A New Year...But Old Issues Remain

As I looked through the New York Times yesterday I realized that while we had just turned the calendar on a New Year, we're still dealing with the same issues in jobs, healthcare, and the economy.

Andrew Cuomo was sworn in as the new governor of New York and is already set to deal with budgetary and job issues left for him by his predecessors. Yesterday Cuomo said he will seek a one-year salary freeze for state workers and today he followed that up by saying that he would take a 5% cut on his own salary and will cut many of his senior aides salaries the same amount.

Downstate in Manhattan comes news that there are new rules for restaurant tips that have come into effect: “'Never before were there any regulations regarding tips in New York State,' except for a mysterious paragraph in a 1968 law that barred employers from appropriating tips, said Jean Lindholm, a supervising labor standards investigator at the State Department of Labor. An inconsistent mixture of Labor Department opinions and lawsuit judgments has governed industry practice through the years, she said, adding, 'It was time, long overdue, to clarify the rules.'”

Lastly, for those people who can find new jobs, most of them have had to switch careers and with a career switch has come a lower pay according to a new report from Rutgers' Heldrich Center for Workforce Development. The article starts out with "even the lucky ones are not so lucky" which is the sad truth in the matter. Some of the same issues remain for 2011...

Job Growth and Job Loss

Yesterday President Barack Obama pushed 20 CEOs to "start investing in job creating enterprises." According to the Wall Street Journal, though, "nearly half of the executives [in a quarterly survey by the Business Roundtable]—45%—expected to hire within the next six months, compared with 31% who said that last quarter." As the article says, US businesses are sitting on $2 trillion in cash. Although slack demand is adding to their reluctance, hopefully a new year means new jobs appearing in the market.

In good news this morning, Bloomberg is reporting that jobless claims in the US unexpectedly fell to 420,000 last week. The bad news, though: "the total number of people receiving unemployment insurance and those getting extended payments rose." So what does that mean for hiring in the new year? "Fewer firings signal employers may be gearing up to add to their payrolls and help reduce a jobless rate hovering near a 26-year high. While the economy is gaining momentum heading into 2011, Federal Reserve policy makers said this week it isn’t strong enough to reduce unemployment."

And if you decide to look for one of those jobs in the new year, Simply Hired Blog has the best 50 careers of 2011 (H/T Wendy).

Jobs are a'Opening

The Wall Street Journal reported today that job openings increased in October to the highest level since before the 2008 financial crisis. "But," cautions the article, "the increase in job openings in October didn't translate into increased hiring. Companies hired 4.20 million people during the month, down slightly from September's 4.21 million. That could be a sign that companies are struggling to find workers with the necessary skills to fill the positions they have open."

Also from The Journal, a question whether the tax freeze for the wealthy will create jobs (answer: probably not). This will certainly be an issue debated for the next two years until they have to talk about this issue once again.

Lastly, USA Today talks about Baby Boomers who are going back to work after they turn 65, mostly because of the increased age at which you can file for Social Security. But about 25% of these workers are unable to physically work at that age anyway, says the article, which, ironically, means that they will have to file for disability which would increase the imbalances of Social Security. With 25% of Boomers equaling about the population of New York State, this is not a small issue.

Jobs in the Financial World

With Warren Buffet coming out today (via Telegraph) and saying that next time the financial world goes bust, the chief executives of those banks and their wives should go broke too, I figured it was a good time to delve back into the job market in the financial world.

Within the same article came this ominous forecast: "Despite the difference in the fortunes of those on Wall Street and many Americans in other industries, analysts have said that banks may decide to cut jobs in coming months as trading revenues decline. Meredith Whitney, for example, has forecast that up to 80,000 finance jobs could go over the next 18 months." Eek

More specifically, Morgan Stanley came out last week and said they were going to freeze investment bank hiring in 2010 according to Bloomberg (H/T Wendy).

For those looking for a job in this market, FINS has some advice for college graduates about how to find a job in the financial world (one of the pieces of advice "Take on Internships" is a good one).

Also from FINS, a different type of sheriff is coming to town: the IRS is hiring special agents for their Criminal Investigation Division, one of its prime divisions.

Lastly, Corporate Compliance Insights has two Dilberts that hopefully don't hit too close to home for many compliance professionals.

The Great Recession

1200 candidates for 100 jobs? Jeez. From the San Francisco Chronicle:

The four-block line told the whole story of the Great Recession.

More than 1,200 people - in their finest job-interview outfits, clutching resumes and staring ahead stoically - waited for hours to get into a job fair in San Francisco. The number of jobs available? 100.

Not good

Staycation

It's certainly a buzzword according to the New York Times (click here) and, well, the Washington Post has been using it since 2005 (click here)...but what does it mean?

The Washington Times has some answers here (click here), but the Orlando Business Journal just reported that fewer than 1 in 10 Americans actually plan staycations (click here)

It's one way of offsetting the high gas prices, and the Arizona Republic has some other ways that employers can help in that process: click here

And, lastly, Thomson Reuters came out with some job data today which says that the job market is softening like the polar ice caps (they left out the part about the polar ice caps, however): click here

:)

TXT MSG Monitoring

Fredrikson & Byron P.A. starts us off on All-Star Tuesday with an article about the employers right to monitor text messaging and e-mail being as strong as ever: click here

Following that note, Workforce Management says that Human Resources technology spending is still growing according to the recent studies of Towers Perrin and AMR Research: click here

In other news, the Staffscapes blog reports that the Federal Minimum Wage will increase July 24th: click here

The HR Capitalist talks about employees who hate employers but refer them anyways: click here

And Recruiting Trends asks if passive candidates can leverage superior job security terms: click here

Don't Make Work Your Primary

Although it may be Primary time, the New York Times starts us out by letting you know that making it's time to take a Secondary look at talking about your politics or wearing your campaign button at work, among other topics in this Q&A: click here

We go back to the New York Times for an old article still prescient about job growth fading fast: click here

The Business Review (Albany) has an article which says that telecommuting can hurt office morale: click here

From the Boston Globe's BostonWorks Ask The HR Expert we get some answers in this Q&A about Benefits and Compensation: click here

Next, from HR Daily Advisor, they post the question: Is coaching the new management? click here

Lastly, some HR Management news from Occupational Health and Safety has news that the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) President/CEO is about to retire: click here

It's Holiday Time

Happy Holidays to everyone (Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Ramadan, Bodhi Day, Winter Solstice, Festivus, and whatever other holiday you celebrate)...

In the spirit of the holidays, we have an article starting you off from the New York Times about the office party being a tightrope walk: click here

The Associated Press on Google News has word on the government revising rules on illegal immigrants and the employers that get penalized: click here

CNNMoney has a report on the economy that says that jobless claims have dipped and indicators have shown slow growth: click here

The Vault Blog has advice for both sides when an interviewee is rejected: click here

From HR Matters and HR Answers an article about health obligations under the FMLA: click here

Also, from the same source, a Q&A about pregnancy leave when not covered by the FMLA: click here

Job Growth...slow but strong

The New York Times reports on the employment situation in the United States and says that it has been slowed but remains strong: click here

Also from the New York Times, a look at the preparation one should take before changing jobs: click here

Lastly, word of the Hope Program out of New York and how it's helping people get a fresh start: click here