Archive for January, 2009

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Good News For Virginia Jobs

Tuesday, January 27th, 2009

Governor Timothy M. Kaine has announced that Harris Teeter, Inc., will invest $101 million to open a food distribution operation in King George County, creating 335 jobs in Virginia. The facility will service existing storefronts in the Virginia market and expand service in Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. Virginia successfully competed with Maryland and North Carolina for the project.

“I am pleased that King George County will serve as the location for Harris Teeter’s first Virginia food distribution operation,” said Governor Kaine. “Harris Teeter is an exciting, well-known brand in the Commonwealth and will certainly increase its presence with an investment of this magnitude. King George and Virginia as a whole will also benefit from more than 300 new job opportunities.”

Harris Teeter, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ruddick Corporation and headquartered in Matthews, North Carolina, is a food market chain that operates in the eight-state area of North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Maryland and Delaware. The company also operates stores in the District of Columbia. Ruddick Corporation is traded on the NY Stock Exchange at RDK. Harris Teeter has approximately 21,000 employees.

“The factors that attracted us to this site were its location, workforce potential and proximity to major highways that supplement our logistics network,” said Larry Cooper, Vice President of Distribution for Harris Teeter. “We will be finalizing our overall evaluation process during a 90 day due diligence period as outlined in the contract. We look forward to and are excited about our partnership with King George County and are appreciative of the Governor’s Opportunity Fund’s assistance with our proposed new distribution center,” added Cooper.

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with King George County and the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance to secure the project for Virginia. Governor Kaine approved $200,000 from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund to assist King George County with the project. The Virginia Department of Business Assistance will provide training assistance through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program.

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Informal Background Checks

Sunday, January 25th, 2009

With the economy struggling, many employers are finding that more people than ever are applying for available positions. This means that hiring managers are being overwhelmed by large piles of resumes. Employers also have to deal with budget cuts, which had made it more difficult to weed through applicants. As a result of less money to spend on things like background checks(click here), many hiring mangers are turning to the Internet to find out who applicants really are before they hand out job offers.

These informal background checks have been made easier by the increasing popularity of social networking sites and online communities. Since many people see the Internet as anonymous, even if their name is clearly visible, they often let their private side out online without thinking about who could see it. The problem with this is that, unless profiles are made private, sites like Myspace and Facebook have made it easy to simply search for someone’s information.

Several things in particular are turn-offs to hiring managers using this method to find out about job seekers. Pictures can often cause the most trouble. Many times, hiring mangers decide against a candidate because of images that are too sexual in nature, show the individual drunk or are drug related. Even if the picture was taken as a joke it can come across the wrong way to an employer who doesn’t know the full story behind the image.

Blogs can also get you into a lot of trouble. Those who express opinions that are or can be taken as extremist or intolerant in nature usually don’t get hired if a hiring manger happens to take the time to read what they have written. Since harassment and discrimination lawsuits are very serious and have a huge impact on business, this is easy to understand.

Admitting or referencing participation in anything violent or illegal will also have HR managers tossing your resume in the trashcan. Businesses can not afford to risk the danger of having their other employees around someone who is involved in anything of this nature. With office place theft costing so much money, those who admit to anything of the sort won’t be hired.

Some businesses will decide against an applicant based on the excessive use of foul language. Since this is consider offensive by many, few HR mangers want to have to deal with the trouble such unprofessional attitudes can cause.

Those who do not want to have worry about every little thing placed on their personal pages should consider changing their privacy settings so that only their friends have access to them. This can easily solve the problem altogether. If you do desire to have information that an employer can view that is not of such a private nature, some experts suggest creating a second, more professional profile.

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12,000 New Jobs in Las Vegas

Saturday, January 24th, 2009

Over the last six months jobs in Las Vegas have been harder to come by. With the economy struggling, fewer people can afford to travel to the area, let alone spend ridiculous sums of money gambling. Add to this the depressed housing market and it’s no surprise that unemployment has been on the rise.

