Job Cuts on The Huffington Post

Economists Predict Job Losses Will Stop In Early 2010

2009-11-23T03:08:12Z

Economists expect the joblessness that has weighed down the nation's economic recovery will start to slowly abate in 2010, but they predict consumers will continue to keep a tight rein on spending, according to a new survey.

While signs have pointed to the end of the recession, joblessness remains rampant. The national unemployment rate jumped to 10.2 percent in October, the highest in 26 years. About 9 million people currently receive unemployment benefits.

Unemployment On Chicago's South Side Trails Only Detroit Nationally

2009-11-19T19:28:14Z

An analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau's 2008 American Community Survey shows that the collective unemployment rate for four Chicago community areas ranked second in the nation among similarly sized geographic areas.

State Unemployment Rate Reaches 11 Percent

2009-11-19T19:22:15Z

CHICAGO — Illinois' unemployment rate continued to climb last month, rising to its highest level in more than a quarter century, officials reported Thursday.

The Illinois Department of Employment Security reported that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rose from 10.5 percent to 11 percent between September and October, bringing the rate to its highest mark since August 1983. As recently as October 2008, the unemployment rate was 6.8 percent.

Diane Tucker: Alert The TV News Media: Obamanomics Isn't Working

2009-10-02T09:22:52Z

According to government data released today, the unemployment rate rose to a 26-year high
of 9.8 percent in September as 263,000 more Americans lost their jobs. The last president to govern with such high unemployment was Ronald Reagan in 1982. Back then, the TV news media often aired footage that showed union leaders, the unemployed, and Democrats characterizing Reagan's economic policies as sadistic. Yet for some reason, in 2009 most TV news outlets are giving President Barack Obama a free pass on equally bleak numbers.

The Business and Media Institute just released a special report that exposes the double-standard in unemployment coverage. Here are some of the major findings:

In 1982, an overwhelming majority (91 percent) of stories mentioning the Reagan Administration were negative, while in 2009 only 7 percent of Obama Administration mentions were negative.

Unemployment stories in 1982 mentioned the Reagan administration 71 percent of the time, but unemployment stories in 2009 mentioned the Obama administration only 40 percent of the time.

Shame On You, Charles Gibson: The unemployment rate reached 9.4 percent under both Reagan and Obama. But ABC's Charles Gibson covered the identical rate very differently in 1982 and 2009. Gibson told viewers on May 7, 1982, "There really isn't any good news in the statistics. All the numbers are bad." But this year Gibson turned into an optimist, saying on August 7, 2009, that he hoped "the economy may be finally turning the corner."

Instead of using stimulus money to immediately create jobs for millions of unemployed Americans, Obama first gave our taxpayer dollars to the so-called "too big to fail" financial firms, a decision some are calling a bad precedent. It's hard to argue with business journalist John Cassidy, who had this to say in the New Yorker magazine this week:

Since the federal government has now demonstrated that it will do whatever is necessary to prevent the collapse of the largest financial firms, their top executives will have an even greater incentive to enter perilous lines of business. If things turn out well, they will receive big bonuses and the value of their stock options will increase. If things go wrong, the taxpayer will be left to pick up some of the tab.

Compare Obama's strategy to the approach of former president Franklin Roosevelt, who used taxpayer dollars to provide nearly 8 million jobs between 1935 and 1943. FDR's program, while not perfect, employed people to build public buildings, projects, and roads. The program fed children, and redistributed food, clothing and housing. Today almost every community in America has a park, bridge or school constructed by Americans working for FDR's new deal agency, the Work Projects Administration.

Naturally President Obama has agreed that job creation is "the single most important thing we can do," but talk is cheap. Obama predicted the stimulus plan would likely create three to four million jobs, but that hasn't happened yet. Today 15.1 million people are unemployed in the United States, and the number is still growing. Some 52 percent have exhausted state jobless benefits, and some are reaching the end of the makeshift strands of emergency extensions.

But, hey, no worries -- the President and First Lady are appearing on all the TV news broadcasts this week, super-excited about trying to lure the Olympics to Chicago.

Obamanomics isn't just jobless, it's heartless.

* * *

UPDATE 10.02.09 Despite President Obama's whirlwind trip to promote his adopted city, Chicago was eliminated in the first round of International Olympic Committee consideration today.

Meanwhile, upon hearing the grim unemployment numbers, Obama said simply, "We'll just have to grind it out." (Easy for him to say, he's got a job.)

UPDATE 10.03.09 "Wanted: Leadership on Jobs" says the NYTimes editorial staff.

UPDATE 10.04.09 "It's the Unemployment, Stupid" says Robert Kuttner, co-editor of the American Prospect.

UPDATE 10.05.09 "Does Obama Get It?" asks Bob Herbert, NYTimes op/ed columnist.

UPDATE 11.1.09 "Are 650,000 jobs enough?" asks Benjamin F. Carlson at the AtlanticWire.

Liz Black: Hey You, with the Company: Hire Me!

2009-09-30T13:47:20Z

In an age beset by financial difficulties, hundreds of thousands of people find themselves out of work. And I, being one to follow a trend, am no different.

Having been laid off one week after my company's holiday party and one week before Christmas, (classy timing), I initially relished the time off as an opportunity to do what I "really wanted to do" ... whatever that might be. I threw myself into a creative job search, landing an internship at a high-end showroom two days after being laid off. After a few months of feet-blistering thirteen-hour days, I came to realize that I needed something even more creative to whet my artistic thirst.

I then snagged an internship at a cool, artsy magazine. After interning for barely a month I was promoted to freelance writer, a position I still currently hold and adore. Sadly it's not steady work as the magazine is only published six times a year, so while the money and experience are wonderful, I yearn for a day-to-day position.

I want to have a reason to wake up in the morning, change my clothes and get out of the house. I want to use my creative brain for something more than quirky tweets and stylish outfit choices. I want to be part of your company!

