Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Ken Sweet
FOXBusiness

A private-sector jobs report showed that employers shed hundreds of thousands of jobs during the month of July, but the pace of the job losses slowed to its best pace since the economic collapse in October last year.

According to Macroeconomic Advisers, the ADP (ADP: 37.69, -0.24, -0.63%) private-sector jobs report indicated that private employers cut 371,000 jobs during the month of July, more than the 350,000-loss that was expected by economists.

However the 371,000 loss is better than the 473,000 jobs lost in the previous month. It's the best number by ADP since the Lehman bankruptcy disrupted the economy in the second half of 2008.

“There's no question the peak rate of decline has passed, though these are still horrific numbers by all but the most recent standards,” said Ian Shepherdson with High Frequency Economics.

According to ADP, the bulk of the losses this month came from the small and medium-sized businesses, instead of the large corporations. Large-sized companies cut 74,000 jobs in July in all sectors, while medium-sized companies, which are businesses with 50 to 499 employees, cut 159,000 jobs. Small business, those operations with fewer than 50 employees, cut 138,000 jobs last month.

The job losses were split fairly evenly between the goods-producing and the service-providing sectors, according to ADP. During the previous month, the goods-producing sector lost 169,000 jobs across all business sides, while the service sector lost 202,000 in the previous month.

The ADP report is used to estimate, with varying success, Friday's more important government jobs report. Currently economists expect that Friday's market-moving report will show the nation lost 328,000 jobs in July, bringing the nation's unemployment rate to 9.6%. The pace of monthly job losses has slowed by more than half since the beginning of the year, a sign that the economy is beginning to gain some solid footing in the wake of what was the worst recession in decades.

“The larger question for the market at this point is not whether or not labor market weakness is abating but rather to what degree will it improve,” said Dan Greenhaus with the brokerage house Miller Tabak.

New Jobless Claims Rise More Than Expected to 584,000

The government said the number of newly laid-off workers filing first-time claims for jobless benefits rose last week, though the increase was mostly due to seasonal distortions.

AP

Thursday, July 30, 2009

PEOPLE

WASHINGTON -- The number of newly laid-off workers filing first-time claims for jobless benefits rose last week, the government said, though the increase was mostly due to seasonal distortions.

The number of people remaining on the jobless benefit rolls, meanwhile, fell to 6.2 million from 6.25 million, the lowest level since mid-April.

The Labor Department said new claims for unemployment aid increased by 25,000 to a seasonally adjusted 584,000. That's above analysts' estimates of 570,000.

A department analyst said the increase comes after claims were artificially depressed earlier this month by the timing of temporary auto factory shutdowns, which happened earlier this year than in most years. Still, this week's total is below the 617,000 initial claims reported in late June before the seasonal distortions began. It reflects a trend that economists say indicates a slowing pace of layoffs.

The four-week average of claims, which smooths out fluctuations, fell to 559,000, its lowest level since late January.

But jobs remain scarce and the unemployment rate, which hit 9.5 percent for June, is expected to surpass 10 percent by year's end.

And weekly claims remain far above the 300,000 to 350,000 that analysts say is consistent with a healthy economy. New claims last fell below 300,000 in early 2007. The lowest level this year was 488,000 for the week ended Jan. 3.

The seasonal distortions are due to the fact that the auto companies shut their plants earlier than usual this year. Car makers normally close their factories in early July and temporarily lay off thousands of workers as they retool plants to build new car models.

Those shutdowns happened in May and June this year as General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC closed plants after filing for bankruptcy protection. That shift in timing caused new claims to fall sharply in the first two weeks of July. Claims are now rebounding from that artificial decline.

The recession, which started in December 2007 and is the longest since World War II, has eliminated a net total of 6.5 million jobs. The unemployment rate is expected to rise to 9.7 percent when the July figure is reported next week.

More job cuts were announced this week. Verizon Communications Inc. said Monday that it would cut more than 8,000 employee and contractor jobs before the end of the year.

Among the states, California had the biggest increase in claims, with 4,290, which it attributed to increased layoffs in the construction and trade industries. Michigan, Florida, Connecticut and Indiana had the next-largest increases. State data lags behind initial claims data by one week.

New York had the largest drop in claims, with 22,052, which it said was due to fewer layoffs in the service and transportation industries. Wisconsin, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Ohio had the next largest declines.

New Jobless Claims Drop to 522,000, Clouded by Auto Shutdowns

The number of newly laid off Americans signing up for unemployment benefits for the first time fell last week -- but the layoffs figures were clouded by difficulties adjusting for temporary shutdowns at auto plants.

AP

Thursday, July 16, 2009

WASHINGTON -- The number of newly laid-off Americans signing up for unemployment benefits last week, and those using this safety net over a longer period, both plunged. But the government figures released Thursday were clouded by difficulties adjusting for temporary shutdowns at auto plants.

Even if the recession ends this year as the Federal Reserve and many private economists expect, companies are expected to keep trimming payrolls. The unemployment rate will climb because companies won't be in any mood to hire until they feel certain a recovery is firmly rooted.

The Labor Department said new applications for unemployment insurance dropped by a seasonally adjusted 47,000 to 522,000, the lowest level since early January. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters expected claims to rise to around 575,000.

A department analyst said the drop in new claims didn't point to improvements in economic conditions. The second straight weekly decline reflected problems adjusting layoffs for temporary shutdowns at General Motors and Chrysler plants to retool for new models.

The unadjusted figures actually showed that new claims rose by 86,389 last week, which would push the total to 667,534.

The department's seasonal adjustment process expected a large increase in claims from auto workers and some other manufacturers, the analyst said. Since that didn't happen, seasonally-adjusted claims fell.

Those adjustment difficulties also were behind a big drop reported for people continuing to draw unemployment benefits, the analyst said.

The number of people still collecting benefits fell by a seasonally adjusted 642,000 to 6.27 million, the lowest level since mid-April.

The unadjusted figures for continued claims showed an increase of 63,714.

The layoffs picture is expected to be muddied by the auto shutdowns in the weeks ahead, the department analyst said.

The shutdowns typically occur in the summer, but took place over the last two months as GM and Chrysler LLC sought bankruptcy protection and implemented sweeping restructuring plans. That means the government data is more volatile than usual, making it harder to draw firm conclusions from the report about the direction of the economy and the pace of future layoffs.

The Fed, in a new forecast issued Wednesday, predicted the jobless rate would top 10 percent this year. It rose to 9.5 percent, a 26-year high, in June.

The recession, which started in December 2007 and is the longest since World War II, has snatched a net total of 6.5 million jobs.

Earlier this week, US Airways announced that it will cut 600 jobs this fall as it continues to struggle with the slow economy. Gannett Co. recently said it planned to eliminate 1,400 positions and credit card issuer Advanta Corp. says it's laying off half its work force.

Obama Expects Unemployment to Keep Ticking Up for Several Months

The president said Tuesday that renewed employment typically lags behind other signs of improvement as a swooning economy turns around.

AP

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

President Obama says unemployment is likely to tick up for several months as the economy recovers from its deepest downturn in decades.

The president said Tuesday that renewed employment typically lags behind other signs of improvement as a swooning economy turns around.

More than 2 million jobs have been lost since Congress passed Obama's $787 billion economic stimulus package. The unemployment rate stands at 9.5 percent, the highest in 26 years.

Obama said the single biggest challenge for the U.S. and other nations is the creation of enough jobs that pay good wages.

He spoke in the Oval Office after meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende.

Nation's Jobless Rate Hits Highest Yearly Loss in 4 Decade

FOXNews.com

Thursday, July 02, 2009

The nation's jobless rate scored its biggest year-to-year June increase in four decades, losing 6.1 million jobs in one year's time, a nearly 70 percent spike, a FOXNews.com analysis of labor statistics shows.

The jobless rate leapt to 9.5 percent from 5.6 percent between June 2008 and June 2009, a 3.9 percent spread that matched April and May yearly differences and tie for the highest yearly percentage spread since May 1974-1975.

In May 2009, 14.5 million people were unemployed -- 6 million more than one year earlier. The jobless rate during that time leapt to 9.4 percent from 5.5 percent, a 71 percent increase in the unemployment rate.

In April, 13.7 million people were unemployed, 6.1 million more than the previous April. The increase to 8.9 percent in April 2009 from 5.0 percent in April 2008 represented a nearly 80 percent annual increase in unemployment.

The last time the nation saw that high of a jump in one year was May 1975 when the unemployment rate climbed to 9.0 percent from 5.1 percent, a 76 percent increase in the jobless rate. However at that time, fewer people were in the workforce so the leap represented 3.7 million job losses.

The highest single-year jump on record still dates back to the October 1948-October 1949 time period, when the jobless rate more than doubled -- leaping to 7.9 percent from 3.7 percent. The 7.9 percent rate -- 4.9 million unemployed workers -- was fueled in part by tens of thousands of newly discharged servicemen flooding the job market.

Asked whether the current unemployment rate will hit 10 percent, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said, "Absolutely. It might not be next month, but in two or three months, it's clear we'll hit that number."

After the release of the unemployment rates on Thursday, President Obama said he's still "deeply concerned" about the continuing loss of jobs across the United States.

He said that developing both a short-term and longer-term solution to America's economic woes is "one of the things that I'm most focused on."

Obama told The Associated Press he feels his administration has stabilized the housing and financial markets, while he acknowledged that more work needs to be done in the area of job creation.

The president said he understands that people are "worrying if they're going to be next."

Nation's Unemployment Rate Edging Closer to Double Digits

Wall Street economists predict the jobless rate will rise to 9.6 percent in June from 9.4 percent in May. That would mark a 26-year high.

AP

Thursday, July 02, 2009


WASHINGTON - Out-of-work with no place to land, the legions of America's unemployed are growing.

The Labor Department is scheduled to release a report Thursday expected to show the nation's unemployment rate edging closer to double digits. Wall Street economists predict the jobless rate will rise to 9.6 percent in June from 9.4 percent in May. That would mark a 26-year high.

The rising rate comes as recession-weary companies continue to cut workers. Economists expect a loss of 363,000 jobs in June, up from 345,000 job cuts in May. Economists believe a chunk of those cuts will be tied to shutdowns at General Motors Corp. and fallout from the troubled auto industry.

Still, if economists' forecasts are correct, it would be consistent with the belief that the worst of employers' payrolls cuts have occurred. Companies are expected to keep shedding jobs through the rest of this year, but economists hope the pace will continue to taper off.

