WORKzology

Top 10 Best And Worst Job Markets In The USA (2009)

2009-09-29T15:06:00.000-07:00

Here is a list of the top 10 best and worst job markets in the United States for 2009 as follows:

TOP TEN BEST

1.Wyoming
2.Louisiana
3.South Dakota
4.Oklahoma
5.Texas
6.North Dakota
7.West Virginia
8.Utah
9.Nebraska
10.Mississippi

TOP TEN WORST

1.Michigan
2.Rhode Island
3.Florida
4.Nevada
5.Delaware
6.Vermont
7.New Jersey
8.California
9.Conneticut
10.District Of Columbia

According to combined Gallup Poll Daily tracking for all of 2008, oil-producing states Wyoming, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas took four of the top five spots as the "best state job markets." By way of contrast, long economically depressed Michigan and housing disaster states Florida and Nevada took three of the four "worst state job market" spots.

These results are based on aggregated data from more than 100,000 interviews with employed adults in 2008. Gallup asked those who were employed whether their companies were hiring workers and expanding the size of their labor forces, not changing the size of their workforces, or laying off workers and reducing the number of employees they had. The figures reported here represent the net difference between the percentage reporting an expansion and the percentage reporting a reduction in their workforces.

Over the course of 2008, nationwide and in each state, this net score was positive. However, over the last several weeks it has been near zero or negative as job losses have mounted.

In addition to South Dakota and the four oil-producing states mentioned above, other "best job market" states include oil states like North Dakota, those benefiting from coal like West Virginia, and farm states with comparatively good economies from ethanol and a strong commodities market like Nebraska. Financial-crisis states in the Northeast, including Rhode Island, Delaware, Vermont, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Maine are some of the "worst job market" states, as is the housing crash state of California.

The second quintile of "better job market" states includes those with comparatively better economies because they are also energy-related, like Alaska, and farm-related, like Kansas. Similarly, the second-worst quintile of "poor job market" states have economies damaged by the financial debacle, like New York; the manufacturing depression, like Ohio; and the housing disaster, like Arizona.

Not surprisingly, there is a great deal of overlap between state job-market conditions and state consumer confidence. Eight of the best job-market states are in the top 10 in terms of consumer confidence and 6 of the worst job-market states are in the bottom 10 in consumer confidence. (The full data for all states appear at the end of the article.)

Bubble Economics

The state job-market results for 2008 tend to reflect the "bubble" economics of recent years. For example, the fallout from the housing-bubble collapse has cratered the job market in many states, as has the crash of the financial services bubble. For the year as a whole, the energy and commodities bubbles created some comparatively good job-market conditions, but now that those bubbles have burst, many of those states that had the best job markets in 2008 are beginning to experience bubble-bursting fallout in their job markets.

The reality is that all of the recent business-sector and geographic bubbles have produced tremendous economic uncertainty and instability. In turn, Gallup's net new hiring measure shows that these economic conditions have produced a crashing job market throughout 2008. While the net new hiring numbers were positive for 2008 as a whole, they were negative as the year came to a close, indicating that job losses continue to accelerate -- surging past the 100,000-a-week rate.

Right now, everyone seems to be counting on the Federal Reserve and the federal government to stop the bleeding. The question is whether this proposed "solution" will stimulate the real private-sector economy, increasing the demand for new employees and creating new jobs, or will simply end up creating another unsustainable government spending bubble.

Survey Methods

Results are based on telephone interviews with 112,276 employed adults, aged 18 and older, conducted in 2008 as part of Gallup Poll Daily tracking. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±1 percentage point.

The maximum margin of sampling error for the states ranges from ±1 percentage point for large states such as California to as high as ±8 percentage points for the District of Columbia.

Interviews are conducted with respondents on land-line telephones (for respondents with a land-line telephone) and cellular phones (for respondents who are cell-phone only).

In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls. Click Here for Net New Hiring Index By State Survey Results Chart

(source: Gallup.com)

Top 10 Employers For Workers Over 50 (2009)

2009-09-15T02:00:00.000-07:00

Here are the Top 10 (well 50 actualy) employers for workers over the age of 50 (2009 edition)...