That's right. I want you to hire me for your company. It doesn't matter the field; Journalism, Marketing, Psychology (I have a bachelors in Psychology), Fashion ... I'll even try my hand at singing if it gives me sense of purpose. I know that I could be an asset at any company.

Won't you give me my golden opportunity?

Please email me at liz.j.black@gmail.com for resume requests and references.

Krisztina Holly: It's Not the Economy, Stupid

2009-08-18T13:42:53Z

Focusing on unemployment isn't the key to fueling innovation and job growth
Co-written by Jim Clifton

How can we be expected to grow and create jobs, many executives wonder, when we are shrinking?

Despite a slight easing on the unemployment rate last week, a quarter million Americans lost their jobs last month and job prospects for those out of work look bleak for the foreseeable future. Policymakers and citizens alike are concerned with how we can reduce the unemployment rate -- no easy feat when balanced with the country's and most organizations' need to slash expenses.

However, focusing on unemployment is exactly the wrong thing to do. There is a more effective way to grow -- a way that is free, does not rely on a government bail-out, and has the potential for massive societal impact: engaging employees more fully in the mission and purpose of their organizations, so that they are equipped and motivated to create new pathways to growth.

Don't get us wrong: the job numbers are critical. There are 15 million unemployed, which is a staggering number. We've lost 6.7 million since the recession began in 2007. But unemployment numbers only tell part of the story, and they do not offer a solution for relieving the economic chaos.

Instead, let's turn to the 140 million people who have jobs, and find practical ways to inspire them in their work, so we can empower them to innovate us out of a mess.

Studies have shown repeatedly that "engaged" employees -- those who work with passion and who feel a profound connection to their companies -- lead to increased customer engagement and innovation within their organizations. And these increases turn into real revenue and, eventually, more job opportunities for everyone.

This may seem obvious, but amid the crush of various urgencies, executives and managers have overlooked some crucial, elementary tasks like ensuring employees know what is expected of them and allowing them to use their talents in their roles.

Based on extensive research conducted over decades, Gallup has determined that less than 30% of the corporate workforce is truly engaged in its work. The need to better engage employees is especially crucial during a recession, when mantras such as "do more with less" can madden employees who must pick up extra duties after their colleagues are laid off, but who are offered no tangible financial incentive to innovate.

Engagement serves as an intangible incentive -- one that can be more valuable than any money can provide.

Take, for example, one store of a multi-billion dollar national electronics and appliance retailer. Executives evaluated employee engagement and discovered the store was middling at best. It was impacting morale, employee turnover, and store profits.

After polling the employees for solutions, the management implemented some significant institutional changes, like a "team close," so all team members felt jointly responsible for the nightly store closing, and not just an unlucky few.

As a result of management listening and taking risks, employee engagement improved and the store substantially lowered employee turnover and increased profits. Moreover, the changes were scaled across the 1,200-store retail chain. For every tenth of a point increase in employee engagement, each of the stores increased profits by $100,000 a year.

So consider all of those Americans who aren't inspired to put their hearts into their work. Worse still, nearly 20% are "actively disengaged" and trying to undermine all of the productive work of the few engaged employees. This is not merely a caricature of Office Space or Dilbert. Tens of millions of people deliberately clock in every day with the intention of holding back U.S. corporations' ability to compete and innovate.

This is a shame -- and yet it is an opportunity too.

This is a call to arms for all leaders. Consider the results if we were to double employee engagement at our organizations within 18 months, from 30% to 60%. It can be done. Through a disciplined effort to increase the connection and commitment of our employed, our organizations can innovate and create new solutions. This is the surest way to lower those devastating unemployment numbers. We have no excuse -- not even a bad economy.

Krisztina "Z" Holly is vice provost for innovation at the University of Southern California, and Jim Clifton is Chairman and CEO of Gallup, Inc.
This story originally ran in Businessweek.com

Leo Hindery, Jr.: It's All About Jobs!

2009-08-05T11:52:44Z

What brings together the President of the United Steelworkers from Pittsburgh, a Corporate CEO now living in New York, and the former senior U.S. Senator from Michigan?

It's all about jobs -- and the urgent need for millions of new ones.

While President Obama has spoken forcefully about laying a new foundation for the economy, one that creates good jobs and rising incomes and that moves us from an era of borrow-and-spend to one where we save and invest and are able to produce more at home than we consume, we believe that the Administration still needs to address two glaring shortcomings in its economic program.

First is the failure, aside from the emergency restructurings of Chrysler and GM, to enact an all-of-government national manufacturing and industrial policy designed to simultaneously ensure the competitiveness of US-based businesses and grow high-value jobs in America. And second is the need to begin the promised reform of our trade policies with those economies, particularly China's, that do not play by the same rules we do and occasionally even cheat.

It is also by now very clear that the economic stimulus plan passed by Congress in February will not move us toward anything approaching full employment, since by the Administration's own estimate, the plan will "save or create" (but mostly just save) only 3.5 million jobs over two years, which are just a quarter of the 13.3 million jobs effectively lost since this recession began in December 2007 and just 12% of the workers already effectively unemployed.

Even in past recessions, the number of unemployed workers not included in the official Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly figure -- that is, workers who are either part-time of necessity, marginally attached, or have quit the labor force out of frustration -- has almost never exceeded a third or so of that official number. Now, however, there are nearly a million more uncounted unemployed than counted ones, making the total number an unprecedented 30.2 million workers, instead of the official 14.7 million, and the effective unemployment rate is a staggering 18.7%, instead of 9.5%.

When, 19 months after this recession began, nearly 19% of the nation's workers are still effectively unemployed and when even the nation's current full-time employees are working only an average of 33.1 hours a week, which are the fewest hours on record since the BLS began counting in 1964, it is clear that we are already deep into a jobless recovery. And by now it is just as clear that this jobless recovery will be particularly susceptible to a new downturn, because of the way it is already feeding back on itself, and that there will be little relief for the 47 out of 50 states, whose budgets have been absolutely blasted by falling tax revenues.

