As is so often the case in this economy, the market is sending mixed signals. From one article on abcnews.com: The economic strength, both in U.S. and international markets, plus cost cuts, higher rates and fuel surcharges led to a 33 percent increase in first-quarter profit. UPS boosted its full-year outlook when it pre-released its earnings two weeks ago. And one paragraph later: UPS Inc., also known as United Parcel Service, restructured its business over the last 18 months, cutting jobs in the process. The shipper doesn’t plan any significant hiring anytime soon, at least until the recovery is on more solid footing. Jobless recovery anyone? The difficulty is that… Read More
Continue ReadingWhere The Jobs Will Come From
Call me an optimist, but it is always of interest to see where “experts” believe the recovery will begin. This information comes from the Herman Trend Alert and seems to make simple sense to me: When considering where the new jobs will come from, remember that there are two kinds of small businesses: those without employees (or non-employer businesses), and those with paid employees (or employer businesses). The US Small Business Office of Advocacy estimates that in 2008 there were 23.1 million non-employer and 6.1 million employer businesses. When the economy struggles, the number of non-employers tends to increase at higher rates, while the number of employer businesses stagnates or… Read More
Continue Reading3.5 Years
That is the average length of a job in the U.S. according to The Career News newsletter (sorry, no link). I find that number almost shocking, but the newsletter does not call out the criteria for their average. I’m thinking part-time, minimum wage, seasonal and other positions could drag that number down. At any rate, it does provide a bit of an eye opener to how our job market is changing. Gen Y is typically not a generation to be known as “lifers.” They begin their work career without discussions of pensions and retirement. Those days are long gone. Instead, they are focused on skill development, jobs that interest them… Read More
Continue ReadingReturn Of Middle Management?
Here is a trend I have not heard of recently (emphasis mine): The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports about 45 percent of U.S. job openings through 2014 will be in the hidden middle-level job sector, most of them technical jobs that cannot be outsourced. Mid-level means middle management, right? Ok, maybe not. Nonetheless, I still have not heard of this trend until reading this short excerpt from The Career News newsletter. And one last piece of information to offset a popular misnomer: Charted on a graph, the image of a robust technician economy belies a popular misconception. Most assume the job market is heaviest on the low-end of the spectrum… Read More
Continue ReadingFuturistic Jobs
I have a weakness for future predictions of jobs, markets, trends, etc. This particular one is from the Job Market Weekly email (sorry, no link). Technology will create new jobs as well. Out-of-work “top gun” pilots may find jobs captaining dirigibles, says Joel Barker, author of Five Regions of the Future. A relic from the 1920s and 1930s, these rigid blimps will revolutionize travel in the developing world, he adds. Hollywood’s woes may be solved by holography. Since consumers are perfectly happy watching DVDs at home on big flat-screen televisions, box-office receipts have slipped and movie moguls are scrambling. But eventually, Barker says, film companies will start producing three-dimensional holographic… Read More
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