and demographic trends, demand is expected to significantly increase for certain occupations in the years ahead.

Employers bullish on job creation

More U.S. companies are planning to add permanent, full-time positions in 2011. According to a survey of 2,400 employers surveyed by CareerBuilder, 24 percent plan to add jobs, up from 20 percent last year and 14 percent from 2009. Part-time positions will increase at 13 percent of the employers surveyed, up from 11 percent in 2010 and 9 percent the year before. Thirty-four percent of employers planning on hiring will go with contractors or temp workers, a 30 percent increase from 2010. Thirty-nine percent said they plan to convert contractors or temp workers into full-time, permanent positions.

Industries hiring in 2011

Labor market analysts predict growth in a broad spectrum of service jobs in 2011. Service jobs include retail, health care, information technology and other scientific and technical positions. Health care will be a productive sector of the labor market, due to the aging population in the U.S. Companies that have been hoarding profits may start to upgrade technology, which is good news for IT professionals. An increase in lending activity will create positions in the financial sector. If the economy gathers steam as expected, sales and marketing positions will also become more available.

The best career choices in 2011

For people who are choosing or switching careers in 2011, particular industries offer the most secure positions, according to the Labor Department. As health care demands grow, nursing positions are expected to grow by up to 22 percent by 2018. Demand for physical therapists may increase 30 percent and pharmacists, 17 percent. Jobs for systems analysts could rise 53 percent by 2018; software engineers–32 percent. other fields where jobs are expected to grow as much as 30 percent include biomedical and environmental engineering, accounting and veterinary services.

Sources

AOL Jobs

MarketWatch

YoungMoney.com

Jobless claims are up, but the recovery isn't stuck in a ditch. (Photo Credit: CC BY-ND/Jerry John/Flickr)

In the grand tradition of two steps forward, one step back, the U.S. economic recovery experienced a hiccup; new data on jobless claims indicated a jump to the highest levels since October. Reuters reports that at the same time, however, food and energy costs as well as export levels were up, which was an encouraging sign of fourth quarter 2010 growth.

Job market continues to struggle

What is most disturbing about the recent jobless claims data is the bump in first-time unemployment filings. From last week to this week, claims rose from 410,000 to 445,000, reports the U.S. Department of Labor. That’s the largest single-week jump in more than six months, and it stymied forecasters who had predicted a drop of 5,000 this week.

Omer Esiner, a market analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange in Washington, D.C., told Reuters that recent jobless claims prove that the country’s economic recovery will not be smooth.

“The jobless number highlights the patchy recovery we’ve seen in the job market and reinforces that it will be a slow process bringing down the jobless rate,” Esiner said.

Blame it on the holiday backlog

Christmas and New Year’s may be to blame for the sudden surge in jobless claims. Not only were people not filing at the time, but federal workers weren’t there to process the paperwork. Benefits claims had been on a downward trend from April 2009 – when there were 650,000 claims – to Christmas 2010, when it dropped below 400,000 for the first time in two years.

A food and energy price spike

On the wholesale level, food and energy prices spiked despite a low level of inflation, which was a good thing for producers. Producer prices were up 1.1 percent in December after a more modest 0.8 raise in November, according to Labor Department data. Higher producer prices will likely lead to higher retail prices, which could hit consumers like a tax and slow the economic recovery. The demand for payday loans will also rise as prices for essentials place increased pressure on family budgets.

Robert Dye, a senior economist at PNC Financial Services in Pittsburgh, Pa., points to where this cycle would lead.

“Eventually, this means corporate profits could be squeezed,” said Dye.

Squeezed corporate profits, cost-cutting, layoffs and outsourcing don’t paint a rosy economic picture.

Sources

Reuters

FOX Business coverage of jobless claims

San Diego's economic outlook hasn't made it easy for people to afford beach treats. (Photo Credit: CC BY-SA/Smart Destinations/Flickr)

In keeping with the national trend of recession, San Diego County’s job outlook isn’t exactly as shiny as a new catamaran. However, as University of San Diego economics professor Alan Gin recently told the La Mesa-Foothills Democratic Club, San Diego is no longer shedding jobs at a record pace. As the La Mesa Patch reports, even a net gain of 100 jobs from November 2009 to November 2010 can be viewed as good news.

