Maybe it is just me, but has anyone noticed that some of the want ads are asking for stuff that is darn near impossible. Some of the requirements far exceeds what is required or they asked for in the past. People with jobs are exploiting the market to get the beyond perfect candidate. They won't train or develop anyone internally or a smart new hire. Career development is dead. Instead they prefer to go to the open market and buy what they need. In a buyers market, I guess it works. But it doesn't seem like a good way to build employee loyalty.
It is also a little bit funny when people are asking for 7-10 years experience in the same job as a qualification, large team leadership ability for an analyst position or master degree and multiple professional certification for entry level postions. The people in the jobs doing the interviewing have none the same qualifications but have to ask the questions from the team interview guide with a straight face. Again buyers market.
I also think some companies with a lot of "churn" are also "fishing". They have permanent ads on monster, hotjobs, careerbuilder and dice looking for something better. Again a buyers market.
Summary
You have to wonder where it is all headed. In the short-term, employers are raising their hiring qualifications. In the long-term, hopefully employees will ask for more stability, training and career development in exchange for lower pay, innovation and long-term productivity.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
January Unemployment drops because people are leaving the labor force
January Unemployment drops because people are leaving the labor force
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on Friday, February 4th, 2011, that the US unemployment rate (U-3) dropped to 9.0%. The 0.4% drop in the rate, which on the surface, may increase business and consumer confidence, is the results of people leaving the labor market.
The lower rate was really due to a drop of 2.29 million people between Jan 2010 and Jan 2011 who are not in the labor force. (See BLS data here.) . Obviously the drop is due to the poor labor economy, but no is quite sure of the specific reasons why people leave the market. Some reasons include early retirement, lack of work, unable to retrain, geographic limits or being discouraged. The labor participation dropped from 64.3% in December to 64.2% in January 2011.
There were some statistical changes by the BLS starting in the month of January. There was a statistical reduction of civilian labor force by 504,000 (0.3%) and a large reduction in the unemployed by 622,000 (4.5% drop). The labor force dropped a tiny bit but the number of unemployed dropped by 14 times as much. They dropped off the unemployment rolls and are no longer counted thus reducing the rate.
In a more realistic job reports, the Non-Farm payroll grew by only 36,000 jobs. The biggest gains were in manufacturing (+49,000) and retail sales (+27,000) however courier and messengers lost 44,000. Government lost 14,000 jobs. Education as flat and healthcare added 13,000. Construction lost 32,000. One bright spot was durable goods manufacturing which added 62,000 jobs.
As mentioned earlier, the number of people “Not in the Labor Force” increased from 83.876 million in January 2010 to 86.168 million in January 2011 and increase of 2.29 million workers. That’s a huge number of people who are no longer participating in the labor market. The figure includes 6.643 million who want work and 993,000 who are “discouraged”.
While the general unemployment rate (U-3) dropped 0.4% to 9%, the Black Unemployment rate was little changed at 15.7%. The rate for Hispanics was 11.9% and teenage unemployment was 26%. Black teenage unemployment was 45%. U-6, the widest measure of unemployment, was 16.1 percent. Basically 16% of the labor force wants to work and cannot.
Average unemployment duration also increased. The new average duration was 36.9 weeks. However, the old figure from December 2010, 34.2 weeks, is not directly comparable. The BLS will now collect unemployment duration for 5 years rather than two years. The median (half under / half over) decreased to 21.8 weeks. 6.2 Million people (44% of the total) were out of work for more than 27 weeks.
The number of people working part time for economic reasons was approximately 8.4 million. The number of discouraged workers remained at about 1 million. Discouraged workers are people who have not looked in the past 4 weeks because they believe no work is available, could not find work, lack training or employer discrimination.
The ADP employment report on Feb 2nd, 2011 which showed an increase of 187,000 jobs created in January. The December number of 297,000 was revised downward to 247,000. Economist believe employment must grow by 130K to 150K to keep up with population growth.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on Friday, February 4th, 2011, that the US unemployment rate (U-3) dropped to 9.0%. The 0.4% drop in the rate, which on the surface, may increase business and consumer confidence, is the results of people leaving the labor market.