"Employers were very quick to pull the trigger on job cuts last year, and most of the biggest cuts are behind us. But companies are going to be very cautious about hiring," said economist Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics.

The deepest job cuts of the recession came in January, when 741,000 jobs vanished, the most in any month since 1949.

Another report from the department due Thursday is expected to show the number of newly laid-off people filing applications for unemployment benefits dropped last week to 615,000, from 627,000 in the previous week. The number of people continuing to draw benefits is expected to nudge up to 6.740 million from 6.738 million.

Even if companies slow the pace of layoffs, they will be reluctant to hire until they feel certain the economy is back on its feet. That's why economists are forecasting a continued rise in the unemployment rate over the next year. It's expected to hit 10 percent this year.

Many think it could rise as high as 10.7 percent by the second quarter of next year before it starts to make a slow descent. Some think the rate will top out at 11 percent. Others think the peak will lower -- around 10.5 percent -- by the spring of 2010.

The post-World War II high was 10.8 percent at the end of 1982, when the country had suffered through a severe recession.

The worst crises in the housing, credit and financial markets since the 1930s plunged the country into the current recession, which started in December 2007 and is the longest since World War II.

As the downturn bites into sales and profits, companies have turned to layoffs and other cost-cutting measures to survive. Those include holding down workers' hours and freezing or cutting pay. In May, the average work week fell to 33.1 hours, the lowest on record dating to 1964.

Newspaper publisher Gannett Co. on Wednesday said it plans to cut 1,400 jobs in the next few weeks, about 3 percent of the work force, as it faces a prolonged slump in advertising revenue.

Farm machinery company Deere & Co. earlier this week said 800 salaried employees, or 3 percent of its salaried work force, took a voluntary buyout offer. Cessna Aircraft Co., which makes corporate jets, has said it would cut 1,300 jobs by this summer on top of 6,900 earlier layoffs.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke predicts the recession will end this year, with many economists forecasting that the economy will start to grow again as soon as the current July-September quarter.

And fresh signs of improvement for the economy have emerged. Manufacturing activity declined less than expected in June, and an index of pending home sales edged up May for the fourth straight month, reports out Wednesday showed.

But recoveries after financial crises tend to be slow, which is why economists predict it will take years for the job market to return to normal. Some predict the nation's unemployment rate won't drop to 5 percent until 2013.

An elevated unemployment rate could become a political liability for President Barack Obama when congressional elections are held next year. The last time the unemployment rate topped 10 percent, the party of the president -- then Ronald Reagan's GOP -- lost 26 House seats in midterm elections in 1982.

So far, many people are saving -- rather than spending -- the extra money in their paychecks from Obama's tax cut, blunting its help in bracing the economy. Much of the economic benefit of Obama's increased government spending on big public works projects won't kick in until 2010, analysts say.

The White House last week said federal money is being shoveled out of Washington quickly, but states aren't steering the cash to counties that need jobs the most.

Labor Department:

Unemployment rose by 787,000 to 14.5 mil;

 jobless rate now 9.4%

AP

Friday, June 5th 2009


With companies in no mood to hire, the unemployment rate is still rising. But the furious pace of layoffs is easing as the recession loosens its hold on the country.

"A loss of that many jobs is bad, but would be taken as a sign that the heavy weights on the economy and the labor market seem to be diminishing a bit," said Steven Cochrane, managing director of Moody's Economy.com.

The deepest job cuts of the recession came in January when 741,000 jobs disappeared, the most since 1949.

Job losses averaged 700,000 a month in the first quarter but dropped to 539,000 in April. They should average around 500,000 in the current quarter and taper off to 250,000 per month in the final quarter of this year, according to some projections.

Even if job losses do let up, companies will be reluctant to hire until they feel certain any economic recovery will last. That's why economists predict the unemployment rate will climb to 9.2 percent in May, from 8.9 percent in April. If that happens, it would be the highest since September 1983, when the U.S. was recovering from a severe recession that had driven unemployment past 10 percent.

As the recession - which started in December 2007 and is now the longest since World War II - bites into sales and profits, companies have turned to layoffs and other cost-cutting measures to survive the fallout. Those include holding down workers' hours and freezing or cutting pay.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke repeated his prediction this week that the recession will end this year, but again warned that any recovery will be gradual.

Many economists believe the jobless rate will hit 10 percent by the end of this year. Some think it could rise as high as 10.7 percent by the second quarter of next year before it starts to make a slow descent. The post-World War II high was 10.8 percent at the end of 1982.

The Fed says unemployment will remain elevated into 2011 given the expectation of tepid recovery. Economists say the job market may not get back to normal - meaning a 5 percent unemployment rate - until 2013. Economic recoveries after financial crises tend to be slower, economists say.

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Evidence has been mounting that the recession is letting up, with fresh signs emerging earlier this week.

The number of people continuing to draw unemployment benefits dipped for the first time in 20 weeks, and first-time claims also fell. Manufacturing's slide is slowing. Builders are boosting spending on construction projects and a barometer of home sales firmed.

Although shoppers remain cautious according to sales results from major retailers, Bernanke and other economists are hopeful that consumers won't return to the deep hibernation seen at the end of last year.

That's when the recession hit with brutal force, causing the economy to contract at a 6.3 percent pace, the most in 25 years. Consumers cut their spending at the time by the most in nearly three decades. Economic activity shrank at a 5.7 percent pace in the first three months of this year, despite a rebound by consumers.

Many analysts believe the economy is shrinking at about a 2 percent pace in the current quarter, and that the economy could return to growth as soon as the third quarter.

Ripple-effects from General Motors Corp.'s filing for bankruptcy protection - the fourth largest in U.S. history - could muddy the outlook, some analysts said. GM said earlier this week it will close nine factories and idle three others indefinitely as part of its restructuring. The closings, which will take place through the end of 2010, will cost up to 20,000 workers their jobs.

Job market shows signs of improvement

Reports show narrower decline in private-sector job losses and slight drop in announced job cuts.

By Jessica Dickler and Catherine Clifford, CNNMoney.com staff writers
June 3, 2009


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The pace of U.S. job losses -- while still fairly strong -- may be abating, according to a couple of reports released Wednesday.

Automatic Data Processing, a payroll-processing firm, said private-sector employers cut 532,000 jobs in May, a 2.4% improvement from the revised 545,000 drop in April.

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected a more modest loss of 525,000 jobs last month. ADP originally reported a loss of 491,000 private-sector jobs in April.

ADP said that despite recent signs of a burgeoning recovery, employers will likely continue to cut jobs for the next couple of months, but not as quickly as in the past six months.

"It's quite likely that employment has another million or million and a quarter to fall," said Joel Prakken, an ADP spokesman and chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers, LLC.

Large businesses, those with 500 or more workers, shed 100,000 jobs. Medium-sized businesses, with between 50 and 499 workers, chopped 223,000 workers. And small-businesses, those with less than 50 workers, shed 209,000 jobs.

The manufacturing and financial sectors were hard hit last month, according to the report. In its 39th consecutive monthly decline, the manufacturing sector lost 149,000 jobs. The financial sector lost 32,000 jobs in its 18th consecutive monthly decline.

"This was a weak report with the weakness widespread," Prakken said. However, "maybe we're starting to see some moderation in these job losses."

"The free fall in the economy is likely over," he said.

The report is based on anonymous payroll data that represents 400,000 of ADP's 500,000 domestic business clients and about 24 million employees across a broad range of industries.

Separately, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. reported that the number of job cuts announced in May fell for the fourth straight month.

Challenger said job cut announcements by U.S. employers totaled 111,182 in May, an improvement of 16% from April's 132,590 cuts. It was the lowest total since last September, according to Challenger, but the May figure was still 7.4% higher than job cuts announced in the same month a year ago.

As states struggle with rising deficits, the government/non-profit sector was hit the hardest for the third month in a row, Challenger said, with 22,317 announced job cuts in May. The computer sector had the second highest tally of planned cuts, followed by the chemical and automotive industries.

While job cut totals have steadily fallen since January, growing unemployment is still a major concern.

"This decline in job cuts could be short-lived," John Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas said in a statement.

"The second quarter is typically the lowest quarter of the year when it comes to job cuts. Corporate downsizing may continue to remain slow during the summer months, but if the past is any indication, we could see the pace accelerate again in the latter half of the third quarter through the end of the year," he said.

Employers have announced 822,282 job cuts so far this year. That is more than double the 394,193 job cuts announced through this point of 2008, Challenger said.

The reports pave the way for the government's monthly jobs report due Friday. The Labor Department report is expected to show that the economy shed 550,000 jobs in May, slightly more than the 539,000 reported for April, according to a consensus estimate of economists complied by Briefing.com. The unemployment rate is predicted to rise to 9.2% from 8.9%.Job market shows signs of improvement
Reports show narrower decline in private-sector job losses and slight drop in announced job cuts.

The Labor Department says the tally of first-time claims for jobless benefits declined to a seasonally adjusted 621,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 625,000, nearly matching analysts' expectations.

AP
Thursday, June 04, 2009



WASHINGTON -- The number of people on the unemployment insurance rolls fell slightly last week for the first time in 20 weeks, while the tally of new jobless claims also dipped, the government said Thursday.

The report provides a glimmer of good news for job seekers, though both drops were small and the figures remain significantly above the levels associated with a healthy economy.

The Labor Department said the tally of first-time claims for jobless benefits declined to a seasonally adjusted 621,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 625,000, nearly matching analysts' expectations.

The total jobless benefit rolls fell by 15,000 to 6.7 million, the first drop since early January. Continuing claims had set record highs every week since the week ending Jan. 24. The continuing claims data lag initial claims by one week.

Still, the number of initial claims remains stubbornly high, above the 605,000 level reached five weeks ago. That was the lowest level in 14 weeks.

The four-week average of claims, which smooths out fluctuations, rose by 4,000 to 631,250.
The report comes a day before the department is scheduled to release its unemployment report for May. Economists expect that report will show employers cut a net total of 520,000 jobs last month.

That's on top of 5.7 million jobs that have been lost since the recession began in December 2007.

The unemployment rate, meanwhile, will rise to 9.2 percent from 8.9 percent in April, analysts forecast.

Troubles in the automotive sector could cause unexpected fluctuations in the claims data. General Motors Corp. filed for bankruptcy protection Monday, joining Chrysler LLC, which filed April 30.

GM said earlier this week it will close nine factories and idle three others indefinitely as part of its restructuring. The closings, which will take place through the end of 2010, will cost 18,000 to 20,000 workers their jobs.

