Magic Pot of Jobs

Many employers are conducting their own informal background checks on applicants through the use of Google and social networking sites.  Although this is great way to learn more about the person being considered for a job, it can cause employers to make hiring decisions based on information they wouldn’t necessarily find out in a different sort of investigation.

Users of social networking sites such as Myspace and Facebook have a tendency to forget that they may be judged on their lifestyles.  Because of this, a large potion of employers who conduct this sort of background check often find legitimate reasons not to hire an individual.  One such example of this is admission of serious drug usage.

Whether or not it is a good idea to use these websites as part of a background check, is still debatable.  But the real problem occurs when employers reach a hiring decision based on illegal criteria.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 made it illegal for employers to discriminate against a job seeker on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex or nation of origin.  The problem with many social networking sites is that they make this information very easy to obtain.

Even employers who aren’t looking for this sort of thing are exposed to it.  If a hiring manger has even a small bias against individuals who are different from them in any way, the knowledge found on the Internet can cloud their judgment.

Although it may be hard to prove this sort of discrimination, it is still extremely unethical.  Hiring managers who are not 100 percent sure that they can behave professionally should stay away from this sort of background check.

Even those who find a legitimate reason not to hire an applicant should think twice before biasing their decision completely on information gathered this way.  If an employer discovers that the job seeker does something like habitually use illegal substances, then it is best to order a drug test to be sure or find another reason to chose a different applicant.

Rising unemployment in October showed that available jobs in Rhode Island were down last month. The state’s jobless rate, which has been the highest in the country, rose 0.5 percent to 9.3 percent, according to the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (DLT). This is the highest it’s been since in more than 25 years, with February of 1983 being the last time so many residents were without work.

During the month of October, the national average also rose by 0.4 percent to 6.5 percent.

Throughout the state, employers did away with 2,400 positions last month, bringing the number of jobs in Rhode Island down to 476,000. According to the DLT, this marked the 10^th month in a row that the state lost jobs. Currently, there are approximately 52,900 people collecting unemployment benefits in Rhode Island. Since last year, Providence Business News says that this is an increase of 23,200 new claimants.

Government jobs in Rhode Island saw the biggest decrease in October, with 1,000 positions cut by both state and city governments. Instead of laying of all of these employees, many jobs were simply stricken from the books after workers retired.

The professional and business services sector did away with 600 jobs last month. Both manufacturing and retail lost 500 positions. During the same time, construction, an already struggling industry, cut 400 jobs and transportation and utilities dropped 300 positions.

Despite rising unemployment and lost jobs, one bright spot in the job market remained. The health care industry, which has proven itself to be relatively recession proof, added 600 newly available Rhode island jobs. Wholesale trade and the catch-all category of “other services” both added 200 positions.

Interestingly enough, employers in the financial activities sector created 100 new jobs. For the most part, this industry has been struggling, making this gain especially significant for the state.

Over the last 12 month, Rhode Island employers have done away with approximately 14,500 jobs, which is a 3 percent decrease in a year’s time. According to the DLT, this is the largest year-over-year loss to occur since January of 1992.

The largest job losses happened in manufacturing, government, professional and business services, retail trade, financial activities, other services and construction. Each of the industries lost over 1,000 positions.

The average worker in the state now makes $13.98, which is 6 cents more than last year. Employees are now working 38.4 hours a week, which fell by 0.9 hours in comparison to October of 2007.

Career Protection’s® Annual 2008 Layoffs Forecast in January painted an ugly forecast of layoffs for this year, and its prediction was accurate. Over 1,375 corporate executives nationwide completed the confidential annual survey regarding reduction-in-force plans conducted by the employment law and human resources experts of CareerProtection.com. Career Protection’s® Annual Layoffs Forecast predicted a 37% increase in companies planning layoffs and reductions in workforce this year.

“This was our worst layoff forecast in the past five years, but we never expected the job cut numbers to be this large,” says Kirk Nemer, J.D., SPHR, President and CEO of Career Protection®. Major companies which recently announced layoffs include the following: Mattel, Ford, Motorola, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Nortel Networks, DHL, Sun Microsystems, Glaxo Smith Kline, HP, American Express, Xerox, PepsiCo, Merck, National City, Yahoo, eBay, General Motors, Starbucks, Whirlpool, Qwest, and Chrysler.

“It is clear that the severance package offers will not be as generous in their severance pay as they have been in the recent past.” Nemer added that, “It is more important now, more than ever, to negotiate severance package offers as they’re not a ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ situation.”

It is best to have expert employment law advice, since companies force employees to sign a Separation Agreement and Release of Legal Claims in order to receive their severance pay packages. A common mistake regarding severance pay is the belief that it is not open to negotiation. This is not true.

Career Protection® is a national leader in negotiation of employment issues, including severance pay, employment agreements and separation release agreements.

Career Protection® is the only HR and Legal Solution™ organization dedicated to assisting executives and professionals on a nationwide basis. The company’s human resources and employment law experts work to protect the careers and legal rights of their clients.

According to the D.C. Department of Employment Services (DoES), unemployment rose from 6.9 percent in August to 7 percent in September. Like many areas throughout the country, it seems to be getting more difficult to find jobs in Washington, D.C.

Although the city may be the capital of the U.S., it has now well exceeded the national unemployment rate. During the month of September, the country’s jobless rate remained 6.1 percent for the second month in a row.

Employers dropped a total of 13,500 jobs in Washington, D.C., according to the Washington Business Journal. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that manufacturing jobs continued to be down in comparison to the same time last year as did information sector and financial activities.