2009 Winners
1. Cornell University
2. First Horizon National Corporation
3. National Institutes of Health
4. The YMCA of Greater Rochester
5. National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
6. S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc.
7. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
8. Stanley Consultants
9. Brevard Public Schools
10. George Mason University
11. City of Glendale, Arizona
12. Securian Financial Group
13. Dept of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Admin.
14. Nevada Federal Credit Union
15. Pinnacol Assurance
16. Oklahoma City University
17. Intuitive Research and Technology Corporation
18. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina
19. DentaQuest
20. Adecco Group North America
21. Manheim
22. Commonwealth of Massachusetts--Executive
Branch
23. Lee County Electric Cooperative
24. Virginia Commonwealth University
25. GlaxoSmithKline
26. The Aerospace Corporation
27. ACUITY
28. Harvard University
29. Pepco Holdings, Inc.
30. F.E.G.S. Health and Human Services System
31. San Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind
32. Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey
33. University of Pittsburgh
34. Solix Inc.
35. Avis Budget Car Rental, LLC
36. S&T Bank
37. Michelin North America
38. Pearson
39. Corinthian Colleges, Inc.
40. FCCI Insurance Group
41. Hanson Professional Services Inc.
42. Union Bank
43. MEI Technologies, Inc.
44. Intel Corporation
45. FINRA
46. Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind, Inc.
47. GA Department of Human Resources
48. Express Employment Professionals
49. Prestige Services, Inc.
50. University of St. Thomas

(source: http://internsover40.blogspot.com/2009/09/top-50-employers-for-workers-over-50-09_13.html )

Business Week Being Sold!

2009-07-13T16:27:00.000-07:00

Here is a blurb from GAWKER about the iconic magazine being put up for sale...

"Anybody want to buy an 80 year-old business magazine? Now's your chance.
McGraw-Hill has hired Evercore (the same financiers who bought AMI, home of the National Enquirer, for $850 million ten years ago) to find them a buyer for BusinessWeek, according to Bloomberg.

BusinessWeek was founded in 1929 and has almost 190 editorial staff, according to its Web site. It has about 4.8 million readers weekly in 140 countries. The weekly magazine's 30 percent decline in second-quarter ad sales, to $43.9 million, compared with a 22 percent drop industrywide, according to Publishers Information Bureau data.

Since

Conde Nast folded Portfolio, we're back to the classic "Big Three" business magazines. Which some people suspect is too many! So any buyer of BusinessWeek would be gambling that the old girl still has enough cachet to steamroll at least one of its two main competitors, Fortune and Forbes, and would also be gambling that it could take on Forbes.com, which is a dicey proposition. These are the best of times and the worst of times to be a business magazine. But the "worst" part is about making money, unfortunately." source:GAWKER.com

Top 10 Tips For Sales Success

2009-01-19T16:06:00.000-08:00

Here are the top ten tips that will lead to guaranteed sales success:

1. Make the Telephone My Best Friend – If you want to succeed in sales, there is no getting around it. The phone is your number one productivity tool. That’s why there are 10 Things I Love About Cold Calling!
2. Use My CRM to Work and Track All of My Leads – Effective use of your CRM ensures that you are touching every prospect and client with purpose and at the right time. If you are not using your CRM, start today. If you Want Long Term Success… Build Your Pipeline!
3. Become a Master at Following Up With Prospects – This is where great sales professionals separate themselves from the pack. There is a basic principle for winning… Just Follow Up!
4. Develop My Ability to Ask Great Questions – Questions are the basis for uncovering needs and building value. Have you given your prospects a High Five lately?
5. Focus On Being an Excellent Listener – Great questions are supported by an ability to listen effectively. You have to Listen Like a Detective.
6. Only Talk About the Things That Are Important to My Prospects/Clients – If you spend time talking about anything else, you are wasting precious time. Try to look at things from the other person's perspective.
7. Be “Coachable” and Follow Through With Direction I Receive From My Boss – Why do so many of us have a problem with authority? Your boss has your best interest in mind. Your number one business relationship should be with your manager.
8. Be a Positive Force and Leader On My Team – The Shield says it all.
9. Exceed My Goals Every Single Month... Quarter... Year – Sometimes the simple statements make the biggest impact. After a recent layoff, I once heard an executive say, “People can’t be in a sales job and not sell anything.” If you are in a rut, revisit the suggestions for How to Beat a Sales Slump.
10. Use the Power of Self-Reflection to Get Better – Most sales people do a lot of driving. There is no better time to think of ways to keep improving. Develop a system for Perfect Selling.
(source: Doyle Slayton, SalesBlogCast.com)

