A Hiring Boom

Well, it is good to be back at it after a nice Christmas break with the family.  It is even better to come back to read an article like this one from CNNMoney.com.  How about this: "We’re looking at some leading indicators on employment, and they’re all flashing green lights," said Bernard Baumohl of the Economic Outlook Group, a Princeton, N.J. research firm. Though most economists still expect a painfully high unemployment rate of about 9% at the end of this year, Baumohl and others think that stat masks more important signs of strength. Baumohl and some other economists forecast between 2.5 million and 3 million jobs being added to… Read More

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5 to 1

That is the ratio of jobseekers for every advertised job opening in April of this year.  The data comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics by way of the Career News newsletter (sorry, no link). …there were 5.4 job hunters for every advertised opening in April. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey said the April ratio was up from 4.8 in March, and up dramatically from 1.7 in December 2007, when the recession began. That is one tough market for jobseekers.  You notice the reference to “advertised” openings?  At some point, maybe already, networking will become the highest priority for jobseekers in their search for job openings.  The fact… Read More

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Where The Jobs Aren’t

When the economy is in a downturn, most people wonder when will it bottom out.  I’m not sure if we have bottomed yet or not, but Yahoo has a quick story listing the 5 cities that will lose the most jobs this year (speculative, of course): The New York area is expected to lose 181,000 jobs in 2009, the report said. Consulting company IHS Global Insight produced the report for the group. The Los Angeles area is expected to see 164,000 lost jobs, in part because of the huge drop in home prices that has punctured the California economy. After New York and Los Angeles, the Miami area is expected… Read More

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Q2 Hiring To Remain Consistent

That title probably got your attention.  The economy is completely dynamic so things can change, but the quarterly CareerBuilder.com/Harris Interactive survey came back with some surprising results (my editing). “The job loss reported in the first quarter signified a gradual deceleration in recruitment in the U.S. as the nation’s economy downshifted,” says CEO, Matt Ferguson. “In the next three months, employers anticipate marginal change in their hiring pace. While some industries are experiencing a contraction in employment levels, areas such as information technology, healthcare, professional and business services and sales continue to add full-time jobs.” …29% of employers state plans to grow their number of full-time, permanent employees from April… Read More

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