Significant and timely job retention and creation overall must be an urgent priority, certainly on a par with health care reform, but these dismal macro unemployment numbers tell only the big picture part of the jobs deficit story.

Importantly, we need to be just as worried about the fact that our economy has mostly hemorrhaged jobs in the very sector -- manufacturing -- that must grow in order for us to move permanently away from debt-financed consumption as the principal engine of economic growth. And it is the current and now decades-long persistent manufacturing jobs collapse that unites the three of us as friends and as colleagues, despite coming from very different backgrounds.

Just since this recession began, manufacturing has lost 13% of its workforce; manufacturing industries now represent a meager 11.7% of GDP; people working in manufacturing now account for only 8.7% of the jobs in the country; a quarter of the nation's 282,000 remaining manufacturing companies -- 90,000 in all -- are now deemed severely "at risk"; and we have run an average annual trade deficit in manufactured goods of more than $500 billion over the past five years.

Congress and the Administration, working together, need to immediately enact a robust industrial policy that puts American workers first and is comparable to the policies of our major trading partners. And then we need to integrate this policy with efforts to be the world's dominant manufacturer of green technologies and components, which offer us such enormous opportunities.

Perhaps the biggest example today, in dollar terms, of what the failure to have our own manufacturing and industrial policy has wrought is California, which has just confronted the largest annual budget deficit in the history of the Union. California would have had a dramatically smaller deficit, or maybe even none at all, if in the state manufacturing workers today simply represented the same share of total workers as they did in the year 2000, which was 12.8%. Instead, California lost, over this period, more than 400,000 manufacturing jobs which, after considering multiplier effects, would have benefited its budget on the order of $300 billion of cumulative income taxable wages.

The need for an elaborate American industrial policy was first widely observed as far back as the early 1980s, and by 1993 some in the Clinton Administration and especially some enlightened members of Congress tried to enact such a policy. Regrettably, against great opposition from the country's major multinational companies and the "free traders," they failed, and now 16 years later, we still don't have one.

Even if some in our political leadership today still don't understand and accept this basic imperative, America's main trade competitors sure do. Each of the other members of the G-20 has such a policy, and together they are using them now to great effect to resuscitate their broken economies and further weaken ours. Germany, Japan and South Korea are doing everything possible to preserve their significant manufacturing bases, while China, which consistently accounts for 60% of the US trade deficit in manufactured goods, is particularly accelerating its efforts to grow its manufacturing sector.

We believe that two things are currently holding us back from having our own manufacturing and industrial policy -- and both need to be quickly disabused.

First, some in the Obama Administration, along with others of influence, wrong-headedly believe that one job is as good as another, whether it is in manufacturing or service. This is simply not true, and even the simplest comparison of the two sectors shows that:

Compensation in manufacturing jobs is 20% greater than in non-manufacturing jobs;

Service jobs do very little to help America's balance of trade, and mostly just move incomes around the country; and

Manufacturing has by far the largest multiplier effect of all job sectors, creating 1.40 of additional economic activity for each 1.00 of direct spending, 2.5 other jobs on average for each job in it, and, at the upper end, 16 associated jobs for each high-tech manufacturing job.

Second, these same individuals assume, again with no supporting evidence, that new jobs associated with exported services will make up for past and future manufacturing job losses. One Administration official even said recently that America's export future resides in exporting "consulting and legal services, software, movies and medicine," which is simply impossible in dollar terms. In fact, in the future, high-quality service jobs are at least as much at risk of being offshored as are manufacturing jobs, as India and China are especially keen on seeing such jobs domiciled on their own shores.

In addition to throwing its full weight behind an all-of-government manufacturing & industrial policy, the Administration must also be willing to:

"Pick winners" from Main Street and then support them, because all other developed nations and China do so every day, to great competitive effect. (Right now, the only "winners" being picked and seriously supported seem to be those residing on Wall Street, which is sadly ironic since it was largely these very same financial institution that just brought our economy to its knees.) The Administration has moved modestly in this direction with proposals to encourage private investment in wind and solar energy and by making certain modest targeted federal investments. However, it needs to do much more if we are to create new comparative advantages in these and other industries.

Fund a 10-year (not the current two-year) program of significant public investment to upgrade and rebuild our nation's infrastructure, which will provide the much-needed foundation for higher-value added production and advanced business services.

Adopt "Buy American" requirements related to all federal procurement, which now makes up about 20% of the US economy. America appears to be the only nation among the major developed nations and China without a significant "buy domestic" procurement program, and we need one desperately for our own economic recovery and global competitiveness.

Enact major corporate tax reform to incent corporations to create jobs here and to eliminate the current incentives for them to relocate manufacturing and service jobs abroad. This reform should include reducing the corporate income tax and payroll tax and moving to a value-added-tax or VAT to replace that lost revenue.

Make loans and credit facilities readily available to the nation's small and medium size businesses and manufacturers, which desperately need them while the likes of Goldman Sachs and the major banks are succoring off of US Government guarantees and TARP monies but not lending to these smaller companies. (How foolish indeed was it to let CIT, which every day loans money to 950,000 small and medium size businesses, essentially fail for lack of an "angel" in the Treasury Department, while Treasury continues to resuscitate but barely reform the errant Wall Street banks that precipitated this financial crisis.)

However, not even a broad new national industrial policy can right our economic ship without there also being complementary trade policies that prevent other economies from gaining unfair competitive advantages.

The Administration and Congress also need to immediately move away from our past decades of misguided trade policies and demand trade agreements that have meaningful labor and environmental standards and forbid illegal subsidies and currency manipulation. At the same time, we need to dispense with "one size fits all" trade agreements that ignore significant differences in levels of development, forms of government, and reciprocity.