Top 30 Hot Jobs That Recruiters Are Hiring For !

2008-12-19T12:58:00.000-08:00

Need help finding that next job? Here are six staffing companies that are hiring for the following specific job titles...

Hudson is recruiting for accountants, lawyers, IT business analysts, web developers and sales and marketing managers:

1. Attorneys

2. Business deposition consultants

3. Technical accounting research consultants

4. Senior certified fraud examiners

5. Simulation/video game software developers

Kelly Services is recruiting for temporary, temporary-to-hire and direct-hire positions:

6. Chemists

7. Substitute teachers

8. Customer service representatives

9. FBI Academy logistician

10. Intelligence analyst

Manpower is recruiting for office, administrative, customer service, skilled trades, assembly, material handling, technician, engineering, clinical and lab sciences, and accounting and finance positions:

11. Machinists/machine operators

12. Skilled trades (electricians, welders, plumbers, etc.)

13. Sales representatives

14. Mechanics

15. Production operators

Robert Half International is recruiting for accounting, finance, information technology, admin, legal, marketing and advertising firms:

16. Staff and senior accountants

17. Credit and collections specialists

18. Web developers

19. Help desk professionals

20. Data entry specialists

Select Staffing is recruiting for accounting & finance, information technology, engineering & science, fashion and design, human resources, administrative and clerical, and customer service:

21. Chief financial officers/controllers

22. Directors of purchasing

23. Footwear designers

24. Senior marketing managers

25. Thermoplastics materials engineers

Think Resources is recruiting for all types of engineering jobs such as energy, aerospace, defense, manufacturing, power generation, transmission and distribution, designers, drafters, technicians, field service staff, power plant operators:

26. Electrical engineers

27. Mechanical engineers

28. Civil engineers

29. Procurement and schedulers

30. Boiler designers

(source: CareerBuilder.com)

Workers vs. Robots: The Rise Of The Machines

2008-12-13T17:53:00.000-08:00

There are now 1 million industrial robots toiling around the world, and Japan is where they’re the thickest on the ground. It has 295 of these electromechanical marvels for every 10 000 manufacturing workers—a robot density almost 10 times the world average and nearly twice that of Singapore (169), South Korea (164), and Germany (163).

Although the top three countries are in Asia, Europe gets the regional title as the epicenter of global automation; it has a robot density of 50, compared to 31 in the Americas and 27 in the Asia/Pacific region.

IEEE Spectrum computed the robot density for 67 nations in all, using data from the International Federation of Robotics and the International Labour Organization [see http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/dec08/robodata (to come) for the complete list

By 2011, the world’s industrial robot population is expected to rise to 1.2 million. Which countries these new robots will call home—and how the machine-to-human balance will change—remains to be seen. (source: IEEE Spectrum article "The Rise of the Machines" by Erico Guizzo)

U.S. Federal Government Has 193,000 Jobs To Fill

2008-12-12T08:39:00.000-08:00

The government’s 2009 hiring needs have been reported: 193,000 mission-critical jobs need must be filled over the next two years. Based on a survey of 34 federal agencies (representative of nearly 99% of the federal workforce), we’ve gathered important information about five career paths that are projected to hire at record paces in 2009.