D.C.’s DoES said that the local government did away with around 14,700 jobs, while the federal government in the area dropped approximately 900 positions.

The second greatest job losses were reported by Washington, D.C.’s professional and business services sector, where employers did away with approximately 1,200 positions. Other areas of employment that cut jobs included financial activities, which shed 500 jobs, and information and natural resources, mining and construction. Both of the last two sectors did away with 100 jobs during the month of September.

According to data from DoES, private sector employers in the area added 12,200 jobs during the last year. In the same time, the public sector gained around 1,500 new positions. A large portion of these employment opportunities have come from the educational and health service sector, which does not seem to be as effected by outside economic factors as many other industries. This is mostly because of the necessity of many of the services it provides.

The data for Washington, D.C.’s labor market in October has yet to be released. If the national rising unemployment rate, which hit 6.5 percent last month, is any indicator, there will be more people without work in the metropolitan area.

Unemployment in Illinois dropped from 7.3 percent in August to 6.9 percent in September, according to the state Department of Labor. Although this is still higher than the national average of 6.5 percent, it was a relief for many who had been struggling to find jobs in Illinois.

One area of employment that has been suffering through the state is the retail industry. Since many people have been unable to find jobs in Illinois, the amount of money they have available for unnecessary purchases is severely limited.

Around this time of year, retailers are usually adding jobs in Illinois in hopes of aiding holiday crowds. But with experts projecting a dismal shopping season, locals can’t expect to find many temporary positions. Smaller stores may find that they have enough staff members to deal with gift buyers this year, while larger businesses will likely add fewer seasonal jobs in Illinois than they have in previous holiday seasons.

Despite the fact that retailers are struggling, there will soon be new retail jobs in Illinois. According to the Lake County Journals (LCJ), Wal-Mart has started construction on it’s new Supercenter in Round Lake Beach.

Once the giant retailer is finished, the Rollins Road Wal-Mart will close and 230 workers will be transferred to the new location. In addition to this, anywhere from 150 to 200 new Illinois jobs will be available for jobseekers, according to the company’s real estate manger Steve Nikel. With so many residents unemployed, Wal-Mart’s hiring manager should expect an abundance of applicants.

“I think it will be a positive all the way around,” said the city’s mayor, Rich Hill, to LCJ’s Stephanie Lehman. “It will give us more places to shop locally so we don’t have to go to other villages to shop. And it will increase tax revenue for the village for police protection and snow plowing and things that are very important for our village.”

According to Nikel, the new store is expected to be completed in 11 to 12 months and should be open by October of next year.

During the course of the last year, 115,000 jobs in Florida have been lost. The most recent statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that 6.6 percent of Floridians were unable to find work in the September. Currently, the national unemployment rate is 6.5 percent.

Data from the Bureau shows that nonfarm jobs in Florida fell by 1.4 percent in September. The state has not reported job gains a single time during the last six months.

According to the St. Petersburg Times large-scale layoffs have increased by 40 percent in Florida so for this year in comparison to last. Although job losses are relatively high statewide, the St. Petersburg Times reported that employment in the Tampa Bay area remains a bright spot in an otherwise bleak economic situation.

Compared to the rest of Florida, jobs in Tampa Bay aren’t disappearing at a rapid rate. The newspaper went on to report that only 3,087 positions have been lost in the area due to mass layoffs or plant closings during the course of this year.

Statistics from the Bureau show that, over all, manufacturing jobs in Florida fell by 5.8 percent in September. During the same month, the Tampa Bay metropolitan area only experienced a drop of 3.3 percent. This has been on of the areas of employment that has been hit the hardest in Florida.

While six of the areas of employment monitored by the Bureau in Florida reported losing jobs, only five in Tampa followed this trend. The industry that lost the most jobs in Tampa was construction, where employment fell by 9.5 percent. The housing market slump has caused serious issues for this sector throughout the state, which still has one of the highest rates of foreclosure in the nation.

One of the industries that has suffering the most in the nation is the financial sector. Employers throughout the country are laying off workers left and right, but not in Tampa. The city actually posted a 0.2 gain in financial activities.

The largest increase of jobs in Tampa in September occurred in educational and health services, where employment increased by 2 percent. Overall, jobs in Florida in this sector grew by 3.5 percent. Nationwide this industry has proven to be relatively recession proof.

Many people expect that once president-elect Obama takes over the Oval office, that the economy and job market will improve. Prior to the election Beyond.com Inc conducted a poll and found that 53 percent job seekers planned to vote for the Senator. Now, Heather Huhman of Atlanta’s Examiner.com says that Obama’s administration will be good for the entry level job market.

“President-elect Obama has talked about a number of steps he will take that should create growth in the entry-level market,” Andrea Rice, who is the president and co-founder of Gotta Mentor, told Huhman. “His $150 billion commitment to driving a new clean energy economy is projected to create five mill new jobs over the next 10 years. Investment in our national transportation infrastructure will also drive new entry level opportunities for engineers, project managers and other skilled and unskilled positions.”

Rice went on to say that one of the best areas for employment right now is the federal government sector. Since this industry involves positions in all fields, it is a great place to look for entry level jobs. Still, according to Huhman, Rice believes that finding work won’t be easy for those who will finish school soon.

“The harsh reality, however, is that the entry-level job environment will remain challenging, certainly for 2009, and possibly 2010, graduates,” said Rice.

So far, president-elect Obama has made a lot of promises as to energizing the economy and creating work at all career levels, like most politicians do. For now, America’s college students and recent graduates will have to sit back and wait to see if more entry level jobs will be created.