But most immediate and most important, we still need the fundamental reworking of our trade relationship with China that was promised during the Campaign, which despite two major Administration encounters already with them has yet to occur.

China's massive trade surplus with the United States -- a staggering $277 billion of manufactured goods just in 2008 -- is mostly the result of its severely undervalued currency, massive legal and sometimes illegal subsidies to its own manufacturers, and very aggressive policies to induce foreign corporations to shift their production facilities and technology to it. These policies have already cost us millions of jobs, and they will keep costing us jobs until they are fixed.

Challenging China over its unfair trade practices is not just necessary for the future of US manufacturing jobs -- it is also critical for the world economy. The global economy simply can't function if the third-largest individual economy runs current account surpluses on the order of 8 to 10% of GDP, as China has done consistently for the past few years.

These are truly unprecedented times, and thus looking at past business cycles and responses for the answers is likely to be of only very limited relevance and utility, as too many in the Administration and Congress seem to do by ideological reflex. Instead, we need, as soon as possible, an Emergency National Summit on Manufacturing, to be attended by relevant Cabinet officers, the bipartisan leadership of both Houses of Congress, and a small number of the top corporate and labor leaders on this issue. We also need an activist executive branch and Congress willing both to turn around the excessive laissez faire and deregulatory approaches of the last eight and, in some cases, the last thirty years, and to enact that national manufacturing & industrial policy we are calling for.

Our national goals, in the medium term, must be to near fully employ those 30 million currently unemployed American workers, and in the process to more than double the number of Americans working in manufacturing, which is the least amount needed to get our economy back on track sustainably. It's all about jobs -- whatever it takes!

Leo Hindery Jr. is chair of the Smart Globalization Initiative at the New America Foundation and an investor in media companies. He is the former CEO of AT&T Broadband and its predecessors, Tele-Communications, Inc. and Liberty Media. Leo W. Gerard is international president of the United Steelworkers and a member of the executive council of the AFL-CIO. Former Michigan Senator Donald W. Riegle Jr. is also a member of the Smart Globalization Initiative and chair of government relations at a global advisory company. He was chair of the Senate Banking Committee from 1989 to 1994.

Chicago Area Unemployment Hits 11.3 Percent

2009-07-23T13:25:18Z

The unemployment rate in the Chicago metropolitan area continued to surge in June, reaching 11.3 percent, up from 6.9 percent a year earlier and the highest level since July of 1983, the Illinois Department of Employment Security said Thursday.

Unemployment Rises To 10.3 Percent

2009-07-16T16:18:29Z

CHICAGO (AP) -- Illinois' unemployment rate rose to 10.3 percent in June.

That's the highest rate since 1983, and it's up from 10.1 percent in May.

Nationally, June unemployment was 9.5 percent. That was also a 26-year high.

Illinois Department of Employment Security Director Maureen O'Donnell says the pace of job loss across the state has slowed for three straight months. She says that's a sign Illinois is starting to recover from the recession.

The state lost 5,400 construction jobs in June and 2,800 manufacturing jobs.

The total number of unemployed Illinoisans in June was 683,300. That's more than in any month since November 1983.

-ASSOCIATED PRESS

Chicago Region Unemployment Reaches 26-Year High

2009-06-25T20:12:49Z

Unemployment in metropolitan Chicago has reached a level not seen since August 1983.

Christine Lias: Getting Fired Is A Great Opportunity To Serve Your Community

2009-06-25T10:11:26Z

It was the most humiliating moment of my life. But a blessing in disguise.

Back in February 2008, I was working in production for a marketing firm in Marin, California. The company was arranged in "teams," with about 20 members working for individual clients. Just the day before that one particular day, one of my team-mates sent an e-mail to the group commending my work on our project. I felt good about my efforts, my co-workers and my place within the company. But everything changed very rapidly the following day at about 4 p.m. when I got a call to come upstairs to the Human Resources office. I had no idea that I was going to lose my job at that moment, along with a handful of others.

On the drive home to San Francisco, I remember feeling a mixture of emotions. There was this glorious sunset to the west across the Golden Gate Bridge, and I felt a release of all the tension, all the late nights working 10, 12, 14 hours on deadline, all gone. Deep down, I knew that I did not like working in marketing and advertising. But I also felt a sense of anger and confusion, wanting to know why I was let go and not my colleague sitting next to me. When I got home, I called my mother and my father. I opened my laptop computer and immediately got to work e-mailing people and figuring out what I was going to do next. The director of HR had given me a stack of pamphlets, and I set them aside for later.

At the time of losing my job, I was 30 years old and single. I was living in San Francisco in a small, fairly pricey studio apartment and had a stack of bills to pay. I was terrified on what to do. My job at the marketing firm was not my dream job, but it paid well and provided benefits. My background is in journalism, and I earned my BS in print journalism. I had worked at several Bay Area newspapers from 1999 to 2005. After my last newspaper was sold to the former Knight Ridder corporation, I took a transitional contract job at Kaiser Permanente that lasted just until the marketing firm. That's why I was so proud to have the marketing gig I had. It was secure, or so I thought.

Right before I lost my job, I began to volunteer at a domestic violence nonprofit called La Casa de las Madres in San Francisco. This was an organization that I first heard about when I was working at Kaiser Permanente. October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and the regional Oakland Kaiser office that I worked in had booths dispensing literature at lunch. At that time, I was transitioning out of journalism and trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life in 2007. I was considering law school as a possibility, and had an informational lunch with one of the Kaiser attorneys. She looked over my resume and suggested an internship or volunteering with a nonprofit, and suggested La Casa de las Madres as a possibility. It just so happened they were in the lobby of my work building, and I picked up some contact literature.

I maintained contact with La Casa, which requires 40 hours of volunteer training. When I lost my job in February 2008, I was in the middle of my training. After I became unemployed, I had more time to commit to volunteering. I began to do community outreach functions for La Casa, particularly during the workweek when the nonprofit had more difficulty finding other volunteers for calendar reasons. I also volunteered in the Women's Shelter with cooking for 40 women and children, providing childcare at night, and also working the crisis hotline as needed.

