Well, there is good news and bad news from September’s unemployment numbers. The bad news is that unemployment is still getting worse, but most people expected that. The good news is that the pace at which unemployment is worsening has reversed.
Bad a couple months, I made a prediction that this rate would decrease but we [...]
Well, let’s hope the predictions are wrong but I keep hearing a lot about the prospects of a jobless recovery, as I alluded to in the previous post. What is a jobless recovery?
According to Wikipedia:
A jobless recovery or jobless growth is a phrase used by economists to describe the recovery from a recession which does [...]
So a reduction in force (a “RIF”) is basically just a layoff or eliminating of a position. While you can always count the number of humans laid off at companies across America, it is important to consider that eliminated positions could make our recovery efforts even worse.
For example, a company that lays off 2 employees [...]
I would just like to apologize to my readers for my recent absence over the past month. I’ve been moving to a new city and preparing for the rigors of continued education in graduate school. I should be able to not only keep up my previous posting levels but break some news from here on [...]
According to the Globes, Cisco has announced it will layoff 2000 employees worldwide. Out of those 2,000 position reductions, 35% or 700 layoffs will be in California. The company is clearly trying to cut costs as revenue fell drastically in the first quarter of this year along with many technology companies.
I know them, you know them. Everyone knows them! Crocs haven’t been around that long but they’ve sold millions and millions of pairs. Yet, the economy has hit the unique shoe manufacturer very hard. According to CBS News, losses from last year ($185 million) exceeded the profits of 2007.
How do you lose $185 million making [...]
Recently, there has been a lot of rumors about McGraw-Hill trying to sell BusinessWeek magazine. Right now the weekly business magazine is losing money so the deal could be for only $1. McGraw-Hill would get $1 and the purchaser would pay the magazine’s millions of dollars in debt.
The book publishing company just released a press [...]
Sometimes layoffs hit more than 10% of the company. Smith & Hawken, an upscale gardening store, will close after being in business for 30 years. There are over 50 Smith & Hawken stores across the United States in over 20 different states. According to the Seattle Times, the “Going-out-of business sales began [last Wednesday].”
There are [...]
Good news for our Texas visitors.
The battle against unemployment will be fought primarily through our state governments. The federal government helps fund programs such as unemployment insurance and the federal government is the largest employer but those are its two main contributions. Many of our programs and daily activities are influenced by city, state, and [...]
AIG is planning to pay over $2 million to executives next week. There was some public backlash but I imagine there will be a lot more on the way. AIG is stuck between a rock and a hard place with bonuses it has previously promised.
According to CNN, AIG owes approximately $235 million in bonuses to [...]
What are the requirements to file for unemployment benefits? Well, as far as I know, these requirements can vary depending upon the state. In general, you must have worked for one year in duration. This work would have been a full-time position and not a contractual or freelance position. You must have been fired or [...]
After reading a poignant op-ed in the New York Times, I thought I would share some advice from none-other than George Washington. One of my favorite presidents, George Washington was a great, respected leader. We could use more of those in this day and age.
The Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation [...]
Alaska State Unemployment
In post number 2 out of this state unemployment series, I have combined some data on unemployment in the state of Alaska. Alaska currently has an unemployment rate of 8.4%. Compare this to the highest Alaska unemployment rate of 11.5% in Jul. 1986 and the lowest rate of unemployment (5.9% in Sept. 1999).
Alaska [...]
What is the value of a college education? Overall, the more education you have, the less likely you are to be laid off or find yourself unemployed. Now may be the best time to get a new education or jump into a new career.
According to the Labor Department, the economy lost 467,000 jobs last month, raising the unemployment rate to 9.5 percent. But that is if you just include the traditional unemployed workers and not broader measures of unemployment and underemployment.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases a measurement called U6 which is alternatively called the effective unemployment rate. [...]