The lower rate was really due to a drop of 2.29 million people between Jan 2010 and Jan 2011 who are not in the labor force. (See BLS data here.) . Obviously the drop is due to the poor labor economy, but no is quite sure of the specific reasons why people leave the market. Some reasons include early retirement, lack of work, unable to retrain, geographic limits or being discouraged. The labor participation dropped from 64.3% in December to 64.2% in January 2011.
There were some statistical changes by the BLS starting in the month of January. There was a statistical reduction of civilian labor force by 504,000 (0.3%) and a large reduction in the unemployed by 622,000 (4.5% drop). The labor force dropped a tiny bit but the number of unemployed dropped by 14 times as much. They dropped off the unemployment rolls and are no longer counted thus reducing the rate.
In a more realistic job reports, the Non-Farm payroll grew by only 36,000 jobs. The biggest gains were in manufacturing (+49,000) and retail sales (+27,000) however courier and messengers lost 44,000. Government lost 14,000 jobs. Education as flat and healthcare added 13,000. Construction lost 32,000. One bright spot was durable goods manufacturing which added 62,000 jobs.
As mentioned earlier, the number of people “Not in the Labor Force” increased from 83.876 million in January 2010 to 86.168 million in January 2011 and increase of 2.29 million workers. That’s a huge number of people who are no longer participating in the labor market. The figure includes 6.643 million who want work and 993,000 who are “discouraged”.
While the general unemployment rate (U-3) dropped 0.4% to 9%, the Black Unemployment rate was little changed at 15.7%. The rate for Hispanics was 11.9% and teenage unemployment was 26%. Black teenage unemployment was 45%. U-6, the widest measure of unemployment, was 16.1 percent. Basically 16% of the labor force wants to work and cannot.
Average unemployment duration also increased. The new average duration was 36.9 weeks. However, the old figure from December 2010, 34.2 weeks, is not directly comparable. The BLS will now collect unemployment duration for 5 years rather than two years. The median (half under / half over) decreased to 21.8 weeks. 6.2 Million people (44% of the total) were out of work for more than 27 weeks.
The number of people working part time for economic reasons was approximately 8.4 million. The number of discouraged workers remained at about 1 million. Discouraged workers are people who have not looked in the past 4 weeks because they believe no work is available, could not find work, lack training or employer discrimination.
The ADP employment report on Feb 2nd, 2011 which showed an increase of 187,000 jobs created in January. The December number of 297,000 was revised downward to 247,000. Economist believe employment must grow by 130K to 150K to keep up with population growth.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Black - White happiness gap is narrowing
Two professors at the University of Pennsylvania have found the gap in happiness between Blacks and Whites has narrowed in the US. The gap has narrow because of a decrease in happiness by Whites and and significant increase in happiness of Blacks. The gains in Black happiness exceed expected gains due only to income. Gains were also concentrated in Women and people living in the South.
The researchers used data from the General Social Survey. They looked at data from 1972 to 2008. The survey asked respondents to answer the question: "Taken all together, how would you say things are these days, would you say you are very happy, pretty happy or not too happy ?" The responses were coded to "Not to Happy" = 1; "Pretty Happy" = 2; and "Very Happy" = 3. The results were standardized by subtracting the mean and dividing by the standard deviation(STD). So, the results are reported in units of standard deviations. (Whew!). So, basically, to make the comparison, the researchers had to rank and standardize their measure.
The results show that in 1972 Blacks were 0.45 standard deviations less happy than whites, but by 2008 the gap has closed to 0.27 STD. The gap is continuing to close because of increases in Black happiness and small decreases in White happiness. In addition, the change in happiness is more than can explained by changes in income over the same period. The Black - White income gap has closed little over the period.
The paper also tried to account for other factors that might influence Black happiness during the study period such as region, gender, income, age, health, job, and marital status.
"In 1972 the racial gap in happiness was largest among women, the young, Southerners, college graduates, the unemployed, married people, and the top half of the income distribution." By 2008, the gaps for women was eliminated. There were also larges gain in the South. Those with more education and higher incomes still and had large happiness gaps as did 18-29 year olds.