It was through this experience that led me to gain an interest in nonprofits and the social service sector of San Francisco. Every time that I volunteered (I know this sounds corny and trite) but I felt as if I had a positive and applicable impact on someone. The corporate sector makes money, but the nonprofit sector is more interested in making an impact on the world and on people's lives. The latter began to appeal to me more last year. I also had a transitional shift in the way I lived my life, and learning to make do with less. I never went to a soup kitchen or food bank, but being unemployed, you learn empathy just because your standard of living plummets. You can better understand what poor people are going through because you yourself have to cut those same corners as well.

Last fall, I decided to apply for the Master's of Public Administration program at San Francisco State University. I had been thinking about a higher degree to accentuate my BS for several years. That week in fall 2008, was almost like a light switch for me. I had gone on three rounds of interviews for a job, and been turned down in the end, passed over for someone with more experience. I was over my boyfriend John's house, when I made the decision (and I had been weighing the MPA program at San Francisco State, along with several other universities) to apply. I then took the time to round up the necessary transcripts, letters, my letter, etc., and sent them off to the department.

When the chairwoman called me on my cell phone several weeks later to congratulate me, my legs started to shake. "You're going to get a letter in the mail in a few days. I wanted to let you know that you've been accepted into the department. Congratulations!" she said.
Acceptance into the program is a positive in my life and a roadmap for the next few years.

August J. Pollak: The Obama Secret Army Job Corps

2009-06-22T06:17:38Z

Right-wing fears of a massive army of Obama underlings ignore how beneficial that would actually be for the job market.

To see more of August J. Pollak's cartoon "Some Guy With a Website," check out the archive.

Layoffs At The Art Institute

2009-06-19T17:15:58Z

The Art Institute of Chicago has laid off 22 employees, or 3 percent of its staff, as part of a larger series of cost-cutting measures.

Illinois Unemployment At 10.1 Percent, Highest In 25 Years

2009-06-18T14:48:55Z

CHICAGO (AP) -- Illinois' unemployment rate reached 10.1 percent in May, the highest it's been in 25 years.

The Illinois Department of Employment Security says another 17,400 jobs were lost in May, mostly in manufacturing. That brings the total number of unemployed to 671,400.

However, fewer jobs were lost in May than in April, when the unemployment rate stood at 9.4 percent.

IDES Director Maureen O'Donnell says the next phase of the recession will probably include a slowdown in job losses - though the unemployment rate likely will continue to rise.

The national unemployment rate in May was 9.4 percent.

-ASSOCIATED PRESS

Exelon Laying Off 500

2009-06-18T10:53:51Z

Exelon Corp. plans to cut about 500 jobs and is reworking the duties of several executives, the company said Thursday.

10,000 State Employees Could Lose Jobs: Quinn Administration

2009-06-16T11:58:47Z

CHICAGO, Ill. (AP) -- About 10,000 state employees could lose their jobs unless lawmakers come up with a new budget.

That's the number Gov. Pat Quinn's administration is talking about as officials try to pressure lawmakers to pass an income tax increase to prevent billions of dollars in service cuts.

To highlight these possible cuts, Quinn is scheduled to appear Tuesday at a Chicago apartment building that allows senior citizens to stay in their homes instead of going to a nursing home. It's one of the services Quinn says will have to be cut without more money.

Quinn and legislative leaders are negotiating over an alternative budget. The governor wants lawmakers to pack their bags and get ready to be back in Springfield next week.

Quinn's office estimates the budget lawmakers approved has a $9.2 billion hole in it.

-ASSOCIATED PRESS

Fred Whelan and Gladys Stone: Closed Your Small Business and Now Need a Job

2009-06-08T16:44:57Z

This recession has been a killer -- in fact, it killed your small business. After years of being your own boss, now you've got to pitch yourself as a "company person" -- someone who can thrive in corporate America.

It wasn't easy, but you got over the emotional hurdle of no longer being the boss. The hard part now is convincing a prospective employer that you can make this transition. How do you go about doing that?

1. Connect the Dots: In an interview you need to show how your experience matches what they are looking for. Since you're not coming from a corporate position, you'll have to work harder to sell your relevant experience. Figure out beforehand the most pertinent responsibilities for this job and describe how your experience meshes. Obviously, as a small business owner you wore a lot of hats. Focus just on the "hats" that are required for this job.

2. Address the Psychological Aspect of Not Being the Chief : One of the main things the interviewer might be wondering is, will you be okay not being the boss? Let them know that this transition is something you feel good about, not a necessary evil. Focus on how your experience as a small business owner can be leveraged into your new long-term career goal. Maybe you got a lot of experience in guerilla marketing, financial management or sales, and realized that the sales part of the job is what you really want to focus on. Or maybe you liked it all and now want to be a general manager -- with more resources than you could possibly have in your own company. You're okay not being the boss because there are other ways to advance your career. And being part of a bigger company allows you to do more of the things you love, rather than all the ancillary things you had to do in your small business.

3. Discuss How You Are a Thinker & Doer : Everyone knows that as a small business owner you had to be "hands-on." Larger companies, many of which are contracting, look for a combination of thinking and doing. Focus on how you were hands-on especially when it came to customers. Too many people in large companies are removed from customer contact, which causes them to make decisions in a vacuum. Because you've had the experience of resolving customer problems and understanding their needs, you can add value. Your expertise of doing was combined with your strong strategic thinking. Describe how you grew the business with minimal resources.

4. Talk About Being Collaborative: Nowadays companies look for people who can be successful as an influencer and as part of a decision making team. One concern the interviewer might have is that there was no need for you to be collaborative -- after all, you were the boss. Give them an example of how you were able to get people who weren't working for you to respond to your needs. This could be influencing a supplier to get something to you more quickly -- with no up charge -- just because they wanted to do something special for you.