San Diego’s economic outlook in a holding pattern

Professsor Gin, a respected economic forecaster, says that San Diego’s economic outlook is no longer in free fall. In his PowerPoint presentation to the La Mesa-Foothills Democratic Club audience, Gin predicted that the national job report for December – which will be released Friday – should feature a “really good number” that will in turn bode well for San Diego’s economic recovery.

Referring to his most recent monthly “index of leading economic indicators,” Alan Gin predicted that San Diego home prices would increase by 5 percent to 7 percent this year. In addition, a net gain of 1,000 to 1,500 jobs is on Gin’s radar for 2011. As the city has suffered through three straight years of job shedding – 70,000 jobs were eliminated in 2009 alone – an increase of this magnitude would be precious, indeed.

San Diego job fields to watch in 2011

According to Gin, health care, admin-support and hospitality are San Diego County job fields that will see the most growth in 2011. Yet it is defense/Homeland Security, biotech, communications and green technology businesses that are expected to be the driving forces of the area’s economy. One such green tech company in San Diego that Gin named was EcoATM, a kiosk-based business where consumers can recycle old cell phones for store vouchers.

Reach for your gin, it’s a lackluster GDP forecast

Significant growth in San Diego’s gross domestic product would be a welcome sign of high net job growth, but San Diego isn’t quite there, said Gin. He projected 3- to 3.5-percent growth for 2011, which is hardly enough to allow for job growth. Yet San Diego is no longer spiraling toward even higher unemployment and lower consumer confidence, complete with a decline in spending, investing, hiring and payday lending.

“At this point, we’ve flattened out,” said Gin.

Sources

Alan Gin’s USD homepage

La Mesa Patch

Alan Gin on San Diego avoiding the ‘double-dip’

Some salary is better than no salary at all. (Photo Credit: CC BY-SA/Kyle Lease/Flickr)

When it comes to salary, something is better than nothing. However, for the lucky few who do manage to find jobs during this recession, many are finding that what they earn today pales in comparison with what they made before they were unemployed, reports the Wall Street Journal. The nationwide wage downturn is so severe that many will never approach what they earned before, even after years of employment.

Wage downturn throws sticky wages out the window

Historically, even during some of the highest times of unemployment in U.S. history, wage downturns have been slow. Economists call these “sticky” wages. Current recession wages are far from sticky, though. Reports of educated, highly skilled workers who have been laid off, only to finally get a job that pays a fraction of what they made before – from several dollars less per hour down to something resembling minimum wage – are frighteningly common. The U.S. Department of Labor indicates that 36 percent of newly employed workers are being paid at least 20 percent less than at the jobs they lost.

Earnings losses on such a scale have only been seen twice in recent U.S. history: during the Great Depression and during the 1981-82 recession. The wage downturn the country faces now has already outpaced the latter period.

Unemployment and negative wage pressure

Now that unemployment has been more than 9 percent for the past 20 months – and experts expect it to stay that way through most of 2011 – businesses can afford to pay new employees less, as competition for jobs is high. This negative wage pressure has forced workers to either settle for less and remain there or accept the low offer and return to college to renovate their skill sets.

Desperation: A silver lining for business

While individual workers do not benefit directly from the wage downturn, Columbia University labor economist Till von Wachter argues that in theory, being able to pay lower wages makes companies more competitive by allowing them to hire more workers. Long-term, that would aid the U.S. economic recovery.

Source

Wall Street Journal

In some countries, this is what low wage protests look like

More people went back to work in December than economists predicted as 279,000 private sector jobs were created in December. Image: CC Paul Holloway/Flickr

Private sector jobs were created in December at a pace more than doubling expectations, according to a report released Wednesday. Another jobs report indicated that job losses dropped to the lowest level in 10 years. The two reports submitted ahead of the Labor Department jobs report due Friday may show that the U.S. labor market may have bottomed out at last, but a long uphill climb lies ahead.

Service sector lead the way in job creation

Private sector jobs in the U.S. increased by 297,000 in December, blowing away economists’ expectations. The report issued by the payrolls firm Automatic Data Processing showed that the service sector — industries such as health care, finance, education and communications — led the way in job creation with 270,000 new hires in December. The ADP report said the production sector–manufacturing and construction jobs — added 27,000 new hires in December. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had estimated a December hiring increase of 100,000 jobs.