You can read the report details here. They used data from the General Social survey which measures reported happiness in different groups since 1972.
The researchers used data from the General Social Survey. They looked at data from 1972 to 2008. The survey asked respondents to answer the question: "Taken all together, how would you say things are these days, would you say you are very happy, pretty happy or not too happy ?" The responses were coded to "Not to Happy" = 1; "Pretty Happy" = 2; and "Very Happy" = 3. The results were standardized by subtracting the mean and dividing by the standard deviation(STD). So, the results are reported in units of standard deviations. (Whew!). So, basically, to make the comparison, the researchers had to rank and standardize their measure.
The results show that in 1972 Blacks were 0.45 standard deviations less happy than whites, but by 2008 the gap has closed to 0.27 STD. The gap is continuing to close because of increases in Black happiness and small decreases in White happiness. In addition, the change in happiness is more than can explained by changes in income over the same period. The Black - White income gap has closed little over the period.
The paper also tried to account for other factors that might influence Black happiness during the study period such as region, gender, income, age, health, job, and marital status.
"In 1972 the racial gap in happiness was largest among women, the young, Southerners, college graduates, the unemployed, married people, and the top half of the income distribution." By 2008, the gaps for women was eliminated. There were also larges gain in the South. Those with more education and higher incomes still and had large happiness gaps as did 18-29 year olds.
You can read the report details here. They used data from the General Social survey which measures reported happiness in different groups since 1972.
Harvard Study Says College is not for Everyone
Sunday, January 30, 2011
State of the Union Review: An adult speech for difficult times
An adult speech for difficult times
The president’s state of the union address was a refreshing discussion of economic truth in these tough times. America is facing a changed economic environment: the rate of innovation and technical change have slowed while the globalization has moved manufacturing and IT jobs overseas. He chose these tough times to discuss the america’s economic future in three broad categories: Innovation, education and infrastructure investment. Mr. Obama liked all of these ideas under the theme: “Winning the future.”
He opened with remarks on the shooting in Tucson. He then moved on to talk about bi-partisan cooperation. He referenced the success of the lame-duck session in passing several pieces of legislation. Then, getting down to business, he described the changing the jobs climate the American worker faced. “The rules have changed. In a single generation, revolutions in technology have transformed the way we live, work and do business.” The US is completing in a globalized world against India and China.
We need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world. (Applause.) We have to make America the best place on Earth to do business.
He hinted that we must compete for jobs and industries which in the past would have been handled by US industry.
So how will the US win the future ? President Obama proposed programs in there areas.
Encourage American innovation with new programs for biomedical research, information technology and clean energy. The new investments will be paid for by eliminating subsidies for the oil companies. An additional goals is by 2035 , 80 percent of the America’s energy will come from clean energy.
Educate our kids. Prepare 100,000 teachers in science, technology, engineering and math. And reform immigration to keep educated kids in the country
Thirdly, rebuild America – Repair crumbling bridges and roads. Invest in high speed rail.
He proposed several miscellaneous programs…
1. Improve the business tax system by eliminating loopholes and deducations.
2. Have congress pass the Korean free trade agreement. Add new free trade agreements with Panama and Columbia.
3. Reduce the deficit. Freeze domestic spending for five years . However, he noted, he would affect on only 12 percent of the budget. Real budget reductions require cuts in domestic spending, defense spending, health–care spending and reducing tax subsidies.
4. Reorganize the federal government
And some programs he opposed…
1. He continues to oppose to extending tax cuts for the rich.
2. He restated that he is unwilling to change the healthcare bill, “so let’s move on.”
He discussed the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Nearing the end of his speech, he covered some real life examples of American perseverance. Then finally, he ended with a call for the US to move forward. To loosely paraphrase the president, “We have work ahead, but we do big things.”
