In the News

Michigan / Chrysler / To add 1,250 jobs in

Chrysler Group LLC will announce new investments and jobs Thursday at one of its Detroit facilities. A Chrysler spokeswoman would not comment on the details of the announcement, but the Detroit Free Press reports the Auburn Hills-based automaker invest $238 million in three Michigan plants and add about 1,250 jobs so it can ramp up … Continue reading →

US | Jobless claims | At 439,000, and 78,000 up, Thx to Sandy

Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending November 10, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 439,000, an increase of 78,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 361,000. The 4-week moving average was 383,750, an increase of 11,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 372,000. The advance seasonally … Continue reading →

UK / More than 1 in 3 will work past 65 and 35% will work past retirement age

Thirty-five per cent believe they will work past retirement age, but this could have a negative impact on employers. Workers are planning to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the abolition of the default retirement age, according to new research by insurer Canada Life Group. Over a third of employees think they will work … Continue reading →

(UPDATE) Saskatchewan – Potash Corp – layoffs

Potash Corp. is temporarily laying off workers at mines in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick because of a slump in demand. The Saskatoon-based company says the Allan mine in Saskatchewan won’t operate between Dec. 16 and Feb. 9… Choosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor from via Potash Corp. issues layoffs. Longer than normal layoffs are coming a … Continue reading →

Ireland / More than 850 seasonal retail jobs for Christmas

MORE than 850 retail jobs were announced today as stores hope for the busiest Christmas period in years. Some 650 of the positions were announced by two of the country’s top retailers Boots and Heatons. Boots Ireland will create 400 temporary full- and part-time positions in its Irish stores to cover the festive celebrations. “Customer … Continue reading →

Manitoba / Hiring teachers to reduce class sizes

The Manitoba government says 79 new teachers have been hired by school divisions over the past year, as the province works to reduce classroom sizes. Hiring the 79 teachers, who are working in 31 school divisions, has resulted in 20 per cent fewer Kindergarten to Grade 3 classes that have 24 or more students, the … Continue reading →

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Vocational educational / Not an option for losers

If the perception that vocational education is an “option for losers” persists, unemployment and social instability will continue to escalate. This argument emerged as a major focus in the first day of the World Innovation Summit for Education (Wise) held in Doha, Qatar this week. The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development launched … Continue reading →

US / Census Bureau / New poverty measure, higher than the official measure, at 16.1 percent

Officially, the U.S. poverty rate in 2011 was 15 percent exactly, a 0.1 point reduction from 2010. But as I pointed out when that number was released in September, that figure doesn’t mean a whole lot. The official poverty threshold is the amount of money a family of three would have to make to spend … Continue reading →

Arab Youth / Lack of soft skills robs of jobs experts say

The gap between what young people are taught and what potential employers require is fuelling regional youth unemployment. About 20 per cent of the most educated in the UAE population have no jobs, and in some countries such as Saudi Arabia the figure is double that. “When we talk about the readiness of graduates for … Continue reading →

Texas Instruments / To cut 1,700 jobs

Texas Instruments is eliminating 1,700 jobs or almost 5 percent of its global workforce to cut costs in its wireless business as it moves away from making smartphone application chips, sending its shares up almost one percent in late trade. The Dallas, Texas based chipmaker had said in September that it would halt costly investments … Continue reading →

Global Economic Crisis / More than 70 per cent of workers lack unemployment insurance

The recent global economic crisis has served as a stark reminder of why unemployment insurance matters. But the reality is that fewer than half of almost 200 countries monitored by the ILO offer such protection. More than 70 per cent of workers worldwide have no statutory access to unemployment insurance or any type of unemployment … Continue reading →

Skills Gap / No Big Deal writes Businessweek

The much talked-about “skills gap” in the U.S. is more limited than many people think and shouldn’t prevent, or even stall, the U.S. manufacturing renaissance, at least for a while. More severe shortages are likely to develop, however. We need to take steps now to prevent them and make sure that enough new talent enters … Continue reading →

Sweden / Layoffs double

Redundancies in Sweden are on the rise, with a fresh report showing that twice as many workers were laid off in October compared to the same month last year, making for a labour market climate similar to that of 2009. Some 10,300 people were made redundant in October, according to fresh figures from the Swedish … Continue reading →

Egypt / New EU support for job creation and vocational training for young people

The European Commission has approved new programmes for Egypt, to support job creation for unskilled workers, and to enhance the efficiency of the Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) system to better respond to the demands of the labour market and to the country’s new socio-economic needs. The new support for job creation will provide … Continue reading →