The company already planned to temporarily close 13 plants on a rolling basis this summer. Workers affected by the temporary shutdowns are eligible for unemployment benefits.

Chrysler, meanwhile, has temporarily idled all its U.S. factories after filing for bankruptcy protection, resulting in 27,000 layoffs. That decision caused claims to jump in the first week of May.

The shutdowns also could affect auto suppliers, which employ 3 million workers.

Initial claims are still below the peak for the current recession of 674,000 in late March. Many economists see the decline as a sign that layoffs outside the auto sector have peaked. But the unemployment insurance data remain significantly higher than a year ago, when initial claims were 370,000 and the total benefit rolls stood at 3 million.

Among the states, Illinois had the largest increase in claims, with 3,881, which it attributed to layoffs in the manufacturing and service industries. The next largest increases were in Iowa, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin. The state data lag initial claims by a week.

North Carolina had the largest drop in claims of 3,952, which it attributed to fewer layoffs in the construction, furniture and transportation industries. The next largest decreases were in Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee and Connecticut.

U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Fall 13,000 to 623,000

By Shobhana Chandra

May 28 (Bloomberg) -- Fewer Americans filed claims for unemployment benefits last week, a sign the biggest rounds of firings may be over.

Initial jobless claims fell by 13,000 to 623,000 in the week ended May 23, lower than forecast, from a revised 636,000 the prior week, according to Labor Department figures released today in Washington. The number of people collecting unemployment insurance rose to a record in the prior week for the 17th straight time, reflecting restrained hiring.

Fewer job losses reduce the risk that consumer spending, the biggest part of the economy, will falter, delaying the economic recovery projected for later this year. Still, companies will be reluctant to add workers and increase production until sales show sustained gains.

“The pace of job declines is lessening,” Mickey Levy, chief economist at Bank of America Corp. in New York, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “This along with some other indicators points to a trough in the recession.”

Another government report showed orders for U.S. durable goods jumped more than forecast in April with a rebound in auto demand and a surge in defense spending.

Increase in Orders

The 1.9 percent increase reported by the Commerce Department today in Washington was the largest since December 2007, and followed a revised 2.1 percent drop in March that was more than twice as large as previously estimated. Excluding transportation equipment, orders climbed 0.8 percent.

Jobless claims were projected to fall to 628,000 from 631,000 initially reported for the prior week, according to the median forecast of 41 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Estimates ranged from 600,000 to 650,000.

The four-week moving average of initial claims, a less volatile measure, fell to 626,750 from 629,750.

The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits, which tends to track the jobless rate, rose to 5.1 percent in the week ended May 16, the highest since December 1982, from 5 percent the prior week.


States and Territories

Thirty-seven states and territories reported a decrease in new claims for the week ended May 16, while 16 reported an increase. These data are reported with a one-week lag.

Initial jobless claims reflect weekly firings and tend to rise as job growth -- measured by the monthly non-farm payrolls report -- slows.

While the economy has lost 5.7 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007, firings are slowing. Payrolls fell by 539,000 workers in April after dropping by 699,000 the prior month.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg this month projected the jobless rate, currently at a 25-year high of 8.9 percent, will climb to 9.6 percent by the end of 2009. This month’s jobs report is due June 5.

Claims in coming weeks may climb amid restructuring in the automotive industry. General Motors Corp. faces a June 1 deadline to achieve a swap of bondholder debt for equity and to win concessions from the United Auto Workers union, or file for bankruptcy as Chrysler LLC has.

Auto workers aren’t the only ones losing jobs. KeyCorp, the second-largest bank based in Ohio, will cut more than 300 positions this quarter, Chief Executive Officer Henry Meyer said at the company’s annual meeting this month.

For now, concern over job losses is one reason consumers are limiting spending. Saks Inc., a U.S. luxury-goods retailer, reported a smaller-than-forecast loss for the quarter ended May 2, and said while promotions are less aggressive compared with the end of last year, the economic environment remains challenging.

“We expect that the macroeconomic picture will remain extremely difficult for the balance of 2009, if not beyond, and we’re continuing to plan accordingly,” Chief Executive Officer Stephen Sadove said on a conference call on May 19.

Where will Michael Vick work?  He Has a Job lined up

The Associated Press
Updated: 05/19/2009

Richmond, Va. » Even though Michael Vick is leaving prison this week, he won't exactly be a free man.

For two months, the suspended NFL star will be largely confined to his Hampton home and will wear an electronic monitor that allows federal probation officials to track his movements.

He will be allowed to go to his full-time construction job and likely will be allowed about five hours a week for other court-approved activities, according to Ed Bales , managing director of Federal Prison Consultants, an inmate rehabilitation advocacy group.

The tight restrictions are designed to ease Vick's transition from the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kan., back into the community. He is serving a 23-month sentence for a dogfighting conspiracy and is expected to be released from federal custody on July 20.

During the day, Vick will earn $10 an hour as a general laborer at one of W.M. Jordan Co.'s 40 commercial construction sites, company president John R. Lawson has said.

The only people Vick will be with during his home confinement are is fiancée and their children.

House watch for Michael Vick

By The Associated Press
Posted May 19, 2009

Even though Michael Vick is leaving prison this week, he won’t exactly be a free man.



For two months, the suspended NFL star will be largely confined to his Hampton home and will wear an electronic monitor that allows federal probation officials to track his movements.

He will be allowed to go to his full-time construction job and likely will be allowed about five hours a week for other court-approved activities, officials said.

Dungy says Michael Vick wants second chance

By CLIFF BRUNT
The Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy says Michael Vick wants a second chance when he's out of prison.

Dungy met with Vick last week at the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kan., where Vick is serving a 23-month sentence for bankrolling a dogfighting conspiracy.

Dungy spoke Wednesday at a workshop in Indianapolis for offenders seeking jobs. He compared Vick's situation as he nears his release from prison to theirs.

Dungy didn't discuss details of his visit with Vick, but told The Associated Press that the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback made a mistake.

Vick is to be transferred May 21 to home confinement in Hampton, Va., which is scheduled to last through July.




Stop the world. Michael Vick wants to get back on.

More than a year since he went to jail on dog fighting charges, he is preparing his re-entry into a world that no longer cares if he succeeds. However, according to his appearance in front of a bankruptcy judge in early April, he is basing his ability to pay off his creditors on becoming a quarterback in the NFL.

Returning to a leadership role of that nature won't be easy, though, according to executive coach Michael Schutzler, author of the book "Inspiring Excellence - A Path to Exceptional Leadership from Book Publisher's Network" (www.BlueSevenPartners.com).

"Leadership isn't something you get with a title or a job," he said. "Leadership is a relationship. In Michael's case as a quarterback, his relationship with his teammates, fans, and coaches. After being humbled by his conviction and bankruptcy, returning to a leadership role will require tapping that new reservoir of humility for years to come."

Schutzler's view of leadership is different from that of that many academics and executive coaches. His pragmatic approach to leadership includes:



"More than anything, good judgment comes from listening," he added. "I don't mean hearing well. I mean putting down your opinions, your wants, your concerns and paying close attention to the situation or person you are assessing. When you do that, you often face deep doubt. That doubt held at bay with a fear of failure leads to bravado and poor judgment. But when that doubt is observed and embraced it becomes your source of greatness. Once Michael Vick fully accepts responsibility for his behavior and acknowledges that the role of quarterback is a privilege given by his coaches, teammates and fans, he takes the first step on a path to leadership excellence."

About Michael Schutzler

Michael Schutzler is a successful business coach with more than a dozen years' experience coaching and mentoring CEOs, executives, and board members. How Michael Vick Can Turn Himself Around PDF Print E-mail
Stop the world. Michael Vick wants to get back on.

New Jobless Claims Drop 12,000 Last Week

Reuters
Thursday, May 21, 2009


WASHINGTON--The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless aid fell 12,000 last week, Labor Department data showed on Thursday, while so-called continued claims rose to a fresh record as the recession battered employment.

Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits declined to a seasonally adjusted 631,000 in the week ended May 16 from a revised 643,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said. New claims have declined in three of the last four weeks.

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast 630,000 new claims versus a previously reported count of 637,000 the week before.

The most severe U.S. recession in decades has already cost over 5 million jobs since it began in late 2007, and despite some recent indications that employment conditions might be stabilizing, the labor market remains in dire shape.

The number of people staying on the benefits roll after drawing an initial week of aid increased by 75,000 to a more-then-forecast 6.662 million in the week ended May 9, the most recent week for which data is available. Analysts estimated so-called continued claims would be 6.65 million.

College Students Face Fierce Competition for Summer Jobs

Saturday, May 16, 2009
By Liz Kreutz and Will Pulos

Roughly 100 people crammed into a small Manhattan restaurant, hoping to be hired to one of the two available job positions

With roughly a hundred people crammed into Marcello Assante's small Manhattan restaurant, you would think business was going well for the family-run cafe. However, on a spring afternoon, the crowded dining area of Ciao West was full of people looking to make money rather than spend it.

After posting an ad for a summer job on Craigslist, Assante received an astounding 100 responses for a mere two available positions. A large percentage of these applicants had been students at nearby New York University on the hunt for summer employment.

Paula Lee, the director of career development at NYU's Career Center, affirmed the discouraging trend.

"Every year is competitive for summer jobs, but because of the economy it has definitely gotten worse," she said.

In a slower economy, college students are noticing increased competition for summer jobs. This is especially true within industries once thought of as reliable sources of temporary employment, such as food and retail. With unemployment rates across the nation reaching nearly 9 percent, more people are interested in jobs generally filled by college-aged workers.

"Alumni that may have lost their jobs might have to take a job that is not equivalent to their years of experience or their educational degree in order to pay their bills," Lee said. "There's then a trickle-down effect making it more competitive for college students."

Ben Halstead, a senior film major at NYU, is experiencing this effect first-hand. After weeks of searching for a summer job, he is beginning to feel anxious over his lack of opportunities.

"I've sent out a good 10 or 12 resumes, and I've heard back from no one. Not even to say thanks for the resume," said Halstead, a student whose past part-time work experience included Jamba Juice and local movie theaters.

"I've done smaller jobs that don't pay well and this summer I would really like to get paid more," he said. "I need the money."

Laura VanWylen, a student at Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, is playing it safe. She immediately decided to accept an offer for a part-time job through her school rather than going home for the summer.

"I have so many friends that don't have summer work that I didn't want to risk going home and not having a job," she said.

Like VanWylen, many students who have succeeded in obtaining summer jobs have had to settle. Lindsay Boeve, a student at Hope College in Holland, Mich., believes that college students have expectations that are generally too high when it comes to summer jobs.