Inside each career profile you’ll find job descriptions, salary information, custom job board searches, and more:

Enforcement & Investigation: 37,515 New Hires
Medical & Public Health: 25,756 New Hires
Engineering & Sciences: 23,806 New Hires
Program Managers & Administrators: 17,373 New Hires
Accounting & Business: 12,959 New Hires

Additional Resources

source: Kyle Stone, GovCentral and www.military.com/careers

Personal Branding Online-5 Ways To Sell Yourself

2008-11-26T08:45:00.000-08:00

Ready. Set. Go! Your own approach to online reputation management will be dependent on your career goals and personal comfort level with becoming visible online... Here are some excerpts from Kirsten Dixson's article Ideally, everyone would invest in a customized online portal for his or her personal brand (see examples at http://www.kirstendixson.com/portfolio.html). When you have your own blog or website designed, you have total control over how you present yourself. However, if you have limited time or funds, you may be wondering what you can do to establish or extend your online brand quickly and economically. Here are five free resources (some also have paid services):

1. www.Naymz.com. Think of Naymz as the 411 to your online identity. Not only can you create a profile, but you can also point people to all the other online content that you want them to see. This includes your other social media profiles (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.), websites, articles and relevant links.

2. www.BusinessCard2.com. BusinessCard2 is a virtual business card that is designed to show up in your search results. In addition to a downloadable vCard with contact information, you can include a bio, recommendations and attachments such as a resume, presentations, articles and photos.

3. www.LinkedIn.com. LinkedIn is a must for every business professional, and it’s not just a networking tool. Create your profile at LinkedIn, and make it public. Chances are that you already have a LinkedIn profile, but you haven’t gotten it ready for public consumption. LinkedIn has good “Google juice,” so your public profile will typically rank high in the results when someone searches for your name.

4. www.VisualCV.com. VisualCV takes having your resume online to the next level by allowing you to back up your achievements with proof of your performance. Think of it as an online, multimedia executive portfolio that is template-like in design (your site looks like all the other VisualCVs). You can upload or link to relevant content that supports your claims and also control who sees what.

5. www.Alltop.com. If you’ve read Kirsten Dixson's book or any of her previous articles, you know that she strongly advocates publishing articles or posting thoughtful blog comments related to your area of expertise. Searching Alltop will help you find the websites and blogs that would be effective in reaching your target audience.

Women Working In A Male-Dominated Office

2008-11-25T12:03:00.000-08:00

Joining a male-dominated industry, like engineering, computer science or construction trades, can be intimidating. So can working in a predominantly male office. Women often struggle...to figure out how to gain respect from male colleagues: It's imperative to establish yourself as an intelligent, no-nonsense employee. Read the rest of this article from the Wall Street Journal by going to this link: Here are some ways to navigate a mostly male office.

4th QTR IT hiring outlook: The helpdesk is hot

2008-11-24T14:26:00.001-08:00

Eleven percent of CIOs plan to add IT workers in the fourth quarter... 3 percent plan cuts and help desk and technical support are the hot categories as customer and user support trumps projects focused on growth

Read the article:
Career Resources: Fourth quarter IT hiring outlook: The helpdesk is hot

Top 50 In-demand US Jobs 2006 Thru 2016

2008-11-24T14:07:00.000-08:00

Here are the fifty most in-demand jobs for the forseeable future...the source is http://www.careervoyages.gov/top50occupations-main.cfm:gee aren't bloggers listed?

The Real-Life Day-Jobs Of SuperHeroes

2008-11-24T11:21:00.000-08:00

Yes even superheroes have to supplement their income these days, to wit...This video from "BigTimeAttic" via YouTube is a survey of people dressed as superheroes: at the San Diego ComiCon

World Unemployment Rates (est.2008)

2008-11-24T09:11:00.000-08:00

Just wondering what the world unemployment rates are (estimated for 2008)...source for this map is from the CIA Fact Book:at least we are not in the "red" like some other countries

Organize Your Work Space

2008-11-23T21:18:00.000-08:00

This is something we all attempt to do from time to time, riiiiiight...Map of my desk at work:Idea stolen from a cartoonist