Job Market Monitor
Michel Cournoyer
China’s supplier to Adidas and Nike – The strike spreads
A strike at a Chinese factory that manufactures shoes for Adidas and Nike has spread to a sister factory in a neighbouring province, as thousands of workers gathered to protest against what they said were unfair pay and benefits. About 2,000 workers clocked in on Monday, but did not work, at the Yue Yuen factory … Continue reading
Labour market reforms in Italy
Italy’s labour market productivity has been stagnating in the past decade despite numerous reforms. This column gives an explanation why this is so. By focusing exclusively on flexibility, past labour market reforms have completely neglected incentives. There is severe allocative malfunctioning in the Italian labour market. Wages do not reflect sector productivity in the short … Continue reading
Doctoral Scientists and Engineers in US – Unemployment has increased
In 2010, an estimated 805,500 individuals in the United States held research doctoral degrees in science, engineering, and health (SEH) fields, an increase of 6.2% from 2008. Of these individuals, 709,700 were in the labor force, which includes those employed full time or part time and those actively seeking work (i.e., unemployed). The unemployment rate … Continue reading
Temporary Foreign Workers in Canada – Waitresses too
Sandy Nelson can’t fight back the tears as she talks about losing her long-term serving job to temporary foreign workers. “How can that be right, that they’re not Canadians? I’m a Canadian,” said Nelson, 58, who worked at Brothers Classic Grill and Pizza [previously called El Rancho] in Weyburn, Sask., for 28 years. “How can it … Continue reading
March Unemployment in Netherlands – Slight drop but the trend is still upwards
Unemployment fell by some 7,000 in March as more people withdrew permanently from the jobs market rather than found jobs, the national statistics office CBS said on Thursday. In the longer term, the jobless trend is still upwards, with an average increase of 5,000 people joining the unemployment ranks a month. Women were hardest hit … Continue reading
How Long You’ll Be Unemployed – Look at the Unemployment Rate
A few factors do make a difference. Men are a bit more likely to become long-term unemployed than women; blacks are more likely than whites; and, most significantly, older workers are more likely than younger ones. That’s consistent with both anecdotal evidence and quantitative research suggesting that older workers have more trouble finding jobs, due … Continue reading
2 in 5 Employees Do Not Believe They Receive Fair Pay in US – More women (42%) than men (34%)
According to a new Glassdoor survey1 that dives deeper into income inequality and wage gap issues, two in five (39%) employees do not believe they receive fair pay in their current job. Further, more women (42%) than men (34%) do not believe they are being paid fairly. Who can best address the pay gap issue? … Continue reading
Losing Job in US – Would Quickly Lead to Hardship finds Gallup
Many working Americans would experience financial peril if they lost their current job, putting pressure on them to find a new job quickly. A substantial minority of U.S. workers say they could go just one week (14%) or one month (29%) before experiencing significant financial hardship if they lost their job. Gallup’s annual Economy and … Continue reading
After the Gold Medal to Canada – Temporary foreign workers needed to coach hockey teams
The federal government approved the hiring of hockey coaches through the temporary foreign worker program – an immigration stream meant only for jobs Canadians can’t fill. In six cases since 2010, the government approved Labour Market Opinion (LMO) applications to bring in hockey coaches under the TFW program, documents obtained through the Access to Information … Continue reading
Inequality in US – the top 20% of earners accounted for more than 80% of the rise in household income from 2008-2012
A recent article by Labor Department senior economist Aaron Cobet highlights the sharp disparity between the wealthiest and poorest Americans in the aftermath of the 2007-2009 recession. “While average income has returned to pre-recession levels, income gains have been distributed unevenly,” Mr. Cobet said. The economist mined Labor Department data to show that the top 20% of earners … Continue reading
Jobless Claims in US – Lowest level since May 12, 2007
In the week ending April 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 300,000, a decrease of 32,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The last time intial claims were this low was May 12, 2007 when they were 297,000. The previous week’s level was revised up by 6,000 from 326,000 to 332,000. … Continue reading
Unemployment and the risk of falling into a substance abuse problem
The stress, fear, depression and overabundance of free time that occurs from being unemployed has been known to increase a person’s risk of falling into a substance abuse problem. This video shows just how much unemployment and drugs are intertwined. We broke the numbers down by age groups, employment status, ethnicity, and by year from … Continue reading
US – Looking beyond the Unemployment rate
Looking for an alternative to the Unemployment rate ? Try the employment:population ratio. One alternative is to ignore the question of who is actively looking for work and focus, instead, on who is working. Specifically, check to see how many people there are in our state and then find out how many of them have … Continue reading
Majority of workers feel they are overweight finds CareerBuilder
More than half of workers (55 percent) categorize themselves as overweight, on par with last year. Thirty-nine percent say they’ve gained weight at their current job, with 21 percent putting on more than 10 pounds and 9 percent putting on more than 20 pounds. Sixteen percent report they have actually lost weight at their job, … Continue reading
US – What happened to the middle class? (Infographic)
The increased wealth of highly skilled workers, the insane wealth of those with capital, and the outsourcing of lower skilled jobs have left us all asking, “what happened to the middle class?” Source: BestMSWPrograms.com Related articles The decline of middle-class workers / Job polarisation and wages Skills Gap – Middle-skill Workers – New England: … Continue reading
Jobs – Offres d’emploi – US & Canada (Eng. & Fr.)
The Most Popular Job Search Tools
Even More Objectives Statements to customize
Cover Letters – Tools, Tips and Free Cover Letter Templates for Microsoft Office
Job Market Monitor 