Since June of 2008 the jobless rate in Vegas has gone from 6.5 percent to 7.9 percent in November, which is the highest it’s been in over 20 years. During the last six months unemployment has not remained steady or decreased even once. Although the data for December has yet to released, most experts expect that it will continue to follow this trend.

All of this makes it understandable how any new Las Vegas jobs would be reason to celebrate. MGM Mirage is currently causing the most excitement in the area as it recently began accepting applications for 12,000 positions at its CityCenter hotel and casino. At this time, this large number of new jobs is considered to be one of the largest employment opportunities at a single employer in the country.

These new Vegas jobs aren’t just for those who can deal blackjack. Since CityCenter is a hotel, casino, condo and shopping center combo, MGM is planning on hiring for everything from house keeping to hotel management and entertainment to financial and HR specialists. In order to run an establishment of this size, the company will need a little bit of almost everything.

With so many out of work, MGM has already received a startling number of resumes. According to ABC News, on January 14th the company had already taken applications from over 35,000 interested job seekers, giving their HR team plenty of would-be workers to choose from. Their HR Chief told the news giant that they are expecting to receive somewhere no less that 100,000 resumes before the end of hiring.

Many worry that the MGM has overstepped itself by creating such a huge new complex during a time of economic trouble. Last year there was a 26 percent decline in gambling revenue and a 15 percent decrease in the number of flights into the area, which shows just how few tourists are living it up in Vegas now that living from day-to-day has become the norm. Still, the new jobs are greatly needed and should boost the local economy in a noticeable way.

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Mechanical Engineering Jobs Courses Merge at Cornell

Thursday, January 22nd, 2009

Some students preparing for mechanical engineering jobs at Cornell University may have a kink thrown into their plans.

The College of Engineering is looking at one less department this year, as the Department of Theoretical and Mechanical Engineering has merged with the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. The move is being met with mixed feelings among students and faculty, according to an article by The Cornell Daily Sun.

The merger became official when the Theoretical and Mechanical Engineering department’s budget merged with the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering budget at the beginning of this year. However, the department itself won’t cease to exist until 2010. In the meantime, a faculty transition committee will help develop a plan to implement the merger. It also has been made clear that no employees will lose their jobs.

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Chicago Jobs Cut At United Airlines

Thursday, January 22nd, 2009

UAL Corporation, the holding company whose primary subsidiary is United Airlines, reported results for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2008, and the news wasn’t good for jobs in Chicago, where the company is headquartered.

UAL:

  • Reported a fourth quarter pre-tax loss of $547 million excluding non-cash, net mark-to-market hedge losses and certain accounting charges outlined in note 5 of the attached statement of consolidated operations. Including these items the company reported a pre-tax loss of $1.3 billion.
  • Reported basic and diluted loss per share for the fourth quarter of $4.22 excluding non-cash, net mark-to-market hedge losses and certain accounting charges. Including these items the company’s loss per share was $9.91.
  • Reported solid revenue performance with a 4.7 percent increase year-over-year in fourth quarter consolidated passenger unit revenue per available seat mile (PRASM), excluding Mileage Plus accounting impacts. Including these impacts, consolidated PRASM increased 2.1 percent year-over-year.
  • Held its mainline non-fuel unit costs per available seat mile (CASM) for the quarter, excluding certain accounting charges, to an increase of only 1.6 percent year-over-year, despite reducing mainline capacity by 11.7 percent year-over-year. Mainline CASM including fuel and certain accounting charges for the quarter was up 20.8 percent versus the fourth quarter of 2007, primarily due to the impact of hedge losses.
  • Raised nearly $390 million in cash in the fourth quarter through various activities including aircraft financings, asset sales and equity issuances.
  • Recorded its best fourth quarter on-time performance since 2004.

“Last year was by any measure a challenging year – defined by unprecedented volatility and unpredictability, but for United it was also characterized by steady and durable improvements,” said Glenn Tilton, United chairman, president and CEO. “Our management team made timely decisions that resulted in fundamental improvements across our business, which will hold us in good stead in 2009.”