"I work at a hardware store," Boeve said. "But it gives me some extra cash so why turn it down?"

College students still seeking work may have to lower their expectations and hopes for high wages, but they aren't the only ones regretting the economic situation.

"It's incredible how few jobs there are compared to the number of applying," Assante said from his bustling cafe. "I wanted to hire everyone, but this is a small cafe. You just can't have them all."

The Labor Department says the number of people requesting rose to a seasonally adjusted 637,000, from a revised 605,000 in the previous week.

New Jobless Claims Rise More Than Expected, as Auto Layoffs Increase

AP
Thursday, May 14, 2009


WASHINGTON -- New jobless claims rose more than expected last week due partly to an increase in layoffs by the automobile industry, while the number of people continuing to receive unemployment benefits set a record for the 15th straight week.

The Labor Department said Thursday the number of new claims rose to a seasonally adjusted 637,000, from a revised 605,000 the previous week. That's above analysts' expectations of 610,000.

The increase comes after initial claims dropped in four of the previous five weeks, which raised hopes that the wave of layoffs announced earlier this year has crested and that the recession was nearing a bottom.

A department analyst said most of the increase was due to auto layoffs. Economists estimate Chrysler LLC has laid off 27,000 workers in the wake of its April 30 bankruptcy filing. General Motors Corp. has said it will temporarily shut 13 factories beginning later this month through July, potentially affecting 25,000 workers.

Still, many economists expect the downward trend in jobless claims to return once the impact of the auto industry's job cuts has passed.

Also Thursday, the department said wholesale prices climbed 0.3 percent last month, larger than the 0.1 percent gain economists had expected. The biggest jump in food costs in more than a year offset a second monthly decline in the price of energy products.

Even with the larger-than-expected gain last month, wholesale prices over the past year have fallen 3.7 percent, the biggest 12-month decline since 1950. While falling prices can raise fears about deflation, economists believe the efforts by the Federal Reserve to combat the recession will prevent a dangerous bout of falling prices.

In another sign of labor market weakness, the tally of people continuing to receive benefits increased to 6.56 million from 6.36 million, setting a record for the 15th straight week and worse than analysts expected. The continuing claims data lags initial claims by one week.

The large number of people on the jobless benefit rolls is a sign that unemployed workers are having difficulty finding new positions.

Economists are closely watching the health of the labor market. If layoffs continue at a rapid pace, consumers could cut back further on spending and prolong the recession.

New applications for jobless benefits have declined since reaching 674,000 in late March, the highest level in the current recession. But claims remain elevated. Weekly initial claims were 375,000 a year ago.

The four-week average of claims, which smooths out volatility, rose to 630,500, after falling for four straight weeks. Still, the average remains nearly 30,000 below its high in early April, a drop that economists at Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase & Co. have said indicates that the economic downturn is bottoming out.

There have been other signs the pace of job cuts is moderating, though still brutal. Employers eliminated 539,000 jobs in April, the fewest in six months and below the average of 700,000 in the first quarter of this year.

Still, more than 5.7 million jobs have been lost since the recession began in December 2007. The jobless rate rose to 8.9 percent in April, the Labor Department said last week. Many economists expect unemployment to hit 10 percent by year's end.

More job cuts have been announced recently. Steel giant ArcelorMittal said Wednesday it will eliminate nearly 1,000 positions at an Indiana steel plant in July, while DuPont said last week it will cut 2,000 jobs.

Among the states, Illinois reported the largest increase in initial claims, which it attributed to layoffs in the construction and manufacturing industries. The next biggest increases were in Kansas, Puerto Rico, Indiana and Ohio.

New York reported the largest drop in claims of 13,386, which it said was due to fewer layoffs in the transportation and service industries. The next largest drops were in Michigan, North Carolina, Massachusetts and Connecticut. The state data is for the week ending May 2, one week behind the initial claims data.



by Christopher Tkaczyk and Julianne Pepitone
Tuesday, April 21, 2009provided byCNNMoney.com

As many big companies are announcing mass layoffs, these Fortune 100 employers have at least 150 openings as of mid-April.

It's no secret that many big companies are announcing mass layoffs and pay cuts in the recession. With 5.1 million jobs lost nationwide since 2008, and the current unemployment rate at the 25-year high of 8.5%, it's easy to feel down about the battered labor market.

But the job prospects aren't entirely bleak. We looked at the top 100 of this year's Fortune 500 list and found 28 with at least 150 job openings as of mid-April. Some, like Wal-Mart, say they're hiring thousands of people to staff new locations. Others, like Motorola, have hundreds of positions open in a variety of fields: engineering, sales, finance, marketing and project management.

Brush up the résumé and iron the suit. Your next job could be a click away.

1. Wal-Mart Stores

2009 Fortune 500 rank: 2

Headquarters: Bentonville, AR

Number of job openings: Thousands

What they're looking for: To staff new locations, Wal-Mart is hiring store managers, human resource managers, pharmacists, customer service associates and cashiers, among others.

Glass half empty?

 Labor Department: Layoffs slow to 539K in April, but jobless rate rises

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Friday, May 8th 2009, 7:56 AM


WASHINGTON - The pace of layoffs slowed in April when employers cut 539,000 jobs, the fewest in six months. But the unemployment rate climbed to 8.9 percent, the highest since late 1983, as many businesses remain wary of hiring given all the economic uncertainties.

The Labor Department tally released Friday wasn't nearly as deep as the 620,000 job cuts that economists were expecting, and was helped by a burst of government hiring. The rise in the unemployment rate from 8.5 percent in March matched economists' forecasts.

The new report underscored the toll the longest recession since World War II has taken on America's workers and companies. However, the slowdown in layoffs may bolster hopes that the worst of the downturn's hefty job losses are past.

Still, companies will remain cautious in hiring, making it harder for laid-off workers to find new jobs.

If laid-off workers who have given up looking for new jobs or have settled for part-time work are included, the unemployment rate would have been 15.8 percent in April, the highest on records dating back to 1994. The total number of unemployed now stands at 13.7 million, up from 13.2 million in March.

Companies also kept a tight rein on workers hours. The average work week in April stayed at 33.2 hours, matching the record low set in March.

Since the recession began in December 2007, the economy has lost a net total of 5.7 million jobs.

As the recession eats into sales and profits, companies have turned to layoffs and other cost-cutting measures to survive the storm. Those including holding down workers' hours, and freezing or cutting pay.

Job losses in February and March turned out to be deeper, according to revised figures. Employers cut 681,000 positions in February, 30,000 more than previously reported. They cut 699,000 jobs in March, more than the 663,000 first reported.



The deepest job cuts of the recession — 741,000 came in January. That was the most since the fall of 1949.

Employers last month cut the fewest jobs since 380,000 in October. Nonetheless, the April job losses were widespread.

Construction companies axed 110,000 jobs, down from 135,000 in March. Factories got rid of 149,000 jobs, down form 167,000 the month before. Retailers cut payrolls by nearly 47,000, less than the nearly 64,000 cut in March. And job losses in financial activities dropped by 40,000, down from 43,000 in the previous month.

The slower pace of job losses — along with 72,000 more government jobs — helped to temper the overall payroll reductions in April.

Read more: "Glass half empty? Labor Department: Layoffs slow to 539K in April, but jobless rate rises" - http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2009/05/08/2009-05-08_unemployment.html#ixzz0EvADJ3GT&A


Labor Department report expected to show that a net total of 620,000 jobs were lost in April -- an improvement from March's 663,000 job losses and the fewest reductions since November.

Layoffs Might Ease, but Firms in No Mood to Hire

AP

Friday, May 08, 2009


WASHINGTON -- Employers are letting up a bit on the mass layoffs they resorted to earlier this year to cope with the recession, but the unemployment rate is climbing because many businesses remain wary of hiring given all the economic and financial uncertainties.

The Labor Department on Friday is slated to release a report expected to show that a net total of 620,000 jobs were lost in April. If analysts are correct, the figure -- while still big -- would be an improvement from March's 663,000 job losses and mark the fewest reductions since November.

The deepest job cuts of the recession, which started in December 2007 and is now the longest since World War II, came in January: 741,000 jobs vanished then, the most since the fall of 1949.

"I think the worst has passed in terms of losses," said John Silvia, economist at Wachovia. "But the jobs situation will remain tough."

With few places for the out-of-work to land, the unemployment rate is expected to jump to 8.9 percent, from 8.5 percent in March. If that happens, it would mark the highest jobless rate since the fall of 1983, when the country was recovering from a severe recession that drove unemployment past 10 percent.

As the recession eats into sales and profits, companies have turned to layoffs and other cost-cutting measures to survive the storm. Those including holding down workers' hours, and freezing or cutting pay.

Looking ahead, economists expect monthly job losses continuing for most -- if not all -- of this year. However, they are hoping the reductions won't be as deep.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke earlier this week gave his most optimistic prediction yet about the end of the recession, saying he expects the economy to start growing again this year -- although the comeback could be weak and more jobs will disappear even after a recovery takes hold.

Companies will have little appetite to ramp up hiring until they feel the economy is truly out of the woods and a recovery is firmly rooted.

Against that backdrop, many economists predict the unemployment rate will hit 10 percent by the end of this year. Bernanke stopped short of that figure, saying it will be somewhere in the 9 percent range. Regardless, both private economists and Bernanke agree the unemployment rate will keep climbing into next year.

The Fed says unemployment will remain elevated into 2011. Economists say the job market may not get back to normal -- meaning a 5 percent unemployment rate -- until 2013.

More than 5 million jobs have vanished in the recession, and Bernanke predicted "further sizable job losses" in the coming months.



Fallout from housing, credit and financial crises -- the worst since the 1930s -- has hurt America's workers and companies, and the pain will continue. The jobs market traditionally doesn't rebound until well after an economic recovery starts.

More companies recently announced job cuts. General Motors Corp. laid out a restructuring plan that includes cutting 21,000 U.S. factory jobs by next year. Microsoft Corp. said it was starting thousands of the 5,000 job cuts it announced in earlier this year and left the door open to even more layoffs.

However, glimmers of hope have emerged that the recession may be losing its grip on the country.

The Labor Department on Thursday said the number of newly laid-off workers filing applications for jobless benefits plunged to the lowest level in 14 weeks, a possible sign that the massive wave of layoffs has peaked. Still, the number of unemployed workers drawing benefits climbed to a new record -- 6.35 million.

Other reports showed sales at many retailers fared better in April, with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. leading the way.

