FeedPosted Apr 3rd 2011 10:10AM by Joseph Lazzaro (RSS feed)
Filed under: Forecasts, Employees, Economic Data
This past week's data point of significance for investors has to be March's job report, which indicated the U.S. economy created a better-than-expected 216,000 jobs, the U.S. Labor Department said.
Also, the U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 8.8% from 8.9%. A Bloomberg survey had expected the economy to create 200,000 jobs in March and the unemployment rate to remain unchanged at 8.9%. Further, job creation totals for February and January were revised higher: February to 194,000 from the initially estimated 192,000 gain; January to 68,000 from 63,000.
Continue reading Ray of Light: March's Jobs Gain Is More Evidence of Healing Labor Market
Posted Mar 30th 2011 12:30PM by Michael Fowlkes (RSS feed)
Filed under: Employees, Economic Data, Workspace, Recession
According to the ADP Employer Services Report, the private sector added 201,000 new jobs in March, basically in-line with 203,000 new jobs that analysts had been expecting to see.
February's figures were revised downwards to 208,000 from a previously estimated 216,000 new jobs.
March's employment gains bring the four-month average of new jobs to 211,000, more than enough to keep the labor track on path. Analysts estimate that the economy needs to add 125,000 new jobs each month in order to keep up with population growth, so any jobs over that figure result in a lower unemployment figures.
Continue reading Labor Market Continues to Show Signs of Improvement
Posted Jan 10th 2011 5:30PM by Michael Fowlkes (RSS feed)
Filed under: Forecasts, Good news, From the Boards, Competitive Strategy, Ford Motor (F), Employees
In another sign that auto industry has bright day ahead of it, Ford Motor Company (F) announced today that it planned to hire an additional 7,000 employees over the next 2 years.
While this is definitely good news, the figures are still way down from where they were before the auto crisis ravished the industry. Ford currently has 42,000 compared to 103,000 just ten years ago.
Continue reading Ford Planning to Hire More Employees
Posted Jan 7th 2011 11:40AM by Connie Madon (RSS feed)
Filed under: Forecasts, Employees, Market Matters, Economic Data, Federal Reserve, Recession
The Labor Department reported that employers added 103,000 jobs last month. This fell short of the expected 150,000 predicted by economists surveyed by Dow Jones. However, the unemployment rate fell to 9.4%. The November report was revised upward to 71,000 from 39,000, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Earlier in the week ADP reported that private sector jobs rose by 297,000 last month, the strongest gain since ADP began collecting data.
Continue reading Jobs Report Disappoints Despite Lower Unemployment Rate
Posted Jan 7th 2011 8:00AM by Jason Raznick (RSS feed)
Filed under: Before the Bell, International Markets, Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades, Employees, Economic Data, Liz Claiborne (LIZ), Currency

U.S. stock futures are lower this morning as investors await December's payroll report. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 14 points to 11,632.00 and S&P 500 futures fell 2.10 points to 1,268.10. Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 3 points at 2,273.25.
U.S. stock markets closed lower yesterday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down about 26 points.
The December non-farm payroll figures and the latest reading on U.S. unemployment are due today. The payroll data is scheduled to be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists project that 175,000 non-farm jobs were created in December.
Continue reading U.S. Stock Futures Down, All Eyes on Payroll Data
Posted Jan 5th 2011 9:00AM by David Schepp (RSS feed)
Filed under: Employees, Economic Data
The dismal jobs front got a bit more good news, following the release of a report showing the nation's employers last year cut the fewest number of workers in more than a decade. Further, the findings showed 2010 ended on a high note, with December recording the lowest number of monthly cuts since 2000.
The slowdown in cuts follows an uptick in activity in 2009 when downsizing reached a seven-year high, according to the 2010 year-end job-cut report, released Wednesday by job-services firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Last year, employers announced plans to eliminate 529,973 positions, the lowest number since 1997.
Continue reading Job Cuts in 2010 Tumble to Lowest Level in More Than a Decade
Posted Jan 4th 2011 10:20AM by Connie Madon (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports, Forecasts, Good news, Employees, Recession

The country is still mired in a long recession. Many businesses are closing their doors. Others are cutting back, laying off employees and reducing production. But with every crisis there is opportunity. Such is the case for Dollar General (
DG). In a time of high unemployment and low wages, consumers are counting every penny. Dollar General stores offer deep discounts, even beating discounters like Walmart (
WMT).
In the most recent quarter, Dollar General's income rose by 69%. The company also raised its full-year guidance by 10% to $3.22 billion.
Continue reading Dollar General Plans to Open 625 New Stores, Hire 6,000 Employees
Posted Jan 4th 2011 10:00AM by Mark Fightmaster (RSS feed)
Filed under: Good news, Employees

Cincinnati-based retailer Macy's (
M) announced this morning that it will
add roughly 725 jobs in New York, San Francicso, and Atlanta over the course of the next two years. These jobs will be created to help support the company's macys.com and bloomingdales.com Internet sites.
"Macy's, Inc. is building one of the largest, most efficient and resourceful e-commerce organizations in American retailing as part of our comprehensive omnichannel strategy," President and CEO Terry Lundgren said, according to The Enquirer. "Having the right talent in the right place is vital as we seek to sustain and accelerate our sales growth online, as well as in the stores."
Continue reading Macy's to Create 725 Online Jobs
Posted Dec 14th 2010 6:00PM by Michael Fowlkes (RSS feed)
Filed under: Forecasts, Bad News, Management, Competitive Strategy, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO), Employees

For a lot of Yahoo! Inc. (
YHOO) employees, the holiday season is going to be less cheerful than expected as the company announced today that it was
laying off around 600 employees.
The most recent layoffs are not that big or a surprise, as analysts have been speculating for the past few weeks that the company would reduce it payroll before the end of the year in hopes of breaking its recent financial woes.
Yahoo! is headquartered in California, a state that is already dealing with very high unemployment. These layoffs are going to add to California's current 12.4% unemployment rate, which is sharply higher than the national average of 9.8%.
Continue reading Yahoo! Lays Off 600 Employees
Posted Dec 9th 2010 9:00AM by Connie Madon (RSS feed)
Filed under: Good news, Employees, Indices, Economic Data, Recession
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has an indicator that tracks the number of people who simply quit their jobs. CNBC.com reported that the indicator, which they dubbed "Take This Job and Shove It," climbed in October with 2 million people quitting their jobs, up from 1.7 million in the same month a year ago. The last time this pattern occurred was in 2003 when the economy started a long upward trend.
The "Shove It" indicator tends to turn up when people are confident enough that they will find another job if they quit their present one.
Continue reading More People Are Quitting Their Jobs
Posted Dec 3rd 2010 10:20AM by Connie Madon (RSS feed)
Filed under: Employees, Market Matters, Economic Data, Federal Reserve

The Labor Department threw the market a curve today when it reported nonfarm payrolls data for November. Employers added only 39,000 jobs in November, far below the 144,000 job growth economist had anticipated. The unemployment rate, too, rose to a seven-month high of 9.8%, up from 9.6% in October.
Markets reacted instantly. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 54 point to 11,310, and the S&P futures slid 7 points,
The Wall Street Journal reported. Treasuries moved up, with the yield on the 10-year note declining to 2.94%.
Continue reading Jobs Report Falls Short, Pushing Stocks Lower
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