5. Don't Oversell: Don't go on about how you ran your own business and so now can do anything. Obviously, you loved your business and there were countless things you did well. But implying that you can do it all is off-putting and unrealistic. Just focus on the experience that applies to this job.

6. Managing a Team: There might be a natural bias on the part of the interviewer that mentoring fell to the bottom of your priority list as a business owner. Discuss how you mentored your team -- even if it was only a receptionist and bookkeeper. Talk about how you trained them and helped them grow professionally. If this was something that you particularly enjoyed, let them know that.

It will definitely be a transition from company owner to employee. Now that you're ready, make sure that you illustrate your desire for this career change to your prospective employer. Let them know that this is something you are embracing rather than enduring, and that this position is an important step along the way to your ultimate career goal.

Whelan Stone
Executive Search and Coaching
Authors of "GOAL! Your 30 Day Career Plan for Business & Career Success"

Stacey Radin: On the Career Couch: Career Calamity Recovery

2009-06-04T15:10:29Z

There is no doubt that termination is one of the most stressful events in life. It is an event that creates a profound sense of loss that extends well beyond financial stability and security. Accompanying job loss, there is loss of self esteem, the absence of a community of colleagues, diminished sense of purpose and meaning, and a void that is left to fill. Normal responses to job loss include anger, despair, blame of self and others, denial and disbelief. Some may also feel a sense of relief because the anticipation of job loss was no longer there or because they hated their jobs. Whatever the initial reactions, people who have been terminated vacillate from one reaction to another. Ultimately, "What now?" is the question that lingers. Unfortunately, answers may not be as immediate as desired. But, there are actions that can be taken that leads to formulating answers to that looming question.

The loss of a job can be a transformative period in your life that forces you to reflect-- it provides the time to take stock, reevaluate options, current lifestyle and goals. Psychologists have coined the term "resiliency" to describe the ability to bounce back from difficult times. People who are resilient cope well with high levels of disruptive change, sustain health and energy when under pressure, overcome adversities, and adapt to new environments and "rules" after the initial setback.

Most people have the capacity to be resilient. There may be people who tend to be more optimistic or adapt easier than others, but resiliency is not reserved for the select few. The difference lies in those who exercise their resiliency versus those who do not.

The secrets to building resiliency:

Detach from being the "victim" of circumstances
Dwelling on the why and how this happened, what you should have or could have done, how you may have handled things differently maintains negative homeostasis.
Look internally to resolve problems or make change versus relying on others to formulate solutions for you. For decades our society has socialized us to acquiesce to authority. We are told do not ask questions, cooperate, conform to those in charge and follow directions to advance your career. This sets us up to look to others, particularly those in authority, when things are disrupted. But ultimately, you are in charge of ensuring your life and career goals and objectives are achieved.

Optimism, humor and positive experiences can serve as a springboard to success.
Understand that adversity is cyclical-it is not constant. Trust that things can improve and focus on strengths and resources available to you. Pessimism is like an uncontrollable fire, spreading quickly and trapping its victims. Reflection and optimism enable you to think and process information versus becoming reactive. Engage in activities that give you positive reinforcement.

Accept and adjust to the new reality
Preventing the crisis is not in your control but you do control how to manage it. Avoidance does not make adversity disappear. Accepting the reality and committing to finding a resolution is a powerful approach to overcome hurdles.

Use your emotions constructively
When you are experiencing anger or anxiety channel these feelings. Both feelings typically are accompanied by a surge of energy. This energy can be used productively to create change. In times such as these, there may be a tendency to panic or others let fear take over. Managing fear and remaining calm will allow for increased innovation and creativity.

Look for learning opportunities
People learn a lot about themselves when faced with adversity. Pay attention to accomplishments you have demonstrated during difficult times and continually use these competencies. Some times people surprise themselves with the inner strength they actually have and the capacity to overcome struggles.

Maintain a long term perspective.
When you are experiencing stress and duress it becomes magnified by immediacy. Put this stressful event into the context of your entire life versus in the moment.

Trust your instincts
Often people ignore their instincts and are affected by others' responses to turmoil. Try to maintain objectivity and not get caught up in the emotional rollercoaster or panic of others who are unemployed. Similarly, select a few trusted advisors who can be helpful versus harmful. Friends and family may be too close to the situation to provide constructive criticism.

Commit to change
Difficult situations such as a job loss provide an opportunity to do something differently, experiment with the untried and unproven. Experiment with new strategies, new ideas and choices that may have once sounded unrealistic. Times such as these require one to be bold.

Shift the mindset from being unemployed to being employed-your job is now to find a new job.
Create your job description and role and responsibilities. Identify a strategic plan and execute. This plan should include your approach, sales and marketing techniques of the product-you, research, and implementation of the strategy. Hold yourself accountable to your plan. This is a 9 to 5 position at the very least.

Building resiliency is similar to strengthening a muscle. Initially, it seems unachievable but with repetition your perspective morphs. This continuously changing perspective can enable you to see the light at the end of the tunnel and impact your stamina to find a job. The choice is learned optimism and resilience versus learned helplessness. The choice is up to you.

Jason Mannino: Career Lessons from My Recruiting Desk Part I: Getting the Meeting

2009-06-04T11:40:14Z

This is the first in a series of articles that will draw deeply on my ten years of Talent Acquisition (recruiting) work for Fortune 500 companies throughout the entertainment and staffing industries. It is my intention for these articles to support you with real, hands-on information. I intend to draw on my experience in the trenches as a recruiter or my personal success as a job hunter. This first article outlines a couple of assertive techniques that will ask you to generate courage and confidence to take action that will help you successfully distinguish yourself from the hundreds of other applicants currently in the talent pool. However, I caution you to only execute these techniques if you are indeed very qualified for the job! Although my experience is at very large companies I assert that these techniques will work well when approaching smaller companies.