In the U.S., the economy shrank at faster than a 6 percent annual rate late last year and early this year, the worst six-month performance since the late 1950s. Analysts think it is still shrinking now -- but probably at about half that pace. Many predict the economy could start growing in the third or fourth quarter as tax cuts and government spending on big public works projects included in President Barack Obama's $787 billion stimulus package make their way through the economy.

Information for the monthly employment report is collected around the middle of the month. A copy of the report is given to the White House's Council of Economic Advisers on Thursday afternoon. Bernanke gets employment information Thursday night.

New US jobless claims unexpectedly plunge to 601K

New US jobless claims unexpectedly plunge to 601,000; lowest level since January

* Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer
*  Thursday May 7, 2009



WASHINGTON (AP) -- New applications for U.S. jobless benefits plunged to the lowest level in 14 weeks, a possible sign that the massive wave of layoffs has peaked. Still, the number of unemployed Americans getting benefits climbed to a new record.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that the number newly laid off workers applying for benefits dropped to 601,000 last week. That was far better than the rise to 635,000 claims that economists expected.

But the total number of people receiving jobless benefits climbed to 6.35 million, a 14th straight record.

The four-week moving average of initial jobless claims, which smooths out volatility, totaled 623,500 last week, a decrease of more than 30,000 from the high in early April. Goldman Sachs economists have said a decline of 30,000 to 40,000 in the four-week average is needed to signal a peak.

In a separate report, the government said that productivity, the key ingredient to rising living standards, grew at a 0.8 percent annual rate in the January-March quarter, slightly better than the 0.6 percent increase that economists had expected. Wage pressures, as measured by unit labor costs, increased at a 3.3 percent rate, down from a 5.7 percent spike in the fourth quarter.

While wage pressures outpacing productivity normally would raise alarm bells about inflation, the threat of any price spikes is seen as remote. Regulators and economists are not worried about inflation since many workers are more concerned about keeping their jobs in the recession than demanding higher wages.

Even with the big drop in new applications for jobless benefits last week, the claims remained at elevated levels. By comparison, weekly jobless claims totaled 372,00 a year ago.

But since peaking at 674,000 in late March, claims have been trending lower, raising hopes that the huge wave of layoffs that have rocked the country could be easing a bit.

Even if the recent declines signal that layoffs have peaked, economists do not expect them to return to pre-recession levels anytime soon. They expect the jobless rate will keep rising through the rest of this year even if their forecasts for an end to the recession in the second half of 2009 are accurate.

The government is scheduled to release unemployment data for April on Friday. Analysts expect the jobless rate will climb to 8.9 percent from the current 25-year high of 8.5 percent. Many analysts expect the jobless rate will hit 10 percent by the end of this year.



The rise in continuing claims to 6.35 million was registered for the week ending April 25, the latest data available. That was up from 6.30 million in the previous week and marked the highest tally on records dating to 1967.

The high level of continuing claims is a sign that many laid-off workers are having difficulty finding work.

More than 5 million jobs have vanished in the recession, and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday predicted "further sizable job losses" in the coming months.

Among the states, Michigan saw the largest increase in claims with 9,998 more for the week ending April 25, which it attributed to more layoffs in the automobile industry, according to the Labor Department.

California saw the largest drop in claims with 10,833, which it said was due to fewer layoffs in the construction and service industries.

More companies recently announced job cuts. General Motors Corp. laid out a restructuring plan that includes cutting 21,000 U.S. factory jobs by next year. Microsoft Corp. said it was starting thousands of the 5,000 job cuts it announced in earlier this year and left the door open to even more layoffs. Chip maker Atmel Corp. last week said it would lay off 300 people, or 5 percent of its work force.

The number of newly laid-off U.S. workers signing up for unemployment benefits drops unexpectedly, while people continuing to draw aid nears 6.3 million, setting a record for the 13th straight week.

New Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Drop to 631,000

AP
Thursday, April 30, 2009

WASHINGTON--

The number of newly laid-off workers signing up for unemployment benefits dropped unexpectedly last week, while people continuing to draw aid topped 6.3 million, setting a record for the 13th straight week.

The Labor Department said Thursday that new applications for unemployment insurance fell to a seasonally adjusted 631,000 last week. That was down from the prior week's 645,000, which was revised slightly higher from the government's initial estimate.

Economists expected a small increase in new claims.

The number of people continuing to draw unemployment benefits jumped to 6.3 million, the highest on records dating back to 1967 and steeper than economists expected.

New filings — as opposed to those who remain on the unemployment compensation rolls — are closely tracked by economists for clues about the future direction of the economy. Analysts want to see a sustained decline in new applications as a sign of improved conditions.

Although last week's drop in new jobless filings was welcome, the level of claims remains elevated and signals a troubled jobs market. The labor market usually doesn't recover until well after a recession has ended. That's because companies won't want to ramp up hiring until they feel certain any recovery has staying power.

The record number of continued claims suggests that many laid-off workers are having trouble finding new jobs.

As a proportion of the work force, the total jobless benefit rolls are the highest since late December 1982. The continuing claims data lag initial claims data by a week.

Besides the continued claims, the report said there were 2.4 million people receiving benefits, as of April 11, under an extended unemployment compensation program enacted by Congress last year. That provides an additional 20 to 33 weeks on top of the 26 weeks typically provided by states.

Workers and companies have been hard hit by the recession, which began in December 2007. It has snatched 5.1 million jobs and pushed the unemployment rate to a quarter-century high of 8.5 percent. It is expected to top 10 percent by early next year before it starts to slowly drift downward.

Companies have laid off workers and resorted to other cost-saving measures to survive the recession, which has eaten into sales and profits.

Many analysts predict the recession is easing in the current quarter.

The economy is still expected to shrink from April to June, but not nearly as much as it has been. In the first quarter of this year, the economy tumbled at an annualized 6.1 percent drop. That followed a 6.3 percent annualized decline in the final quarter of last year.

Another report showed that the recession is making employers more frugal when it comes to workers' compensation packages. U.S. workers' wages and benefits inched up just 0.3 percent in the first quarter of this year, the smallest gain on records dating back to 1982, the department said.

The Labor Department says initial claims for unemployment compensation rose to a seasonally adjusted 640,000, up from a revised 613,000.

New jobless claims rose more than expected last week

AP
Thursday, April 23, 2009



WASHINGTON -- New jobless claims rose more than expected last week, while the number of workers continuing to filing claims for unemployment benefits topped 6.1 million.

Both figures are fresh evidence layoffs persist amid a weak job market that is not expected to rebound anytime soon.

The Labor Department said Thursday that initial claims for unemployment compensation rose to a seasonally adjusted 640,000, up from a revised 613,000 the previous week. That was slightly above analysts' expectations of 635,000.

Economists are closely watching the unemployment compensation data because they believe a sustained decline in the number of initial claims could signal the end of the recession is nearing.

Jobless claims have historically peaked six to 10 weeks before recessions end, according to a report by Goldman Sachs. Initial claims reflect the level of job cuts by employers.

But the latest report shows job losses remain high. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out volatility, dropped slightly to 646,750, about 12,000 below the peak in early April. Goldman Sachs economists have said a decline of 30,000 to 40,000 in the four-week average is needed to signal a peak.

In another sign of labor market weakness, the number of people continuing to claim benefits rose to 6.13 million, setting a record for the 12th straight week.



As a proportion of the work force, the total jobless benefit rolls are the highest since January 1983. The continuing claims data lag initial claims by a week.

The high level of continuing claims is a sign that many laid-off workers are having difficulty finding new jobs.

Employers have cut 5.1 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007 in an effort to slash costs as consumers and businesses have sharply reduced spending. The department said earlier this month that companies cut a net total of 663,000 jobs in March, sending the unemployment rate to 8.5 percent, the highest in 25 years.

The cuts reflect the depth of the downturn, which has been global in scope. The International Monetary Fund estimated Wednesday that the global economy would shrink 1.3 percent this year, the first drop in more than six decades. The IMF projects the U.S. economy will decline 2.8 percent, the worst since 1946.

"The world economy is going through the most severe crisis in generations," Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Wednesday.

The Obama administration is counting on its $787 billion stimulus package, enacted in February, to "save or create" 3.5 million jobs.

More job losses were announced this week. Yahoo Inc. said it will layoff 700 employees, the third round of mass layoffs this year. And oilfield services provider Halliburton Co. said it has cut 2,000 positions in the first three months of the year.

Among the states, Florida saw the largest increase in claims with 9,303 for the week ending April 11, which it attributed to more layoffs in the construction, service and manufacturing industries. The next largest increases were in Pennsylvania, California, Wisconsin and New York.

Michigan saw the largest drop in claims with 12,566, which it said was due to fewer layoffs in the automobile industry. The next biggest declines were in North Carolina, Missouri, Kentucky and Oregon.


The number of Americans requesting unemployment insurance benefits fell last week, a sign that job cuts could be easing.

New Jobless Claims Fall for Second Straight Week to 610,000

AP
Thursday, April 16, 2009


WASHINGTON -- New jobless claims fell more than expected for the second straight week, but the number of Americans continuing to receive unemployment insurance benefits rose above 6 million for the first time.

Analysts expect the labor market to remain weak for the most of this year, as most employers are reluctant to hire until an economic recovery is well under way.

The Labor Department said Thursday that its tally of initial unemployment claims dropped to a seasonally adjusted 610,000 from a revised 663,000 the previous week. That was significantly below analysts' expectations of 655,000 and the lowest level since late January.

A Labor Department analyst said the decline was partly due to a drop in auto manufacturing layoffs. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out volatility, fell 8,500 to 651,000.

Initial jobless claims reflect the pace of layoffs by companies and are considered a timely, if volatile, measure of the economy. While declining, they remain much higher than a year ago when claims stood at 369,000.

Finding a new job is difficult for those who have been laid off. The total number of people remaining on the jobless benefit rolls rose 172,000, topping 6 million for the first time. That's the highest on records dating from 1967. The figures for continuing claims lag initial claims by one week.

The department also said an additional 2.1 million people were receiving benefits under an extended unemployment compensation program enacted by Congress last year, as of March 28, the latest data available. That provides an additional 20 to 33 weeks on top of the 26 weeks typically provided by the states.

Employers have cut 5.1 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007, as they try to slash costs while consumers and businesses spend less. The department said earlier this month that companies cut a net total of 663,000 jobs in March, sending the unemployment rate to 8.5 percent, the highest in 25 years.

