The national unemployment rate continued to rise is June, increasing 0.1 percent from May's 9.4 percent to 9.5 percent. This marked the 9th consecutive month of growing joblessness. Considering this, it is no surprise that job listings and other indicators showed further signs of decline during the month.
According to a recent report from the Conference Board, its Employment Trends Index (ETI) saw another moderate decline in June. Last month it lost 0.8 percentage points, falling from May's 89.1 to 88.4. Currently the Index is down 21.6 percent from the same month last year.
"Compared to the beginning of the year, the decline in the Employment Trends Index has significantly moderated, and we therefore expect job growth to resume around the end of the year," said The Conference Board's Senior Economist Gad Levanon in the press release. "However, over the last month, leading indicators of employment were mostly disappointing, suggesting the Employment Trends Index is still seeking a bottom."
During the month of June the indicators the Conference Board utilizes to create its ETI reported a mixed picture, which is why the decline was only moderate. Indicators that showed decline included: the percentage of respondents that they find "jobs hard to get", the number of employees in the temporary-help industry, industrial production, real manufacturing and trade sales and job openings.
The Employment Trends Index uses eight separate labor-market indicators, all of which have been found to be accurate in their own right. Afterwards, these areas are combined to give a better picture of the current hiring situation. By doing this, the Conference Board is able to get a better picture of whether or not the number of job listings and other factors affecting the job market are actually declining. It also enables them to see what the trends really are.
The eight areas that come together to create the index are: the percentage of people polled who say that finding a job is difficult (The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Survey), Claims for Unemployment Insurance (U.S. Department of Labor), the number of employees hired on a temporary basis (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics), the percentage of firms that are not able to fill positions at the time (National Federation of Independent Business), the number of people hired by temp agencies (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics), part-time workers hired for Economic Reasons (BLS), job listings (BLS), Industrial Production (Federal Reserve Board) and Real Manufacturing and Trade Sales (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis).
The Conference Board will be releasing its next Employment Trends Index at 10:00 am on August 10th. This report will highlight the condition of July's job market. The Conference Board releases its ETI each month on the Monday after the Friday that the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its employment situation report.
According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are many cities throughout this nation where the only regularly occurring employment growth is in the healthcare industry. While others are struggling to find work, professionals in this sector continue to have options. For many in healthcare, the big question is which job search site to use.
A new Web site, HealthcareJobsOnDisplay.com, hopes to answer this question. Launched on the 13th of this month, the creators of this site put almost a year into its preparation, research, design, development, programming and testing.
Since many studies have found that the average Internet user is more drawn to visual images than they are words by themselves, HealthcareJobsOnDisplay.com has decided to market job listings as graphic ads. According to a recent press release, the company believes this benefits employers in two different ways. Not only are they able to advertise their available jobs, but they also have the chance to make their personal brand visible.
These highly visible ads make searching for a healthcare job easier. More information is available in a format that is easily processed by the human eyes, which means that the days of having to squint at small print on a computer screen are over.
"Our search function is the most important piece of the puzzle and we wanted to be different, not like every other job board out there, so we made sure that Branded, Creative, Display ads populate from the 1st search and it's all right there initially so employers have a chance to stand out, right out of the box. Employers and candidates will notice a difference right away from the very 1st search," said Ron Feldstein, founder and president of HealthcareJobsOnDisplay.com, in the recent press release. "We strived to create a unique, truly functional website and I we've done it."
Feldstein went on to say that with so many job boards competing online, it is important for a newcomer to find their niche and remain unique.
"To my knowledge there are no websites out there providing this kind of display ad search capability, and this level of customer service/design services. We are creating each ad individually for every client, which involves copywriting, design, and coordination. Sure it's a lot of work, but our clients and employers have already seen the difference in our approach and they appreciate the effort," said Feldstein.
Although the company has a creative team in place to handle designing ads, employers are able to provide their own cream ready advertisements.
In order to drum up interest in the Web site, HealthcareJobsOnDisplay will give the 1st, 100th, 250th, 500th, 1100th, 1250th, 1500th, 21ooth, 2250th and 2500th job seekers who upload their resumes a $50 gift card. The 1000th, 2000th and 3000th resumes posted will receive a $100 gift card.
Currently, HealthcareJobsOnDispaly handles only employment advertisements for positions located on the East Coast.
This episode, the boys discuss the SHRM Conference, Monster's weak attempt at a feel-good moment, Twitter's role in job search, the mass quantities of duplicate content for jobs on the Web and an update on Jobfox's Rob McGovern.
Officials have noted that test scores are increasing in every county, grade and subject area across the state. Also, white students, black students, high income and low income students of all ages are testing higher than they did five years ago.
“Now is more important than ever, even in these difficult times, to continue to protect our investments in public education to ensure that every child receives a world class education and a better future," Gov. Martin O'Malley said. "The people of Maryland are our greatest asset and our continued economic strength depends upon our ability to invest in them, and prepare our children today for the jobs of tomorrow.”