1. Stop sending your resume/profile and start having conversations
In the current employment climate I encourage you to take a more active role in your search and stop sending your resume to every Tom, Dick, Harry, and job posting you see on the internet. You may not realize it, but as soon as you submit your resume to a company you also put your career in their hands. Therefore, when you see a posting at a company that interests you, ask yourself if you have a way in other than your resume. Perhaps there is someone in your network that works for the company who you can ask to e-mail or hand your resume to the hiring manage. If you don't know anyone then do the research to find out who to talk to (with sites like linkedin.com this isn't as hard as you might think). Send them a brief (perhaps two paragraph) intro telling them why you are the solution they need and let them know that you will be calling to follow up in a couple of days. Recruiters don't want to hear this, but (if and only if you are indeed well qualified for the opportunity) one of your best ways in is through direct contact with a hiring manager. On many occasions I have met with hiring managers to discuss new openings and have been given direct leads to candidates who had made contact with them.

2. Use the telephone
I know this seems archaic in our age of technology. However, rather than leave your career up to cyberspace I encourage you to do some groundwork, figure out who to contact, and muster up the courage to make the phone call (if and only if you are indeed well qualified for the position). When you do get the hiring manager on the phone you should be prepared with a solid twenty second pitch as to why you are the solution to their problem. Then make an agreement to submit your resume directly to them along with submitting it online. Let them know that you will call to follow up in a couple of days and how much you appreciate their time. Alternatively, if you have submitted your resume online and you know you are a great candidate for the position call within one week to follow up on the status of the position. Tell them why you are someone they would want to meet and that you would like to interview for the position. Many job postings say not to call. However, if you take a strategic approach to this, understand the line between making a phone call and being a stalker, and you are indeed a solid candidate for the job than you are doing the recruiter or hiring manager a favor. In my busy recruiting days it was a service to me when a qualified candidate whose resume I had not yet seen would call to follow up. If time allowed I would open their resume immediately. If they were a great candidate, I would get very excited and start asking questions right away or schedule a better time for an interview.

3. Do your research early
If you are contacted by a company you should be prepared by having conducted some initial research. It should answer the following questions: a) What does the company do/offer? b) What is their market position and who are their competitors c) company structure d)company financials e) your understanding of the job based on the description. Most, if not all of this information is readily available on the internet. You may not be asked questions that illustrate this knowledge if they are simply calling to schedule a meeting. Nonetheless, you will be prepared.

4. Be the solution
It is not a secret that many organizations are currently struggling. Hence, more than anything, even more than your actual skill set, companies are looking to hire you as a solution to their problems. What's the problem? Figuring out how to save or generate more money. One way to clearly differentiate yourself from other candidates is to illustrate that you are the solution to this problem. You want to have clear examples of how you helped address a company's bottom line on your resume and be ready to talk about them as soon as your first conversation. This may seem challenging if you are not directly in sales, finance or accounting. Here are some examples:

Marketing: How can you quantify leads that got generated through marketing campaigns you executed? How can you quantify money you saved or helped generate based on your marketing analysis.

Product Development What kind of revenue was generated by new product launches?

Project Management How can you quantify in a dollar amount time you saved on a project?

Administrative Perhaps you supported a boss who was a key player in the sales department and can illustrate how you provided the expertise to help a system run more efficiently, which saved your boss more time to go out and close additional sales.

These techniques can be daunting for some. However, the courage you need to take assertive action in alignment with your desire to get back work is right within you! It is your vision coupled with action that will help bring your career back into reality!

Do you have a strategy you want to share or a question about "getting the meeting?" Please comment below. You never know, the story you share may just be what the person reading it needs to hear. "tweet" this article or post it to Facebook so others can benefit from this information!

***
Jason's career coaching helps you successfully navigate the unemployment jungle. He helps people bridge the practical, strategic needs of finding and managing rewarding, lucrative careers with following your life's true calling! Learn more at www.jmannino.com and e-mail him to get on the list for his upcoming e-book "Swinging Your Way Through the Unemployment Jungle" at info@jmannino.com

Jason Mannino: Are You Advertising Your Job Search?

2009-05-29T11:44:01Z

Are you advertising your job search? Twenty four hours after publishing my last article I received an e-mail from savvy, Eric Barker. This Ivy Leaguer just completed his MBA at Boston College and did a nosedive into the worst job market of our generation. So, he let his creative job search juices flow and decided to purchase ad space on Facebook to announce his candidacy, specifically to Microsoft. Honestly? When I read his e-mail I thought, "Damn, I wish I had thought of that!"

Facebook allows people to create ads for themselves on a pay per click basis. You even get to bid on how much you want to pay per click (could be as little as 10cents/click). You can also limit your spending and select a highly targeted audience. Eric's ad specifically targeted Microsoft and the text underneath his photo read, "Hi, my name is Eric and my dream is to work for Microsoft. I'm an MBA/MFA with a strong media background. Can you help me? Please click!" This is one of the most unconventional, clever job search strategies I have ever heard of. And, it is so obvious!

I got to speak with Eric, briefly, and ask him how he conceived and decided to execute the strategy. He thought it would be a good idea to show off his skills in brand marketing to a prospective employer by leveraging them in his job search. Eric said, "You have to brand yourself in a social networking environment. I saw this as an experiment in personal branding. In marketing in general and job hunting how do you break through the clutter, how do you differentiate? I differentiated myself by marketing myself in a way that proves my ability to do the job." In addition, in alignment with the suggestions I made in last week's article, Eric's ad positioned himself as a positive candidate while simultaneously targeting employers in which he was most interested.

Also, he admitted that he was curious to see if people would actually respond and reach out their hands to help. He says it was inspiring, "I'm really happy that I learned first-hand that people really want to help each other. I had my optimism confirmed. This is the most rewarding part of all." He's received media attention, significant expansion in his network, recruiters contacting him to offer their support and help (even if they don't have a job for him). He has also received interviews, including a phone interview with his target, Microsoft. What was the damage? $50!