The Federal Reserve expects the unemployment rate will probably "rise more steeply into early next year before flattening out at a high level over the rest of the year," according to minutes from the central bank's March meeting released earlier this month. Many private economists expect the rate will hit 10 percent by year's end.

More job losses were announced this week. UBS AG, Switzerland's largest bank, said it expects a first-quarter loss of about $1.75 billion and will cut 8,700 jobs worldwide by the end of next year.

ArcelorMittal SA, the world's largest steel maker, said it will idle a plant in Indiana and lay off about 400 workers. Credit card company Discover Financial Services said it plans to cut 500 jobs next month, or 4 percent of its work force.

Unemployment jumps: 663K jobs lost in March (5.1 mil since recession began), 8.5% jobless rate

AP
Friday, April 3rd 2009, 8:59 AM

The nation's unemployment rate jumped to 8.5 percent in March, the highest since late 1983, as a wide range of employers eliminated a net total of 663,000 jobs.

The Labor Department's report is fresh evidence of the toll the recession has inflicted on America's workers and companies. Most economists expect the job cuts will continue for much of this year.

The latest tally of job losses, released Friday, was slightly higher than the 654,000 that economists expected. The rise in the unemployment rate matched expectations.

Since the recession began in December 2007, the economy has lost a net total of 5.1 million jobs, with almost two-thirds of the losses occurring in the last five months.

The number of unemployed people climbed to 13.2 million in March. In addition, the number of people forced to work part time for "economic reasons" rose by 423,000 to 9 million. That's people who would like to work full time but whose hours were cut back or were unable to find full-time work.

If part-time and discouraged workers are factored in, the unemployment rate would have been 15.6 percent in March, the highest on records dating to 1994.

Looking forward, economists expect monthly job losses continuing for most - if not all of - this year.

However, they are hoping that payroll reductions in the current quarter won't be as deep as the roughly 685,000 average monthly job losses in the January-March period.

In the best-case scenario, employment losses in the present quarter would be about half that pace, some economists said. That scenario partly assumes the economy won't be shrinking nearly as much in the present quarter.

The deterioration in the jobs market comes despite a few hopeful signs recently that the recession - now the longest since World War II - could be easing.

As the economic downturn eats into their sales and profits, companies are laying off workers and resorting to other cost-saving measures. Those include holding down hours, and freezing or cutting pay, to survive the storm.

The average work week in March dropped to 33.2 hours, a new record low, according to the federal data.

Job losses were widespread last month. Construction companies cut 126,000 jobs. Factories axed 161,000. Retailers got rid of nearly 50,000. Professional and business services eliminated 133,000. Leisure and hospitality reduced employment by 40,000. Even the government cut jobs - 5,000 of them.

Education and health care were the few industries showing any job gains.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the recession could end later this year, setting the stage for a recovery next year, if the government is successful in bolstering the banking system. Banks have been clobbered by the worst housing, credit and financial crises to hit the country since the 1930s.
New Jobless Claims Jump Unexpectedly to 669,000

The number of people filing new jobless claims jumped unexpectedly last week, while those continuing to receive benefits hit a 10th straight record-high, the Labor Department said Thursday.

New Jobless Claims Jump Unexpectedly to 669,000

AP
Thursday, April 02, 2009


WASHINGTON -- The number of people filing new jobless claims jumped unexpectedly last week, while those continuing to receive benefits hit a 10th straight record-high. Both figures show the labor market remains weak and is unlikely to recover anytime soon.

The Labor Department said Thursday that initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to a seasonally adjusted 669,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 657,000. That total was above analysts' expectations and the highest in more than 26 years, though the work force has grown by about half since then.

The tally of laid-off workers claiming benefits for more than a week rose 161,000 to 5.73 million, setting a record for the 10th straight week. That also was above analysts' expectations and indicates that unemployed workers are having difficulty finding new jobs.

As a proportion of the work force, the number of people on the jobless benefit rolls is the highest since May 1983.

Employers are eliminating jobs and taking other cost-cutting measures to deal with sharp reductions in consumer and business spending. The current recession, now in its 17th month, is the longest since World War II.

The jobless claims data come a day before the department is expected to issue another dismal monthly employment report. Economists forecast that report will show employers cut 654,000 jobs in March, while the unemployment rate increased to 8.5 percent from 8.1 percent.

Companies cut their payrolls by 651,000 jobs in February, a record third straight month of job losses above 600,000.

A private survey Wednesday said businesses cut 742,000 jobs in March. Employment at medium- and small-sized companies fell the sharpest -- by a combined 614,000. The rest of the job cuts came from big firms -- those with 500 or more workers-- according to the report from Automatic Data Processing Inc. and Macroeconomic Advisers LLC.

More job losses were announced this week. 3M Co., the maker of Scotch tape, Post-It Notes and other products, said Tuesday it's cutting another 1,200 jobs, or 1.5 percent of its work force, because of the global economic slump. Fewer than half the jobs will be in the U.S., but include hundreds in its home state of Minnesota. The 1,200 figure includes cuts made earlier in the first quarter.

Elsewhere, healthcare products distributor Cardinal Health Inc. said it would lay off 1,300 employees, or about 3 percent of its work force, and semiconductor equipment maker KLA-Tencor Corp. said it will cut about 600 jobs, or 10 percent of its employees.

The Federal Reserve has cut a key benchmark interest rate to nearly zero in an effort to jump-start lending and embarked on a series of radical programs to inject billions of dollars into the financial system.

The Obama administration's $787 billion stimulus package, approved by Congress in February, is trying to counter the recession by providing money for public works projects, extending unemployment benefits and helping states avoid budget cuts.

Angry French Workers Detain 4 Bosses at Caterpillar Plant

AP News
Tuesday, March 31, 2009


PARIS — Angry French workers facing layoffs at a Caterpillar factory detained four of their bosses Tuesday at the U.S. manufacturer's plant in the Alps and refused to let them leave the premises, union representatives said.

It is the third time in several weeks that French workers have seized their bosses to protest job losses as a result of the global economic crisis.

Last week, workers at a 3M plant held the company boss for two days, and earlier this month workers at a Sony plant held a similar protest.

Unions representing the workers say they want new talks on Caterpillar's layoff plans at the site in Grenoble. The plant that produces building equipment is supposed to cut 733 jobs in two of its factories in France.

"There is no violence or sequestration, but simply pressure so they restart negotiations," said Pierre Piccarreta, a representative from the CGT union.

"At a time when the company is making a profit and distributing dividends to shareholders, we want to find a favorable outcome for all the workers and know as quickly as possible where we are going," Piccarreta said.

Caterpillar France says the layoffs are justified. In February, the company said it was facing a 55 percent loss of orders between 2008 and 2009.

In response to the worsening economic prospects, Caterpillar in January announced job cuts that will ultimately eliminate 20,000 positions worldwide.

Home prices drop by a record amount

Short 'gigs' create patchwork jobs for workers

By ERIN VANDERBERG – 03-26-09

NEW YORK (AP) — Simone Sneed has been a brand ambassador for a telephone company, a backup singer in a local theater, a freelance grant writer and a psychic in a scavenger hunt — all for a day.

Sneed found those jobs and many others in Craigslist's Gigs section, where she finds work for a few hours or a day to earn extra cash. Sneed almost posed for an artist who wanted to paint her as a mythical creature that was half woman, half lion, but had to draw the line somewhere.

"I mentioned it to my mom and dad," she said. "My dad is an artist and he said it sounded a little sketchy."

At a time when many Americans are having trouble finding one job, some intrepid jobseekers like Sneed are creating a patchwork quilt of many, all short-term gigs found through Craigslist and other sites where companies and individuals seek out part-time help.

When she didn't get tenure, English professor Diana Bloom used the Web site's Services section to advertise herself as a tutor, editor and translator-for-hire. She's been able to make a living through the work the Web site directs her way since 2002, while staying home with her young son.

All that without ever having to pound the pavement.

"I'm not very outgoing and getting my foot in the door to companies would have been hard," said Bloom, of New York.

But for all the ease the site offers, most gigs and part-time work offer no health benefits, no sick days, no paid vacation. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of people employed part-time for economic reasons, also known as involuntary part-time workers or the "underemployed," rose by 787,000 in February, reaching 8.6 million. That is up from 4.9 million the previous February.

"There is a clear correlation between economic distress and social distress," said Paul Osterman, professor of Human Resources and Management at the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Underemployment is not good news for families."

And while some of the short-term jobs are on the books — like Sneed's handing out seed packets and key chains for Sprint — others are not.

Job postings are down overall on Craigslist, the most-used job board in the United States, said Jim Buckmaster, CEO of Craigslist.org. But postings for short-term gigs are up.

Newspapers also run ads for temporary work, the kind of gigs often found on community bulletin boards. And temp agencies are reporting a flood of applicants for short-term jobs. The Active Staffing Services agency in New York, Jersey City, N.J. and Hialeah, Fla., has had to turn away applicants because they have had so many, and so few jobs to give them.

Some companies are now skipping temp agencies in favor of such ads, said Linda Gesell, executive vice president of Atrium Staffing in New York, New Jersey and Boston. Her company has seen a 25 percent decrease in business but is inundated with applicants.

"In general most companies are being so cautious that they're finding people on their own, by referrals or placing ads," Gesell said.

But for those looking for part-time work, short-term gigs like those on Craigslist have their benefits. Musician Will Knox managed to parlay one into long-term employment by meeting a country singer who he ended up co-writing songs and embarking on a tour with.

"You don't have to leave your apartment, and in the time it takes to go down to the job center, on Craigslist you could have applied for 10 different jobs, found a new roommate and bought a ukulele," Knox said.

Luana Michaels has used the site's Free section to boost her income. Michaels, a costumer for Broadway, TV and film, scours the site around the end of the month for people who are moving and can't take their stuff. Once she got a relatively new, 40" television set, put it back on Craigslist and sold it for $800.

Not everything is quite so easy. To find enough work, Bloom posts her ad every three days, as the site allows, which keeps her ad near the top of the list where people will see it. Craigslist does not allow exact versions of the same ad to be cross-listed, so Bloom also created a vast repertoire of ads, each with their own unique wording, so that she may post her services in different geographic areas and subject areas.

For Sneed, the gigs are mostly a tool to pay off bills and student loans and supplement her full-time job. For a scavenger hunt in Albany, N.Y., she dressed up to sit in a coffee shop and wait for team members.

"I had to pretend to be a psychic, read their fortune and then give them a piece of paper with the next clue on it," she said. "It was super campy and fit my temperament. I do enjoy indulging in a bit of melodrama every now and then."