As of late, the Maryland State Department of Education has been working with state school systems to help bring educational excellence to every part of the state. The DOE has worked with the College Board to bring numerous Advanced Placement courses to schools in rural and urban communities that had few offerings in the past.
Those efforts have resulted in more students from underrepresented groups getting involved. As a whole, the State of Maryland ranks first in the country in terms of the percentage of students who take AP tests and score at the college mastery level.
“This new research from Newsweek shows that we are making a difference," Nancy S. Grasmick, state superintendent of schools, said. "Educators are inspiring our students to do more, and our students are responding. Time and time again we see that our students will rise to meet the high expectations that are set forth for them.”
On top of all the accolades, Maryland's education industry is one of the few that is continuing to add jobs. While other industries are consistently shedding jobs because of the current economic recession, teachers continue to be hired.
The state's education and health services industry employed 390,000 workers during May, according to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from 389,400 workers during April and a 2.3 percent increase from last year.
One well-known food distribution company is helping to create new jobs in Atlanta. General Mills recently announced its plan to construct a $42 million distribution facility, a move that will create 112 jobs in Walton County. It took the company 18 months to select a site for the new project. General Mills considered more than 175 miles of space throughout 24 counties.
General Mills is the world's sixth-largest food company and makes such products as Cheerios, Betty Crocker and Haagen-Dazs. The company, with the assistance of Doughtie, Nichols and Schnur, chose the Rockefeller Group for the development asignment.
"It is my understanding that this new built-to-suit facility will be one of the largest distribution centers ever built in the United States that meets the LEED certification standards for a green building," Doughtie said. "It is certainly the largest LEED certified distribution building ever built in the Atlanta market and in the Southeast."
During April, the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta area's unemployment rate stayed at 9.1 percent. The area had a total non-farm employment of 2,322,100 workers during April, according to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is down from 2,323,800 workers during March and a 5.1 percent decrease from last year.
The construction industry employed 107,100 workers during April, 108,800 workers during March and a 17.9 percent decrease from last year.
It might just be a bridge to some people, but to others it means the chance to create several PA construction jobs. Gov. Edward G. Rendell recently announced that $10 million is being invested to rehabilitate and preserve the Route 51 Beaver-Rochester Bridge in Beaver County. This is the first project in the region that is being funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
"We are here today because the federal Recovery Act is helping us restore our aging infrastructure and - just as importantly - putting Pennsylvanians to work," Rendell said in a press release. "This project simply would not have happened if stimulus funds were not available. As a bonus, 30 to 40 people will be working because of this bridge project.
"Right now, Beaver County needs this economic stimulus to get people to work and to rebuild its infrastructure in order to attract new residents and businesses," he continued. "Stories like this one are playing out across the state as more than $1 billion in federal transportation stimulus funds is supplementing the $1.8 billion in work Pennsylvania had already planned for this year."
Pennsylvania companies led by Mascaro Construction of Pittsburgh are rebuilding the bridge, including subcontractors Avalotis of Verona, Allegheny County; Strongstown B & K of Strongstown, Indiana County; and Callahan Paving Products of Horsham, Montgomery County.
The bridge, which spans the Beaver River between Beaver and Rochester, carries between 10,000 and 15,000 vehicles per day. The repair project includes preservation activities, full painting, expansion dam and rocker bearing replacements and steel and concrete repairs.
The Route 51 Beaver-Rochester Bridge is one of seven projects in the state's Department of Transportation three-county District 11 region being funded by ARRA. Statewide, Pennsylvania is receiving more than $1 billion for highway and bridge projects from the ARRA.
Pennsylvania will invest close to $3 billion for highway and bridge work, the most ever produced in a single year for that type of work in the state. Of that money, $643 million is being invested in southwestern Pennsylvania.
The State of Ohio will be losing more than 2,000 jobs in the near future.
According to an article by The Columbus Dispatch, seven companies that do business within the state have filed layoff notices. The companies will eliminate a total of 2,358 positions at plants in more than a dozen locations throughout the state by the middle of summer.
Severstal Wheeling Inc. announced the biggest cut, as it plans to layoff more than 916 workers at plants in Steubenville, Mingo Junction, Yorkville and Martins Ferry.
Colfor Manufacturing will layoff about 589 workers at plants in Salem, Minerva and Malvern.
Shiloh Industries is planning to get rid of 111 jobs in Valley City.
ArcelorMittal will see the loss of 69 jobs in Warren.
Not surprisingly, all of these companies serve the auto industry, which has been faced with mounting trouble as of late.
Concerns among the steel industry along the West Virginia border, where most of Severstal's losses will take place, are nothing new. At one point, Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel, the company's predecessor, had 15,000 employees in the county. However, there are currently only 2,000 employees and many of them will soon lose their jobs.
In March, Ohio had an unemployment rate of 9.7 percent, the highest since 1984. There are now 577,500 unemployed workers in Ohio, an increase of almost 200,000 from last year.
On the up side, Wildfire Motors in Steubenville currently employs 75 workers and plans to add 100 more positions. The difference - the company produces electric vehicles.