United is taking additional steps in 2009 to reduce overhead costs. The company will further reduce the number of salaried and management employees by approximately 1,000 positions by the end of 2009. This is in addition to the 1,500 positions the company announced in the second quarter, and when completed, will bring the total reduction in its salaried and management staff to approximately 2,500, or more nearly 30 percent, since the beginning of 2008.

“Our industry continues to be challenged by a volatile fuel and revenue environment, and against that backdrop, we are delivering strong cost results even as we reduce capacity and improve quality,” said John Tague, executive vice president and chief operating officer. “Our operational performance continues to improve, benefiting from reduced capacity, new runways and, most importantly, the work of our people, who are focused on running a good airline for our customers and our investors.”

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Jobs in Atlanta

Saturday, January 10th, 2009

Finding a job in Atlanta wasn’t easy this past year, according to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Between November of 2007 and November of 2008 the metro area lost 66,100 jobs, which caused it to be the 99th worst metropolitan area out of 100 in the country for job growth during this time period. Only four other metros lost over 50,000 jobs from their private sector in the 12 month span; Los Angeles, Miami-Fort Lauderdale and Phoenix.

In November, unemployment in the area rose from October’s 6.7 percent to 7 percent. When compared to the previous year, this is a drastic increase. During November of 2007 only 4.1 percent of residents were unable to find Atlanta area jobs.

In that month alone, employers did way with approximately 11,700 jobs. This means that the economic recession that has been plaguing the nation is certainly affect Georgia’s capital in a devastating manner.

All of this doom and gloom makes it even more important that 300 new Atlanta jobs will soon be created when Kohl’s Department Stores opens two stores in the metro area this March. The company has already begun to accept applicants for these positions through their website. They will also be holding a job fair between January 11th and 15th in the city in hopes of attracting workers.

With so many unemployed, Kohl’s will likely receive an overwhelming number of applications. Because of this, it is important that interested job seekers edit their resumes and make sure that they are void of the small mistakes that cause hiring mangers to trash applications. These include misspelled words, grammatical errors and falsified information.

The company plans to hire workers for everything from customer service positions and cash register operators to employees responsible for unloading new shipments. Both full-time and part-time positions will be available.

Currently the Wisconsin-based Kohl’s operates 1,004 stores in 48 states, 21 of which are located in the Atlanta area.

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Catholic Church Helps Those Without Jobs in Rhode Island

Friday, January 9th, 2009

Employers that are currently hiring for jobs in Rhode Island recently received good news. In order to aid out of work parishioners, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence has announced that it will be offering space for job announcements in it’s weekly newspaper for free. The ads will be printed on January 29th.

Since Rhode Island’s unemployment was 9.3 percent in November, many people stand to benefit from information about which companies are hiring. With budgets tight, employers in the area may need the ability to recruit workers without spending the usual amount for job listings. In this situation, it seems everyone wins.

Currently there are approximately 50,000 people in the state claiming unemployment benefits, according to the state Department of Labor and Training. Many experts expect that the Rhode Island job situation will only continue to worsen. The jobless rate in the area will likely hit 10 percent or higher before the end of the year say economic analysts.

At this time the Rhode Island Catholic prints around 30,500 copies of the paper. It is planning on donating half a page to employers looking for new workers. This translates to around 2.5 percent of its weekly ad space.

For the most part, the paper charges $25 for a yearly subscription, however, many readers receive it for free as a result of their donation to the annual Catholic Charity Fund.

The Rhode Island job announcements are only part of the Diocese’s efforts to help the problems the economy has caused for many in the state. Ads will also be placed on the newspaper’s Web site, which means that employers are basically receiving two advertisements. Since many job search engines spider the Internet and retrieve listings from a variety of sources, this information could end up in a variety of different places.

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Jobs in Texas Continue to Grow

Thursday, January 8th, 2009

Finding a job in Texas is much easier than trying to locate employment in much of the nation, according to the most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Several different metro areas in the state managed to post large year-over-year job gains, despite the struggling economy.