She'll probably take up an offer next for $75 to $100 to paint faces at a child's birthday party.

"I'll use the extra money to pay off my school loan," she said. "Every little bit helps."

New Jobless Claims Drop More Than Expected to 646G

AP
Thursday, March 19, 2009


WASHINGTON -- New jobless claims fell more than expected last week, but continuing claims set a new record for the eighth straight week and few economists expect the labor market to improve anytime soon.

The Labor Department said Thursday that initial requests for unemployment insurance dropped to a seasonally adjusted 646,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 658,000. That was better than analysts' expectations.

But continuing claims jumped 185,000 to a seasonally adjusted 5.47 million, another record-high and more than the roughly 5.33 million that economists expected.

The four-week average of claims rose to 654,750, the highest since October 1982, when the economy was emerging from a steep recession, though the labor force has grown by about half since then.

The job market has been hammered as employers, squeezed by reductions in consumer and business spending, cut their work forces. The unemployment rate reached 8.1 percent last month, the highest in more than 25 years. Many economists expect the rate could reach 10 percent by the end of this year.

The Federal Reserve said Wednesday it will pump $1.2 trillion into the economy in an effort to lower rates on mortgages and other consumer debt and loosen credit. To do so, the Fed will spend up to $300 billion to buy long-term government bonds and an additional $750 billion in mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

As a proportion of the work force, the number of Americans on the jobless benefit rolls is the highest since June 1983. The 5.47 million continuing claims also were up substantially from a year ago, when only about 2.85 million people were continuing to receive unemployment checks.
The increase in continuing claims is an indication that many newly laid-off workers are having difficulty finding jobs.

And even that number is deceptively low: an additional 1.5 million people were receiving benefits under an extended unemployment compensation program approved by Congress last year. That tally was as of Feb. 28, the latest data available.

More job losses were announced this week. On Tuesday, Caterpillar Inc. said it would lay off 2,400 workers as global demand for its mining and construction machines slumps. Mobile device maker Nokia Corp. said it would cut 1,700 jobs worldwide.

On Monday, oil producer Baker Hughes Inc. said it would eliminate 1,500 jobs, bringing its total recent cuts to 3,000. And industrial company United Technologies Corp., which makes Otis elevators and Sikorsky helicopters, said it would cut 2,000 to 3,000 jobs, on top of 11,600 layoffs it announced the last week.


Labor experts say that after landing a new job, workers can expect lower pay because the downturn doesn't show signs of turning around.


FOXNews.com
Saturday, March 07, 2009



After the Labor Department reported the nation's unemployment rate bolted to 8.1 percent in February, the U.S. workforce will likely face another major challenge - stagnant, or even falling wages, Reuters reported.

Labor experts say that after landing a new job, workers can expect lower pay because the downturn doesn't show signs of improving in the near future.

"There's no end in sight," Tig Gilliam, Chief Executive of Adecco Group North America, told Reuters. "March is going to be the same, and I don't see anything that will make April better."

Adecco Group North America is the third-largest U.S. employer behind the postal service and Wal-Mart.

While aknowledging an "astounding" number of job losses in February, President Obama told critics of his $787 billion economic recovery plan Friday that it is saving jobs and said, "I know we did the right thing." He suggested that critics talk to 25 police recruits in Ohio's capital city who owe their jobs to stimulus spending and "talk to the teachers who are still able to teach our children because we passed this plan."

During a graduation ceremony for the police recruits, he also noted "the nurses who are still able to care for our sick and the firefighters and first responders who are still able to keep our communities safe."

News that 651,000 jobs were lost in February brings to "an astounding 4.4 million" the number of jobs lost since the recession began, Obama said.

But Obama touted the 114th police recruit class as proof that the stimulus plan, which drew scant Republican support in Congress, is paying dividends.

"I look at these young men and women, I look into their eyes and I see their badges today, and I know we did the right thing," Obama said, the recruits seated behind him on stage.

He said the police recruits had faced a future of joblessness, the same "future that millions of Americans still face right now."

"Well, that is not a future I accept for the United States of America," Obama said, explaining why he signed the stimulus bill on Feb. 17.

The recruit class was laid off in January before they could even start walking the beat. Mayor Michael Coleman, a Democrat, blamed city budget problems.

But last week Coleman announced that the Justice Department had told the city it would get $1.25 million in stimulus funds to cover the officers' salaries through Dec. 31.

The recruits were rehired using money from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program. The stimulus bill included $2 billion for that program, and the money is being delivered to local departments by a predetermined formula.

Breann Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for Rep. Pat Tiberi, one of eight Ohio Republicans who voted against the stimulus, noted that the money that saved the recruits' job will run out next year. Coleman hasn't said how he'll pay the officers' salaries after that.

Gonzalez said Tiberi "is thrilled" that these officers were hired, but that the question of how to pay for them will confront the city again come January.

"This stimulus represents a very temporary solution to an even larger problem," she said.







AP
Friday, March 06, 2009


WASHINGTON -- Cost-cutting employers are resorting to even bigger layoffs as they scramble to survive the recession, feeding insecurities among those who still have jobs and those who desperately want them.

The Labor Department on Friday is slated to release a report expected to show that February was an especially cruel month for America's workers.

Employers likely slashed a net total of 648,000 jobs last month, according to economists' forecasts. If they are right, it would mark the worst month of job losses since the recession started in December 2007. It also would represent the single biggest month of job reductions since October 1949, when the country was just pulling out of a painful recession, although the labor force has grown significantly since then.

"The pace of layoffs is fast and furious," said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group. "We're still in the teeth of this recession and the bite has not let up at all."

With employers slashing payrolls, the nation's unemployment rate is expected to jump to 7.9 percent, from 7.6 percent in January. If that happens, it would mark the highest jobless rate since reaching 8 percent in January 1984, a time when the unemployment rate was still slowly moving down after having topped 10 percent during the early 1980s recession.

Employers are shrinking their work forces at alarming clip and are turning to other ways to slash costs -- including trimming workers' hours, freezing wages or cutting pay -- because the recession has eaten into their sales and profits. Customers at home and abroad are cutting back as other countries cope with their own economic problems.

A new wave of layoffs hit this week.

General Dynamics Corp. said Thursday it will lay off 1,200 workers due partly to plummeting sales of business and personal jets that forced it to cut production. Defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp., and Tyco Electronics Ltd., which makes electronic components, undersea telecommunications systems and wireless equipment, also are trimming payrolls.

"This is basically cleaning house for a lot of firms," said John Silvia, chief economist at Wachovia. "They are using the first quarter to cut back employment and figure out what they want."

Disappearing jobs and evaporating wealth from tanking home values, retirement accounts and other investments have forced consumers to retrench, driving companies to lay off workers. It's a vicious cycle in which all the economy's negative problems feed on each other, worsening the downward spiral.

"The economy is in a tailspin. Businesses are jettisoning jobs at an unprecedented pace," said Richard Yamarone, economist at Argus Research.

Some 3.6 million jobs have disappeared so far in a deepening recession, which is shaping up as the biggest job killer in the post-World War II period.

The country is getting bloodied by fallout from the housing, credit and financial crises-- the worst since the 1930s. And there's no easy fix for a quick turnaround, economists said.

President Barack Obama is counting on a multipronged assault to lift the country out of recession: a $787 billion stimulus package of increased federal spending and tax cuts; a revamped, multibillion-dollar bailout program for the nation's troubled banks; and a $75 billion effort to stem home foreclosures.

Even in the best-case scenario that the relief efforts work and the recession ends later in 2009, the unemployment rate is expected to keep climbing, hitting 9 percent or higher this year. In fact, the Federal Reserve thinks the unemployment rate will stay elevated into 2011. Economists say the job market may not get back to normal -- meaning a 5 percent unemployment rate -- until 2013.

Businesses won't be inclined to ramp up hiring until they are sure any economic recovery has staying power.

The economy contracted at a staggering 6.2 percent in the final three months of 2008, the worst showing in a quarter-century, and it will probably continue to shrink during the first six months of this year.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress earlier this week that recent economic barometers "show little sign of improvement" and suggest that "labor market conditions may have worsened further in recent weeks."




The Federal Reserve and Treasury Department on Tuesday announced the launch of a program that aims to revive lending to businesses and consumers.

The Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, which was announced late last year, “has the potential to generate up to $1 trillion of lending for businesses and households,” the release announcing the program declared.

The Fed will lend up to $200 billion to eligible owners of certain AAA-rated asset-backed securities that are backed by new and recent auto loans, credit-card loans, student loans and small-business loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration.

The plan is that this funding will create new capacity for additional future loans. One of the aims of the TALF is to combine public financing and private capital to jump-start the credit markets.

Subscriptions for funding in March will be accepted on March 17, and on March 25 the new securitizations will be funded. The program will hold monthly fundings through December, and the Fed could choose to extend the program beyond this year as well.

Other ABS types are under consideration for possible funding. Treasury said it anticipates allowing ABS backed by rental, commercial and government vehicle fleet leases, and ABS backed by small-ticket equipment and agriculture-equipment loans and leases to be eligible for the April funding of the TALF.

Treasury said it’s also considering making other ABS types eligible for funding in the future, including private-label residential mortgage-backed securities, collateralized loan and debt obligations, and ABS backed by non-auto floorplan loans and mortgage-servicer advances.

The press release noted that Treasury and the Fed would seek legislation to give the Fed “additional tools it will need to enable it to manage the level of reserves while providing the funding necessary for the TALF and other key credit-easing programs.”

Skill Level of Temp Workers Rises Amid Recession

Friday, February 27, 2009


Sital Patel
FOXBusiness
As job losses pile up, temp agencies are seeing higher-quality workers come to them for opportunities -- which shows that times are tough for workers, but is also a boon to businesses that hire temps.

Temp agencies around the country are receiving applications at an all-time high level as the U.S. labor market shed 3.6 million jobs since the recession started in December 2007.

Laura Long, vice president at Banner Personnel’s, a full-service staffing firm, said that in mild recessions, companies cut their marginal workers -- but in this recession, extremely talented people are being cut.

“The quality of candidates is tremendous,” she said.

Agencies are now seeing very qualified people willing to take lower jobs. One woman who signed with Banner Personnel had been making $130,000 per year. She wants to stay in her industry, but is now willing to take an $80,000 job.

Many employers see this and become nervous to hire someone they feel might be “overqualified.” Long said employers feel those people will leave as soon as better-paying jobs come along. Banner Personnel counsels employers on how to retain these employees by building in incentives.

