Job Market Monitor
Michel Cournoyer
Canada / Budget’s job training program hits provincial reluctance
When the premiers of the four Atlantic provinces met on April 29, their joint communiqué noted “significant concerns with the recent unilateral decisions of the federal government regarding skills, training and employment supports.” The four provinces expressed concerns about the Canada Job Grant, “particularly the ability of small-and medium-sized businesses to participate in the program.” … Continue reading
UK / Horticultural Industry Skills Gap: more than 70 per cent of companies struggling
A new study from some of Britian’s leading horticultural organisations has revealed a serious lack of skilled workers in the horticultural industry, with more than 70 per cent of companies struggling to find skilled workers. More than 80 per cent of businesses surveyed said they believed that the poor reputation of horticultural jobs with young … Continue reading
HSBC / Up to 14,000 jobs to be cut
HSBC has said it may cut an additional 14,000 jobs globally as part of a restructuring plan to reduce costs and increase profitability. The bank is aiming to save another $3bn (£2bn) in annual costs as tougher regulations eat into profits. The layoffs would cut the firm’s total headcount to between 240,000 and 250,000 over … Continue reading
UK / Unemployment starts to rise again
Unemployment jumped and average wage rises dropped to their lowest rate on record in the three months to March, underlining concerns at the slow pace of the UK’s recovery. There was an increase in unemployment of 15,000 in the first quarter of the year while during the same period regular pay rose by just 0.8%. … Continue reading
Skills Gap / Tech Startups Worry
More technology start-ups will be looking to hire than at any time in the last four years, says Silicon Valley Bank, but they worry they won’t be able to find the talent they need. Even as most leaders and founders of the firms surveyed by the bank for its annual Startup Outlook report say conditions … Continue reading
Job Interview / 5 Items You Should Bring
Following are five value-add items to bring to your next job interview, and every job interview, to help enhance your personal marketing message: 1. Tweaked Resume Even if you recently updated your resume, assess if a tweaked headline or modified achievement would more perfectly align your message with this specific interview. 2. Toot-Your-Own-Horn Book If … Continue reading
Parents / Stay-At-Home Dads and Breadwinner Moms
The next time you see a father out shopping with his kids, you might need to check your assumptions. “I’ll get the, ‘Oh, look, it’s a dad! That’s so sweet!’ “says Jonathan Heisey-Grove, a stay-at-home father of two young boys in Alexandria, Va., who is pretty sure the other person assumes he’s just giving Mom … Continue reading
US / Student Debt has generated nearly $120 billion to the Education Department over the last five fiscal years
The Obama administration is forecast to turn a record $51 billion profit this year from student loan borrowers, a sum greater than the earnings of the nation’s most profitable companies and roughly equal to the combined net income of the four largest U.S. banks by assets. Figures made public Tuesday by the Congressional Budget Office … Continue reading
Is the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator reliable?
I have some bad news for you: even the most sophisticated tests have considerable flaws. Take the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), the world’s most popular psychometric test, which is based on Jung’s theory of personality types. Over two million are administered every year. The MBTI places you in one of 16 personality types, based on … Continue reading
US / Industrial production drops 0.5% in April
Industrial production slumped 0.5% in April, dragged lower by a big drop in utilities output but also by a drop in manufacturing, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday. Economists polled by MarketWatch expected a drop of 0.3%. In addition, March’s growth was downwardly revised to 0.3% from 0.4%, and February’s growth was downwardly revised to 0.9% … Continue reading
Eurozone in recession for 1.5 years as France double dips
Euro area GDP down by 0.2% and EU27 down by 0.1% and -1.0% and -0.7% respectively compared with the first quarter of 2012 GDP fell by 0.2% in the euro area1 (EA17) and by 0.1% in the EU271 during the first quarter of 2013, compared with the previous quarter, according to flash estimates2 published by Eurostat, … Continue reading
Job Search Tool for Grads / LaunchPad connects job seekers with professional advisors
As graduation looms closer and closer, many soon-to-be college alumni have only one thing on their minds: the impending job search. Sometimes it feels like all we hear about are the dismal prospects for graduating seniors, or how competitive the job market is — but six Harvard Business School students have set out to help … Continue reading
Job Boards / Will they Be Still Relevant in the Future ?
Everyone seems to agree that generalist large scale job boards are in trouble, and others are profiting. The decline of the Monster share price to below five dollars, parallel to the success story of LinkedIn stock, and the recent valuation of Indeed.com nicely illustrates these shifting dynamics. Generalist job board revenue per posting is declining, … Continue reading
Low-Wage / Wal-Mart vs. the Feds: Who’s the King?
The federal government is better at creating low-paying jobs than Wal-Mart and McDonald’s combined, according to a new report. A study released earlier this month from the public policy group Demos states that through various forms of government funding in the private sector, nearly two million people are making $12 an hour or less. The … Continue reading
US / Will Labor Force Participation Bounce Back? asks FRBSF
The most recent U.S. recession and recovery have been accompanied by a sharp decline in the labor force participation rate. The largest declines have occurred in states with the largest job losses. This suggests that some of the recent drop in the national labor force participation rate could be cyclical. Past recoveries show evidence of … Continue reading
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