Statistics from the Bureau shows that employers in the Austin area created a total of 6,200 jobs between November of 2007 and November of 2008, causing the city to ranked 10th in the nation for job growth. Other major metro areas that made the list include Houston, where 42,400 jobs were added in 12 months and Dallas-Forth Worth, which added 35,100 new employment opportunities. Aside from these two areas, no other major U.S. market managed to add more than 15,600 jobs in their private-sector in this time period.

Another city in Texas that posted large job growth last year was San Antonio, where employers created a total of 11,700 new jobs. This caused the city to be listed as 4th in the nation as far as job growth goes.

While the Texas job market continues to grow, the rest of the nation isn’t so lucky. According to the Bureau’s data, only one-fifth the largest metropolitan areas in the nation managed to create any new jobs at all. A total of 78 of these markets reported they lost jobs, 21 posted gains and only one remained the same.

The worst metro for jobs during the 12 month period ended up being Detroit. Employers in the area cut a total of 67,700 private-sector jobs in the last year. Since jobs continued to decline into November, Detroit has now had 38 straight months of losing jobs.

Only four other major metro areas reported job losses in the excess of 50,000. This small list included, Atlanta, which had expected to gain a significant number of employment opportunities earlier in 2007, Los Angeles, Miami-Fort Lauderdale and Phoenix.

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Pre-Employment Test Help Offered by City College

Monday, January 5th, 2009

One college is helping students prepare for a local company’s pre-employment test.

Fresno City College recently began offering a course that prepares students for Pacific Gas & Electric Co.’s pre-employment test. Those who pass the test, aimed at hiring workers for maintenance and construction jobs, have the opportunity to secure California jobs with starting salaries of $70,000 per year.

To help with the cost of the course, PG&E gave the college $30,000 to help start a vocational education program. Around 30 percent of applicants often fail the company’s test, which requires math and reading skills. The college also will receive $60,000 from a state grant to help veterans return to work.

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Healthcare Jobs in Boston Cut

Monday, January 5th, 2009

Until recently, jobs in Boston in the healthcare industry have been relatively recession proof due to the necessity of the services the sector provides. According to the most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, this area of employment has seen a 2.2 percent increase in jobs since October of 2007. Despite this, one local healthcare facility will soon be laying off workers.

On December 17th Boston Medical Center announced that it will be doing away with jobs, cutting $14 million in expenses not related to its payroll and ending its working relationship with Quincy Medical Center. All of these efforts are being undertaken in order to shave off $61.5 million form the healthcare providers budget.

As a result of decreased supplemental payments for Medicaid from the state, the medical facility is planning to do away with somewhere around 250 Boston jobs. Of these positions, 130 are full-time jobs. This is expected to save the hospital $10.5 million.

The layoffs aren’t simply concentrated in one part of the medical employer’s areas of expertise. Instead, they will be spread out, which will likely lower the effect that losing these workers will have on each department. The areas of operation that stand to do away with jobs include obstetrics, ¬¬family medicine, primary care, geriatrics, pediatrics, radiology, nursing, urology, endoscopy, ophthalmology, endoscopy and the laboratory.

Jobs in Boston that will likely decrease with the healthcare provide aren’t limited to positions that effect patients directly. Administration, finance, dietary services, information technology, interpreter services and public safety will all be cutting their payrolls soon.

“When the state made the recent cuts to close the budget gap and the administration cut Medicaid and health-care funds as much as they did, Boston Medical Center felt more than its fair share of the pain,” said Elaine Ullian, who is BMC’s chief executive officer. “More than 50 percent of BMC’s patients are low-income, and they are the people who are most hurt by any reduction in access or services.”

Aside from cutting Boston job opportunities, the healthcare provider will be scaling back on physician support, insurance coverage and relationships with Quincy Medical Center throughout the next two year. By not aiding QMC alone BMC will save approximately $2 million.

The level that patient care will be affected has yet to be determined. Hopefully, BMC will find away to make these budget cuts without hurting those who matter the most.

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