Employment News Nov. 8-12

---

News
FRIDAY
Ex-weapons plant contractor planning 1,400 layoffs
The company that manages a former nuclear weapons complex in South Carolina announced Wednesday that it plans next year to lay off 1,400 contractors, 800 of whom were funded with federal stimulus money.

WEDNESDAY
Glimmers of Hope Among Consumers and Shopkeepers
NFIB survey: small business hiring plans up sharply.
A bright spot in the hiring picture
The number of first-time filers for unemployment benefits fell by 24,000 in the latest week to the lowest level in nearly four months, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.
Job Openings Drop for Second Straight Month
Job openings dropped sharply in September, a sign that hiring is likely to remain weak over the next several months.

TUESDAY
California's unemployment fund has deficit of $10.3 billion
The recession and the Legislature's decision years ago to raise benefits has draiend the state unemployment insurance fund, which now has an estimated $10.3 billion deficit.

MONDAY
1.2 million people want a job but aren't looking
A heartening jobs report last week masked an ominous statistic: Discouraged workers hit a record 1.2 million.
Ask Monster.com, and White House will answer
Wondering how the government is going to save the job market? Just ask Monster.com. The job-hunting website is teaming up with the White House to solicit questions on the topic from the general public.
Close Does Count When It Comes to Jobs, Education
Workers with less than a high school diploma were likelier to keep their jobs during the recession if they lived in a handful of metro areas with the highest concentrations of employees with college degrees, according to a paper released Friday by Alan Berube, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Unemployment Update: Surge, Decline Even Out in Gov't Report
Unemployment at 9.4% and Gallup's Job Creation Index at +10 in October.

Economists Comments
FRIDAY
Creating jobs "for the people" through Open Government
Apps for Californians was a contest to build the best tools to leverage government data for the public good. Besides creating new ways for citizens to understand their world, it also created new job opportunities and blueprint for the nation.
New EPA regs will kill jobs, stall economy
Without the proper pollution permits, existing facilities and new construction projects across the country either will grind to a halt or never get started. The cost estimates are indeed staggering, according to an econometric study by the Manufacturers Alliance that projects more than 7.3 million lost jobs by 2020.
The 77% of Income Fallacy
When Congress returns next week for a "lame-duck," post-election session, Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid (D-Nev) will try to muster the 60 votes he needs to block a filibuster of a vote on the misnamed Paycheck Fairness Act. It would be better titled the Paycheck Rareness Act, because it would make paychecks rare by driving small firms out of business and sending larger corporations overseas.

MONDAY
Jobs Expand by 151,000, But Unemployment Will Still Be High for Another Decade
This month's rise in jobs was fueled by retail hiring, which isn't sustainable. Expect to see the unemployment rate back up above 10% in this cycle.

Blogs
FRIDAY
Long-Term Unemployed Cut Job Hunt
Most economic models say the amount of time spent job hunting should be steady — or rise — the longer a worker is unemployed, in part because they know they’re nearing the exhaustion of jobless benefits. But the researchers found the opposite: Workers cut the time they spent job hunting by about a third over the initial 12 week period. The economists posit that workers may run out of suitable jobs to apply for — or could simply get more discouraged the longer they are on the hunt.
Why ABC News Owes Rand Paul an Apology
ABC News’ The Note runs with a story claiming that Kentucky Senator-elect Rand Paul is citing bad numbers on federal employee pay. But could it be ABC that has its numbers wrong?
Inability to Cut Rates Fuels Joblessness
The recession was marked by those overextended households cutting spending and saving more in the face of hard times. The problem now is that the normal tool used to revive consumer spending and hiring — cutting interest rates well below the inflation rate — isn’t available because rates are nearly at zero. So unemployment has remained stuck at a high level, currently 9.6%.
Unemployment Benefits: Big Battle Ahead
When Congress returns next week it will have quite a lot on its plate—including whether to extend the emergency unemployment insurance benefits for nearly two million people who will otherwise see their benefits evaporate at the end of November.
Atlanta Fed’s Lockhart: Companies Remain Cautious on Hiring
Few of the businesses surveyed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta expect their sales to improve significantly in the near future—and are putting off or minimizing hiring as a result—said Atlanta Fed President Dennis P. Lockhart.

WEDNESDAY
Serious Workplace Injuries Fell In 2009
Fewer employees and shorter hours meant fewer serious workplace injuries last year.
Obama’s De Facto Oil Ban Still Killing Jobs
As Thomas Clements, co-owner of a Louisiana offshore drilling support business, explains in today’s Human Events the de facto drilling moratorium is killing jobs in the Gulf. Here is why...
Hires Rise, Still Five Unemployed Workers Per Job Opening
There were five unemployed workers per every available job in September, the Labor Department said Tuesday, a sign that even with October’s job growth the economy still has a lot of ground to make up.

TUESDAY
How Weak Was Friday’s Jobs Report?
It is true: the establishment survey of U.S. businesses did report that 151,000 jobs were created last month. But The Heritage Foundation points out that there was also some troubling news in Friday’s report
BLS: Job Openings decrease slightly in September, Low Labor Turnover
Although job openings declined slightly in September, it appears job openings are still trending up. However overall labor turnover is still low.

MONDAY
Disappointing Jobs Report: Unemployment Remains at 9.6 Percent
As we’ve come to expect, yet another lackluster jobs report has been released.
Employment: Participation Rate
The following graph shows the employment population ratio, the participation rate, and the unemployment rate.
Older Worker's Jobs Shellacked in October
The unemployment situation worsened in October compared to that of September.
NFIB: Small Business hiring "improves slightly"
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) will release their small business confidence survey on Tuesday. They pre-released the employment results: Job Creation Plans on Main Street Improve Slightly
Unemployment: Some “Good” News
Here is a good summary of today’s employment news:
Milton Friedman and the Phillips Curve
The Phillips Curve has not died, I encountered it just the other day.
Economists React: ‘Step in the Right Direction’ on Jobs
Economists and others weigh in on the increase in jobs and steady unemployment rate.

Reports
MONDAY
Heritage Employment Report: A Mixed Bag of Tricks and Treats
Friday's Employment Situation Report by the U.S. Department of Labor actually consisted of two employment reports, and they paint two different pictures of the U.S. labor market