Eric says the reason this didn't catch on sooner is because people easily allow themselves to get overwhelmed. They think it is too expensive and that it takes an engineering degree to understand. Actually, it is as simple as literally typing your text and uploading a photo.

In the interest of demonstrating the effects of social networking I am letting people know that Eric is still in the job market, and if you are interested you better move fast! You can e-mail me for his resume at info@jmannino.com

Also, please share your tips and experience with unconventional job search strategies below! You never know, you're idea may just be what the person reading it needs!

Jason's Career coaching bridges the practical, strategic elements of finding and managing your career with following your life's true calling! For a complimentary copy of his e-book, "Mind Your Mind, Manage Your Thoughts: Tips to Turn Your Mind into Your Ally" e-mail info@jmannino.com

Illinois Unemployment Rate Reaches 9.4%

2009-05-21T15:36:42Z

CHICAGO (AP) -- Illinois' unemployment rate jumped to 9.4 percent in April as companies continued to shed thousands of jobs.

The number of jobless increased by more than 24,500 last month, bringing the total number of unemployed Illinoisans to 619,500 - the most since August 1983. Most of the jobs were lost in the manufacturing and business sectors.

Last month's revised Illinois jobless rate stood at 9.0 percent. The national unemployment rate was 8.9 percent.

Illinois Department of Employment Security Director Maureen O'Donnell says workers should take advantage of job counseling and other services offered by her agency.

-ASSOCIATED PRESS

Loyola Hospital System Cutting 440 Jobs

2009-05-12T14:27:50Z

MAYWOOD, Ill. (AP) -- Loyola University Health System says it's eliminating 443 positions in the west Chicago suburb of Maywood because an increasing number of patients aren't paying their bills.

Loyola says the cost of patients who can't pay has gone up since last year by 73 percent, to $31.3 million from $18.1 million, for the nine months ended March 31.

Loyola University Medical Center will lose 372 jobs and Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine will have 71 positions cut. Those being laid off include 35 managers and 31 nurses.

The employees losing their jobs make up 8 percent of the Loyola system's workers.

Loyola says the cuts will reduce expenses by $21 million annually. Without them, the health system says it would have a more than $50 million year-end loss.

-ASSOCIATED PRESS

Grant Cardone: Unemployment Benefits Can Destroy Future Job Prospects

2009-05-08T12:28:00Z

Extended unemployment wages destroy recipient's future job prospects when taken for the full length offered by the government. While providing much needed immediate assistance, these so called "benefits," could be one of the most destructive government handouts ever offered and should carry a warning label much like those on tobacco products and prescription drugs.

WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
RECEIVING UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS FOR EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME COULD PROVE HARMFUL TO YOUR FUTURE JOB PROSPECTS, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN YOU BEING UNDESIRABLE AND UNEMPLOYABLE. IT IS RECOMMENDED TO GET EMPLOYED AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.

Before you start labeling me insensitive and uncaring with latent "right" undercurrents, know that I do understand the thinking behind these assistance programs which appear to provide support to those without work and the ridiculous hope that it would deter the economy from worsening. Also this article does not attempt to demean those that elect to receive unemployment benefits but serves as a warning that there are negative consequences.

Unemployment benefits received for any period longer that six weeks will damage the recipient's future prospects in the job market. For those that elect to receive benefits for anywhere close to the full term, understand that your next job is almost guaranteed to pay you less and the possibility exist that they individual will be forever undesirable in the job market.

How will you explain being out of the job market for 26 weeks? What happens to your skill set in that period of time? How well will you be able to compete against other applicants with a 26-week blank spot on your job record?

This may be harsh to hear and not seem fair but the marketplace is never fair. Unlike many of the readers here the marketplace has no feelings or emotions, and shows no sympathy.

It only takes a brief observation to see entire classes of people damaged long term by government handouts. Just beyond the immediate 'good' received by food stamps, unemployment and similar programs you will see entire demographics of people seduced by the immediate solution of the benefit that later either become less able or less desirable.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE UNEMPLOYED?
1) Do everything possible to make sure you immediately get back into the job
market and replace the lost job! Even if you have to take something you
consider beneath you, it is better to stay connected in the workforce with
pay than disconnected from the workforce with unemployment benefits!

2) Disregard all the talk that no one is hiring! There is always companies looking for good people that can help their company grow.

3) Do not rely on your resume or the HR department. Get your story in front of decision makers of the company.

4) Do not talk about what you have done in the past, talk about what you can
do to create a future for the company.

5) Do not go into an interview to be interviewed, go in to sell your self. Avoid communicating from the viewpoint of what the company can do for you but rather what you can do for the company.

6) Lastly, know that the only thing a company is interested in today is revenue. Anyone that can create directly or assist in revenue creation is desirable! Those that can sell their ability and willingness to do whatever it takes to assist in adding revenue to the company are always desirable regardless of the overall job market.

I expect I will get a lot of heated comments regarding this article, for the rest of you make anyone you know that may find themselves in this situation that there exist serious consequences to receiving long term unemployment benefits. Also if you know anyone that is out of work that wants to work, is responsible and willing to do whatever it takes to assist in increasing revenue to my company I am always hiring! Send a sixty second video, not a resume, on how you can help my company grow to gc@grantcardone.

Grant Cardone, Author of Sell to Survive and Sales Expert

San Francisco Chronicle Layoffs Begin

2009-05-08T10:04:25Z

The San Francisco Chronicle began laying off editorial employees Thursday, and is expected to eliminate up to 30 jobs in the latest round of staffing cuts at the troubled daily.

Chicago Unemployment Hits 9.3 Percent

2009-04-23T17:01:55Z

Metropolitan Chicago's jobless rate was 9.3% in March, a level not seen in 17 years. The rate jumped from 5.6% the same month last year.