In the News

Grief, Grind, and Glory of Work

Kenya: Who Is Digital Divide Data (DDD) ?

Created in 2011, Digital Divide Data (DDD) Kenya is based on the belief that the world’s poorest citizens can produce their own solutions to poverty with access to the knowledge, skills and opportunities that power economic growth. A pioneer of Impact Sourcing, DDD Kenya creates digital employment for talented, economically challenged youth by delivering high-quality … Continue reading →

South Africa / Government Employees Pension Fund / $1.3 Billion to Job-Growth Funds – Bloomberg

South Africa’s Government Employees Pension Fund, Africa’s biggest, said it allocated 13 billion rand ($1.3 billion) to three new funds targeted at boosting employment and economic growth. The Public Investment Corp., which manages most of the GEPF’s money, committed 5 billion rand to an environmental sustainability fund, 3 billion rand for a “priority sectors” fund … Continue reading →

Australia / Queensland / Cuts in public service jobs reaches 14,000

WITH a month to go until the end of the financial year, the Newman Government has achieved its goal to reduce the public service by 14,000. A Public Service Commission spokeswoman said yesterday that 10,032 offers of redundancy had been made since July, and 9189 employees had accepted. “Almost 400 of those employees are still … Continue reading →

Sibanye Gold / To Cut 1,110 Jobs

Sibanye Gold Ltd. (SGL), South Africa’s second-biggest producer of the metal, will cuts 1,110 positions at its Beatrix West mine in South Africa, fewer than first proposed, in a bid to return the operation to profit. The company will stop development at the mine, resulting in 330 job cuts and an additional reduction of 780 … Continue reading →

Austria / Apprenticeship Program faces with a deficit of new apprentices

Austria is facing a 17-year decline in the number of 15-year-olds that began in 2007 and won’t turn upward until 2024, according to government data. Faced with a deficit of new apprentices, the country’s labor ministry last month allowed asylum-seekers under age 25 to enter trade apprenticeships. In addition, a growing number of apprentices begin … Continue reading →

Slashing top tax rates has had none of the positive effects on economic growth

The rich just keep getting richer — not only by gobbling up more income, but also by paying less in taxes. That means less support for the poor, who are getting increasingly poorer relative to the top one percent. One chart in a new study of income inequality in developed nations, published by the National … Continue reading →

US / Half of college grads are overqualified for their current job

Then last week Susan Adams received a report from consulting firm McKinsey, done together with student website Chegg, which is making that pit in my stomach deeper. In October and November of last year McKinsey surveyed 4,900 former Chegg customers, a mix of young people who went to private, public, vocational and for-profit institutions. The findings … Continue reading →

US Skills Gap / 39 percent employers are having difficulty finding staff with the right skills finds ManpowerGroup

ManpowerGroup has released the results of its eighth annual Talent Shortage Survey, revealing 39 percent of U.S. employers are having difficulty finding staff with the right skills, down from 49 percent in 2012. U.S. employers report a slightly more pronounced talent shortage than their global peers, 35 percent of whom report difficulty finding the right … Continue reading →

US / Small Businesses Net Hiring Still Negative and Droping

More U.S. small-business owners report letting employees go than hiring them on average over the past year, for a net hiring index of -12 in April, according to the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index survey. This is on par with -10 in January and -9 in April 2012. These results are from the quarterly Wells … Continue reading →

(Update ) EU Youth Unemployment / Germany and France meet today

Germany sees revolution if welfare model scrapped German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned on Tuesday that failure to win the battle against youth unemployment could tear Europe apart, while abandoning the continent’s welfare model in favour of tougher U.S. standards would cause “revolution”. Germany, along with France and Italy, backed urgent action to rescue a … Continue reading →

China / Motorola confirms further staff layoffs

Motorola Mobility China confirmed Tuesday that it is carrying out a second round of massive layoffs, a further move to cut its workforce since Google Inc acquired its parent company Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion last year. According to telecommunications industry website ccidcom.com, the US-based company is planning to cut 800 jobs in China, with … Continue reading →

UK / Banks employment to 9yr low

Britain’s four biggest banks will have cut a quarter of their staff worldwide by the end of this year from peak staffing levels of 2008. Thousands of jobs are targeted as British banks centered in LIBOR rigging and insurance mis-selling scandals continue to cut costs. Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC, Lloyds and Barclays will employ … Continue reading →

What is the EU doing to tackle youth unemployment?

From the Memo The July 2012 country-specific recommendations sought to ensure that youth employment remains high on the policy agenda of all Member States where youth unemployment rates are particularly dramatic. The European Commission proposed in December 2012 a Youth Employment Package to help Member States specifically tackle youth unemployment and social exclusion by giving … Continue reading →

US / Job Creation Under The Last 5 Presidents

This graph shows the change in private sector payroll jobs from when each president took office until the end of their term(s).  President George H.W. Bush only served one term, and President Obama has just started his second term. Mr. G.W. Bush (red) took office following the bursting of the stock market bubble, and left during the bursting of … Continue reading →