The president’s state of the union address was a refreshing discussion of economic truth in these tough times. America is facing a changed economic environment: the rate of innovation and technical change have slowed while the globalization has moved manufacturing and IT jobs overseas. He chose these tough times to discuss the america’s economic future in three broad categories: Innovation, education and infrastructure investment. Mr. Obama liked all of these ideas under the theme: “Winning the future.”
He opened with remarks on the shooting in Tucson. He then moved on to talk about bi-partisan cooperation. He referenced the success of the lame-duck session in passing several pieces of legislation. Then, getting down to business, he described the changing the jobs climate the American worker faced. “The rules have changed. In a single generation, revolutions in technology have transformed the way we live, work and do business.” The US is completing in a globalized world against India and China.
We need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world. (Applause.) We have to make America the best place on Earth to do business.
He hinted that we must compete for jobs and industries which in the past would have been handled by US industry.
So how will the US win the future ? President Obama proposed programs in there areas.
Encourage American innovation with new programs for biomedical research, information technology and clean energy. The new investments will be paid for by eliminating subsidies for the oil companies. An additional goals is by 2035 , 80 percent of the America’s energy will come from clean energy.
Educate our kids. Prepare 100,000 teachers in science, technology, engineering and math. And reform immigration to keep educated kids in the country
Thirdly, rebuild America – Repair crumbling bridges and roads. Invest in high speed rail.
He proposed several miscellaneous programs…
1. Improve the business tax system by eliminating loopholes and deducations.
2. Have congress pass the Korean free trade agreement. Add new free trade agreements with Panama and Columbia.
3. Reduce the deficit. Freeze domestic spending for five years . However, he noted, he would affect on only 12 percent of the budget. Real budget reductions require cuts in domestic spending, defense spending, health–care spending and reducing tax subsidies.
4. Reorganize the federal government
And some programs he opposed…
1. He continues to oppose to extending tax cuts for the rich.
2. He restated that he is unwilling to change the healthcare bill, “so let’s move on.”
He discussed the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Nearing the end of his speech, he covered some real life examples of American perseverance. Then finally, he ended with a call for the US to move forward. To loosely paraphrase the president, “We have work ahead, but we do big things.”
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Black Economic and Business News
The Evil Black Economist Blog has a sister blog, Black Economic and Business News, with links to the news paper and research articles used for commentary.
Please visit Black Economic and Business News.
http://blackbusinessnews.blogspot.com/
Please visit Black Economic and Business News.
http://blackbusinessnews.blogspot.com/
Friday, January 14, 2011
ADP December jobs report
ADP, the largest payroll processor in the United States, released its’ employment report on Wednesday, Jan 5th, 2011 which showed an increase of 297,000 jobs created between November and December. September showed a gain of 29,000; October gained 79,000 and November increased 92,000. Most of the increase, 270,000 jobs was in the service sector. ADP also provides data by firm size: Firms with more than 500 employees added 36,000 workers; firms with 50 to 499 employees added 144,000 and firms with fewer than 50 employees added 117,000.
There are some interesting points here.
One, how can the difference between the BLS and the ADP report be so large.
Two, The job growth is mostly in the middle sector.
There are some interesting points here.
One, how can the difference between the BLS and the ADP report be so large.
Two, The job growth is mostly in the middle sector.
Another worrisome jobs report: Unemployment drops for the wrong reason
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on Friday, January 7th, 2011 the results of the December household and establishment employment survey. The general unemployment rate dropped unexpectedly to 9.4% of the labor force. Non-Farm payroll grew by 103,000 jobs. The biggest gains were in health care and leisure and hospitality.
The lower rate was based on 123,000 workers who have dropped out of the labor force in December. The labor participation rate was 64.3% overall down from 64.7 a year ago. Between December 2009 and December 2010 the working age population increased from 236.9 million people to it was 238.9 million: about a 1.95 million increase. However the number of people participating in the labor market increased only 500K a difference of 1.45 million. In other words 1.5 million people dropped out of the labor market.
The economy grew less than expected adding only 103,000 jobs. Many economists expected around 140K – 150K jobs. In addition, most of the jobs came from the retail section which is heavy influenced by seasonal trend. Private payrolls added 113,000 jobs while government dropped 10K.