Fewest job losses in 10 years

While private sector job creation surged in December, a report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a company that helps laid off workers find jobs, said that employers cut 59 percent fewer jobs in 2010 than in 2009. According to the report it was the fewest job cuts since 1997. The report also said job cuts dropped 34 percent in December from November to 32,000, the lowest tally of monthly job losses since 2000. Bloomberg reports that the Labor Department jobs report due Friday will show that the U.S. unemployment rate in December dropped to 9.7 percent.

U.S. labor market has a long way to go

If private sector job creation continues to accelerate, economists predicts that a subsequent increase in consumer spending could help U.S. economic recovery find another gear. But Daily Finance suggests that the numbers should be taken with a grain of salt. One month of strong jobs data does not signal the beginning of a trend. Plus, despite exceeding low expectations, job creation has a long way to go. Even at an accelerated rate it will take years, not months, to recover from a recession that left the U.S. economy with a deficit of 15-to-17 million full-time jobs.

Sources

Bloomberg

Daily Finance

CNN

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

That status of unemployment in Maryland is better than in many states. Image: Flickr / labor2008 / CC-BY

The long-term costs of unemployment on state and federal government reserves are adding up. For 60 percent of states, unemployment trust fund reserves have simply run out. The state of Maryland has paid back their federal loan, which will save the state millions of dollars.

Maryland unemployment loan

In order to keep paying out unemployment benefits, 30 states have been required to take short-term loans from the U.S. Treasury. These loans have been interest-free for the last two years, thanks to a provision of the stimulus bill. These literal payday loans kept Maryland unemployment benefits flowing, even though the trust fund had run out of money to pay out benefits.

Interest on short-term federal loans

On Dec. 31, 2010, the federal treasury bonds that have been paying unemployment benefits will start accruing interest. This does not mean that states will no longer be able to get these short term loans. It does, however, mean that the loans will start accruing daily interest. The states will owe that interest directly to the U.S. Treasury. Estimates put the amount of interest owed on these loans somewhere around $2 billion in 2011, and up to $65 billion by 2013. The employer obligation for unemployment taxes will also be going up in 2011, with minimum unemployment insurance rates increasing by as much as 100 percent in some states.

Maryland avoids federal interest

Though 30 states have taken out short term loans to keep their unemployment checks coming, most will be liable for the interest of these loans. The only way states have to avoid this interest is to pay back the money borrowed from the federal government. Four states with dropping unemployment rates have been able to pay back their loans. Maryland, New Hampshire, South Dakota and Tennessee are going to be free of the interest obligations of their loans. Maryland has been able to do this thanks to their steadily dropping unemployment rate — a luxury many states simply do not have.

Sources:

National Conference of State Legislatures

Weekly U.S. jobless claims used to be a reliable indicator of recovery, but current conditions defy a statistical explanation. Image: CC public15/Flickr

Finding good news when it comes to the U.S. unemployment rate requires extremely low expectations. Jobless claims rose last week, but not as much as economists expected. Employment has been growing steadily as the number of people filing for unemployment insurance has held steady, but not enough to budge the 9.6 percent U.S. unemployment rate.

Why the unemployment rate won’t budge

Jobless claims rose a whisker last week, by 2,000 to 439,000, according to the Labor Department. But the Associated Press reports that less than 440,000 people a week have filed for unemployment insurance in three of the past four weeks — the lowest numbers in two years. Over the past month, jobless claims dropped by 16,000 to an average of 443,000 per week — a 4.2 percent average decrease. According to AP, the trends are a signal that more people are getting hired than fired. But economists say jobless claims must fall below 425,000 a week to put a dent in the unemployment rate.

The plight of the unemployed

As hundreds of thousands of freshly unemployed workers file jobless claims every week, the number of people who had been collecting unemployment fell by 48,000 in the week ending Nov. 6. That doesn’t necessarily mean they got hired. People whose unemployment benefits have expired that have moved to federal unemployment extension programs  rose by 121,000 the last week of October. Meanwhile, up to 2 million people will lose benefits when the emergency extensions expire at the end of November. Another 2 million will lose benefits in the next few months. It’s unlikely a lame-duck congress will be able to pass another federal unemployment extension.