Long compared the hiring situation to the housing market.

“You can get a great house right now for a great price,” she said. Along the same lines, “as an employer, you can get great employees right now for a great price, too.”

Long says this could benefit employers, and believes that with the $787B stimulus being passed, companies will get more hopeful.

“A lot of companies are afraid to make the commitment on a permanent-hire basis,” said Long.

Long, who’s been in the business for 39 years, believes that temp hiring will pick up, saying this is what she has seen in an economic downturn.

But Manpower (MAN: 27.83, -0.25, -0.89%) CEO Jeff Joerres doesn’t agree, and thinks this time around it will take a little longer. Joerres says we’re in the middle of larger than typical economic slide and we haven’t hit the bottom yet. Many firms are nervous to hire, as the question of demand is so uncertain, no one knows how much demand there will be or for how much.

“A lot of what you are seeing in [layoff] numbers includes the temp contractors,” said Joerres.

Manpower, which had revenue of $21 billion a year in 2007, has noticed that employers are trying increase productivity with the employees they have as well as shortening work weeks.

“When companies are ready to hire, you will see contract work really start to explode,” said Joerres.

For hundreds of thousands of workers losing their jobs during the recession, there's a new twist to their financial pain: Even as they're collecting unemployment benefits, they're paying bank fees just to get access to their money.

Thirty states have struck such deals with banks that include Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp., JP Morgan Chase and US Bancorp, an Associated Press review of the agreements found. All the programs carry fees, and in several states the unemployed have no choice but to use the debit cards. Some banks even charge overdraft fees of up to $20 — even though they could decline charges for more than what's on the card.

"It's a racket. It's a scam," said Rachel Davis, a 38-year-old dental technician from St. Louis who was laid off in October. Davis was given a MasterCard issued through Central Bank of Jefferson City and recently paid $6 to make two $40 withdrawals.

The banks say their programs offer convenience. They also provide at least one way to tap the money at no charge, such as using a single free withdrawal to get all the cash at once from a bank teller. But the banks benefit from human nature, as people end up treating the cards like all the other plastic in their wallets.

The fees are raising questions from lawmakers who just recently voted to infuse banks with taxpayer money to keep them afloat.

Steven Adamske, spokesman for the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, said he wasn't aware of the debit card programs before he was contacted by the AP, but was concerned about card holder fees.

"Our hope ... would be that banks who are getting federal assistance would forgo these kinds of fees as we're trying to help everyone in society deal with this recession," Adamske said.

Some banks, depending on the agreement negotiated with each state, also make money on the interest they earn after the state deposits the money and before it's spent. The banks and credit card companies also get roughly 1 percent to 3 percent off the top of each transaction made with the cards.

Neither banks nor credit card companies will say how much money they are making off the programs, or what proportion of the revenue comes from user versus merchant fees or interest. It's difficult to estimate the profits because they depend on how often recipients use their cards and where they use them.

But the potential is clear.

In Missouri, for instance, 94,883 people claimed unemployment benefits through debit cards from Central Bank. Analysts say a recipient uses a card an average of six to 10 times a month. If each cardholder makes three withdrawals at an out-of-network ATM, at a fee of $1.75, the bank would collect nearly $500,000. If half of the cardholders also dial customer service three times in any given week (the first time is free; after that, it's 25 cents a call), the bank's revenue would jump to more than $521,000. That would yield $6.3 million a year.

Rachel Storch, a Democratic state representative, received a wave of complaints about the fees from autoworkers laid off from a suburban St. Louis Chrysler plant. She recently urged Gov. Jay Nixon to review the state's contract with Central Bank with an eye toward reducing the fees.

"I think the contract is unfair and potentially illegal to unemployment recipients," she said.

Central Bank did not return two messages seeking comment.

Glenn Campbell, a spokesman for Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-Mo., said the congressman would support a review of the debit card programs nationwide.

Another 10 states — including the unemployment hot spots of California, Florida and South Carolina — are considering such programs or have signed contracts. The remainder still use traditional checks or direct deposit.

With the national unemployment rate now at 7.6 percent, the market for bank-issued unemployment cards is booming. In 2003, states paid only $4 million of unemployment insurance through debit cards. By 2007, it had ballooned to $2.8 billion, and by 2010 it will likely rise to $10.5 billion, according to a study conducted by Mercator Advisory Group, a financial industry consulting firm.

The economic stimulus plan signed by President Barack Obama this week will increase federal unemployment benefits by $40 billion this year. Subsequently, there will be more money from which banks can collect fees. The U.S. Department of Labor allows the fees as long as states create a way for recipients to get their money for free, spokeswoman Suzy Bohnert said.

"Beyond that, the individual decides how to manage his drawdowns using the debit card," she said in an e-mail.

A typical contract looks like the agreement between Citigroup and the state of Kansas, which took effect in November. The state expects to save $300,000 a year by wiring payments to Citigroup instead of printing and mailing checks.

Citigroup's bill to the state: zero. The bank collects its revenue from fees paid by merchants and the unemployed.

"If you use your card the right way, you're not going to pay fees at all," said Paul Simpson, Citigroup's global head of public sector, health care and wholesale cards.

But that's not always practical.

Arthur Santa-Maria, a laid-off engineer who lives just outside Albuquerque, N.M., said he didn't pay any fees the first time he was laid off, for several months in 2007. His unemployment benefits were paid by paper checks. He found a new job last year but was laid off again last fall.

This time, he was issued a Bank of America debit card — a "prepaid" card in industry lingo — but he was surprised to learn he had to pay fees to get his money. He asked the bank to waive them. It said no. That's when Santa-Maria called back to ask how to check his account online. He logged on and saw that the call cost him a half dollar. To avoid more fees, Santa-Maria found a Bank of America ATM at a strip mall and withdrew $80 at no charge. When he got back to his car, he decided to take out the rest of his money — $250 — and deposit it in his bank account.

Afterward, Santa-Maria logged on to his account and saw a charge of $1.50 for two withdrawals in one day.

"They're trying to use my money to make money," Stanta-Maria said. "I just see banks trying to make that 50 cents or a buck and a half when I should be given the service for free."

New Mexico authorities bargained with Bank of America to get lower fees for unemployment recipients, said Carrie Moritomo, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Workforce Solutions. The state saves up to $1.5 million annually by switching from checks to debit cards.

Bank of America spokeswoman Britney Sheehan pointed out that the fees charged in New Mexico are similar to those charged in the 29 other states with unemployment debit cards. The bank believes "the fee schedule is reasonable and consistent with similar programs," she said.

Banks could issue unemployment debit cards with no fees for cardholders, but that would likely mean that states would have to pay more of the administrative costs, said Mark Harrington, director of marketing for Citigroup's prepaid card services. If a state demanded no cardholder fees and could pay the difference, Citigroup might enter such a contract.

"We would be open to that," Harrington said. "We're not looking to structure any programs where we would lose money, but we're definitely flexible."

Simpson noted that the cards can save money for jobless workers who have no bank accounts. In the past, these people had to use corner check-cashing shops that charged fees as high as 2 percent, or $6 for a $300 check. Now, they can swipe their cards at McDonald's, Wal-Mart or elsewhere for free.

Kenna Gortler, a laid-off paper mill worker in Oregon, said her union is advising members to avoid the debit cards and sign up to get their benefits through direct deposit. More than 300 of her fellow workers have lost their jobs at the mill in the last three months, and horror stories about ATM fees and overdraft charges are starting to filter back to others who are just now signing up for their benefits.

"It's discouraging," Gortler said. "People have limited funds and they don't need to be giving money to the banks. They need to be keeping that money to feed their families and pay bills."

FOXNews.com

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Democrats announce they have reached a compromise on the economic stimulus bill.

The House and Senate have reached an agreement to reconcile their two versions of a massive economic recovery package, settling on a bill with $789 billion in spending and tax cuts, lawmakers said Wednesday afternoon.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the compromise bill will create 3.5 million jobs, and tax cuts will make up more than a third of the package.

"This has been a give and take," Reid said. After nearly 24 hours of negotiations, he said, the House and Senate were able to bridge the differences between the conflicting versions of the bill and arrive at a package that costs less than either of them.

The Senate passed a version costing $838 billion Tuesday that included more tax cuts than the $819 billion version passed two weeks ago by the House.

President Obama thanked lawmakers for coming together around a "hard-fought compromise that will save or create more than 3.5 million jobs and get our economy back on track."

"I'm grateful to the House Democrats for starting this process, and for members in the House and Senate for moving it along with the urgency that this moment demands," he said in a statement.

But some House Democrats were not happy with the compromise bill.

"They said that there was a deal that didn't exist," said Rep. Jose Serrano, D-N.Y.

Lawmakers expressed concern about how Senate negotiators insisted on stripping money to construct new schools. And members of the Congressional Black Caucus seemed particularly upset about funding for the Neighborhood Stabilization fund, which lost $4.2 billion in the Senate version of the bill.

Despite Democratic concern about the bill, the House moved ahead with a plan to bring the measure to the floor as early as Thursday.

The economic stimulus package, pushed by President Obama, had scant GOP support, but Reid thanked the three Republican senators who helped forge a compromise with Democrats.

One of those Republicans, Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, said he would have preferred a bill similar to what Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., had proposed -- a tax-cut measure costing about half as much as the compromise.

"But in the legislature you don't always get what you want," Specter said. He said action must be taken, "because the serious economic conditions, with millions of jobs lost and millions of people being foreclosed from their homes, poses a threat that cannot be ignored."

Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman also thanked the Republicans, saying the recovery package would go a long way in jump-starting the economy.

"This, in my opinion, is a turning point," he said.

The bill includes help for victims of the recession in the form of unemployment benefits, food stamps, health coverage and more, as well as billions for states that face the prospect of making deep cuts in their own programs.

It also preserves Obama's signature tax cut -- a break for millions of lower and middle income taxpayers, including those who don't earn enough to pay income taxes.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was conspicuously absent from the news conference in which members of the Senate announced the agreement, and it was not clear whether she stayed away out of unhappiness or a scheduling conflict.

Officials had said previously that one of the final issues to be settled was money for school modernization, a priority of Pelosi as well as Obama and one on which they differed with Republican Sen. Susan Collins, Maine, and other moderates whose votes will be essential for final Senate approval.

It was not immediately clear when final votes in the two houses would occur. A House vote was possible as early as Thursday, with the Senate to follow before lawmakers begin a scheduled weeklong vacation.

There was no immediate reaction from the White House, but the president's chief of staff and other aides were intimately involved in the negotiations that led to the agreement.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.