Here us a graph of Non-Farm Payroll since the recession.
The economy is still "short" 7 million jobs from the beginning of the recession.
While the the general unemployment rate dropped 0.4%, the Black Unemployment rate was little changed at 15.8%. The rate for Hispanics was 13.0%.
The Non Farm Payroll employment numbers showed an increase of 103,000 jobs. Job gains in private services were slighty offset by a 10,000 job decrease in the government sector and a loss of 2,000 in manufacturing.
Average unemployment duration also increased. The average was 34.2 weeks and increase of 0.3 weeks and the median (half under / half over) increased 0.7 weeks to 22.4 weeks. 6.4 Million people (44% of the total) were out of work for more than 27 weeks. The figure also represents a jump of 113,000 in the long-term unemployed.
There are other revealing statistics: The number of people working part time for economic reasons was approximately 8.9 million. The number of discouraged workers increased from 1.28 million to 1.32 million (about 40,000). Discouraged workers have increase 389,000 since the same period last year. Discouraged workers are people who have not looked in the past 4 weeks because they believe no work is available, could not find work, lack training or employer discrimination. Part-time for economic reasons” workers dropped by 29,000.
Of related interest, ADP, released it’s employment report on Wednesday, Jan 5th, 2011 which showed an increase of 297,000 jobs created between November and December. Economist believe employment must grow by 150,000 jobs to keep up with population growth. However, most models have fixed labor participation rates.
v2
The lower rate was based on 123,000 workers who have dropped out of the labor force in December. The labor participation rate was 64.3% overall down from 64.7 a year ago. Between December 2009 and December 2010 the working age population increased from 236.9 million people to it was 238.9 million: about a 1.95 million increase. However the number of people participating in the labor market increased only 500K a difference of 1.45 million. In other words 1.5 million people dropped out of the labor market.
The economy grew less than expected adding only 103,000 jobs. Many economists expected around 140K – 150K jobs. In addition, most of the jobs came from the retail section which is heavy influenced by seasonal trend. Private payrolls added 113,000 jobs while government dropped 10K.
Here us a graph of Non-Farm Payroll since the recession.
The economy is still "short" 7 million jobs from the beginning of the recession.
While the the general unemployment rate dropped 0.4%, the Black Unemployment rate was little changed at 15.8%. The rate for Hispanics was 13.0%.
The Non Farm Payroll employment numbers showed an increase of 103,000 jobs. Job gains in private services were slighty offset by a 10,000 job decrease in the government sector and a loss of 2,000 in manufacturing.
Average unemployment duration also increased. The average was 34.2 weeks and increase of 0.3 weeks and the median (half under / half over) increased 0.7 weeks to 22.4 weeks. 6.4 Million people (44% of the total) were out of work for more than 27 weeks. The figure also represents a jump of 113,000 in the long-term unemployed.
There are other revealing statistics: The number of people working part time for economic reasons was approximately 8.9 million. The number of discouraged workers increased from 1.28 million to 1.32 million (about 40,000). Discouraged workers have increase 389,000 since the same period last year. Discouraged workers are people who have not looked in the past 4 weeks because they believe no work is available, could not find work, lack training or employer discrimination. Part-time for economic reasons” workers dropped by 29,000.
Of related interest, ADP, released it’s employment report on Wednesday, Jan 5th, 2011 which showed an increase of 297,000 jobs created between November and December. Economist believe employment must grow by 150,000 jobs to keep up with population growth. However, most models have fixed labor participation rates.
v2
Monday, January 3, 2011
Reverse 90 Campaign by Philly African-American Chamber of Commerce
The Philadelphia African American Chamber of Commerce is promoting Black Businesses to Black consumers. The program is name for the 90 percent of African Americans who do not patronize Black businesses. The official website is here.
The site advertises businesses that agree to give discounts and deals to customers offered though the website. I counted five restaurants and and thirteen retail shops currently listed.
The site advertises businesses that agree to give discounts and deals to customers offered though the website. I counted five restaurants and and thirteen retail shops currently listed.
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