Statistics fail to offer clarity

Economists keep close track of weekly firings in the form of jobless claims because the numbers used to be a consistent indicator of economic recovery when they drop. But Bloomberg reports that during the current tepid economic recovery, that relationship appears to be reliable no longer. Companies added 159,000 jobs in October, the fourth straight month more than 100,000 jobs were created. Yet some companies continue to lay off workers while others are hiring. Forty-two states and U.S. territories reported rising jobless claims, while 11 reported a decline. Amid all the confusion, the key statistic that matters, the 9.6 percent unemployment rate, remains stubbornly unchanged.

Sources

Associated Press

Bloomberg

Forbes

Organization is needed to find a job

Organization is one of the keys to start with. A good routine would be to start each day off as if you are actually going to work. It can give you the confidence you need when talking on the phone with prospective employers and gets you prepared to jump on an opportunity the moment it is presented.

A quality resume

An important part of organization is to have an updated, quality resume on hand at all times, especially when you are filling out job applications or going in for job interviews. This tells the company a little bit more about you and what you have accomplished. For help with creating a resume, there are many examples that you can find on the internet. Or you may want to contact a professional who can assist you with your resume in exchange for a small fee. If you are in need of their services but don’t have the money at hand to get it, you can always look into getting a short term loan or a bad credit installment loan.

Adaption is another great key

Being adaptable is another great key in finding work because it can get you back in the workforce, even if it is not exactly what you are looking for. If you’re willing to work different schedules and/or in a different area of work than what you’re use to, it may give you the opportunity to get back into the routine of going to work and eventually finding work in your field at a later time.

Prepare ahead of time

The last key is to be adequately prepared when you do get job interviews. It has been said that an interviewer assesses your appearance in just three seconds. Always arrive a little early for your appointment. This could make a huge difference in you whether you get the job or not. Look your interviewer in the eye, try to remain calm and not fidget, have a firm handshake and don’t forget a warm smile. When the interview is done, tell the interviewer you hope to hear back soon and anticipate the opportunity to work for them.

The kind of employment infusion GOP supporters would be happy to see. (Photo Credit: CC BY/Paul Keller/Flickr)

Unemployment continues to run rampant in America and reports of a hiring thaw have been somewhat exaggerated. This news has failed to derail the partisan train, however. The Washington Post reports that Senate Republicans have managed to block a Democratic bill that would penalize U.S. companies for outsourcing jobs. Motion to debate the anti-outsourcing bill on the Senate floor failed, 53 to 45.

Anti-outsourcing bill could have brought jobs back to U.S. soil

According to the Post, the Democratic outsourcing bill would have raised taxes on corporations that move jobs overseas and rewarded companies that return jobs to the U.S. in the form of payroll tax hiatus incentives that would last two years. Outsourcing was viewed as a big issue by Senate Democrats, particularly after they’d decided to jettison middle class tax cuts before midterm elections. Showing concern for the manufacturing jobs lost by the American Midwest and East Coast could have scored Democrats major political points, writes the Post.

Wait until after the elections to decide

Such gamesmanship is common when seats are on the line. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and White House senior adviser David Axelrod may be determined to act before middle-class tax cuts expire in January (raising taxes on income, dividends, capital gains and inheritance), but first things first, politically speaking. Republicans want the cuts to be extended – perhaps because their version of the cuts would extend to wealthy campaign supporters – and while Democrats fear the political impact of raising taxes, they may also be uneasy about the economic impact of keeping taxes down. Whatever the case, America is waiting for a decision from Congress. Unfortunately, that decision appears to be on the back burner.

No tax news, no jobs returning home, no business but the usual

The Democrats estimate that the proposed “anti-outsourcing” measure would have cost $720 million over 10 years. While those numbers may seem as staggering as any other measure proposed by Congress, the potential influx of jobs back onto American soil could be a boon. That is, if businesses even maintain such jobs when they’re essentially forced to pay more for the same labor. If a business cannot compete from the U.S. against foreign markets, one might wonder what’s to stop them from seeing if the grass is greener on the other side? “Cash now” business as usual no longer fits the global economic climate.

Sources:

Washington Post

Cenk Uygur on GOP view of outsourcing