Some good news for everyone out there looking for a job: unemployment fell to a two-year low in March, down to 8.8%.

While an 8.8% percent unemployment rate is still nothing to celebrate, it is a clear indication that we are headed in the right direction. Companies hired new employees at the fastest two-month pace since before the recession began.

Continue reading Unemployment Rate Falls to Two-Year Low

Unemployment Rate Falls to Two-Year Low originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Home Depot Hiring 60,000 Employees

Home Depot Hiring 60,000 Employees originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

Ford Planning to Hire More Employees originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Conference Board issues a monthly employment trends index. In August, seven of the index components contributed negatively to the overall index, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The August index stood at 96.7, down from July's 97.4. "Employment growth has been slow lately, and the employment trends index suggests that it may slow even further this fall," said Gad, Levanon, associate director.

Continue reading Conference Board Index Indicates a Slowdown in Hiring

Conference Board Index Indicates a Slowdown in Hiring originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Ray of Light: Applicant-to-Job-Opening Ratio Declined in April

Ray of Light: Applicant-to-Job-Opening Ratio Declined in April originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 08 Jun 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Some highly successful businesses are husband-and-wife teams. Or, may even involve the hiring of the kids. Yes, the proverbial family business can be a powerful thing.

What's more, there may be some attractive tax benefits.

But of course, you need to know the rules (which, no doubt, can get complicated). So here are some things to consider:

Continue reading Entrepreneur's Journal: Hire Your Spouse or Your Kids?

Entrepreneur's Journal: Hire Your Spouse or Your Kids? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 30 May 2010 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Google Trading Lower Despite Better Than Expected Earnings

Google Trading Lower Despite Better Than Expected Earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 15 Apr 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Even though there are signs of improvement, the U.S. economy still remains sluggish. No doubt, this has been particularly tough for small business owners.

So to help things along, Congress has passed another stimulus bill: The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act.

Continue reading Entrepreneur's Journal: Will the HIRE Act Help Your Business?

Entrepreneur's Journal: Will the HIRE Act Help Your Business? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 21 Mar 2010 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Increased Job Openings Shed Light On Unemployment

Increased Job Openings Shed Light On Unemployment originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Manpower Survey Shows Some Hiring Potential

Manpower Survey Shows Some Hiring Potential originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Even though the economy is still sluggish, things are much better than a year ago, when it looked like the global financial system was about to fall apart. In fact, it may be a good idea to expand your business.

Keep in mind that during times of big change, there are also big opportunities. However, to take advantage of these, you really need to go beyond your own abilities. In other words, you need to think about hiring.

Unfortunately, the hiring process is scary and complicated -- with many rules and risks. But an excellent new book can help out: Hire Your First Employee (get your free copy). Actually, I had a chance to talk to the author, Rhonda Abrams.

Continue reading Entrepreneur's Journal: Thinking of Hiring an Employee?

Entrepreneur's Journal: Thinking of Hiring an Employee? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The securities business is highly competitive, probably the most competitive. The pressure to secure big clients and to bring the greatest trading profits is enormous.

Right now, Goldman Sachs (GS) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) lead the industry in trading. Goldman has high-speed trading, which generates the largest profits per trade on Wall Street. Naturally, clients are attracted to Goldman because they can give them the best executions and generate the biggest profits in their managed accounts.

Continue reading Morgan Stanley Is Hiring Hundreds of Traders

Morgan Stanley Is Hiring Hundreds of Traders originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

More than 20 million people received unemployment benefits last year, a new record. While they didn't all do it at the same time, the activity was enough to run the unemployment rate up to 10%, leaving everyone with the belief hope that 2010 just has to be better.

The severity that has characterized the job market since the woes of American International Group (AIG) and Lehman Brothers made headlines in September 2008 eased up a bit as 2009 marched toward its conclusion. The layoffs slowed down a bit, but a dearth of hiring means that we aren't seeing a pickup for the 5.8 million who've been out of work for more than six months ... let alone everyone else.

Continue reading 2009 Unemployment Ends with Double Digits, Consequences Still to Come

2009 Unemployment Ends with Double Digits, Consequences Still to Come originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 02 Jan 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

An unemployment rate of 10.2% means that serious jobseekers are using every tool they can find. So, it's not at all shocking that social networking tools top the list, with LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter leading the charge. Openings are being tweeted, hints of a new position are being monitored and hot candidates are being hit up directly, even if they aren't saying they're on the prowl for a new gig. Social media is a tool to use in a job hunt but not necessarily the only one, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Instead, it makes sense to balance a search with many tools.

John Challenger, CEO, says, "The job search has changed radically over the last two decades with the advent of electronic mail, the internet, social networking, smart phones, etc. However, it is important to remember that all of these technologies simply enhance the job search; they will never replace the face-to-face connections that are critical to a successful search." But, he continues that "we feel that these new networking tools are essential and now advise all of the job seekers going through our program to open LinkedIn accounts and to consider other services such as Facebook and Twitter.

Continue reading Job hunting in a social media world: 95% LinkedIn, 59% Facebook

Job hunting in a social media world: 95% LinkedIn, 59% Facebook originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Retail hiring for the holiday shopping season was expected to be slow, and now we have the data to confirm it. According to data from Bureau of Labor Statistics (supplied to BloggingStocks by Challenger, Gray & Christmas), the retail sector added only 63,500 jobs in October -- in data that appropriately was not seasonally adjusted.

This is only slightly better than the 59,100 retail jobs added in October 2008. In the fourth quarter of last year, retail employment increased by a mere 384,300 jobs, with the retail industry turning in its worst holiday shopping season employment stats since 1989 (when it added 380,500 workers).

Continue reading Holiday hiring slow for retailers

Holiday hiring slow for retailers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

By any historical standard, it's been a horrible recession. Just surviving has been a big accomplishment.

However, this "survivor mentality" can be a problem. If anything, it can prevent your business from eventually growing.

Growing? Yes, that's right. Taking a look at the recent economic indicators, it does look like the economy is on the mend.

Continue reading Entrepreneur's Journal: Is it possible to grow your business now?

Entrepreneur's Journal: Is it possible to grow your business now? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 06 Sep 2009 18:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading 15 states now have more than 10% unemployment

15 states now have more than 10% unemployment originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 17 Jul 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

There is more conflicting data on the unemployment front. The good news is that new jobless claims fell by 52,000 to 565,000 in the past week. The four-week average fell to 608,000, down 10,000.

Now the bad news. The number of Americans claiming unemployment benefits rose to 6.88 million, a new high.

These numbers are confusing to say the least, leaving open speculation on both sides that the recession has ended. Economist John Ryding at RDQ Economics says that the recession may have ended in the second quarter.

Continue reading New unemployment claims fall, but continuing claims reach a new high

New unemployment claims fall, but continuing claims reach a new high originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post was written by Minyanville contributor Tom Fant.

The employment number was better than expected. No question about it. Looking behind the number, I see all industries still contracting albeit less so except education/health.

Leisure was up but only 3k. Federal government hiring was negative for the first time this year. I'm still watching the hiring of temp workers, which is still negative but just barely at -7k which is much better than previous reports and could be a sign of good things to come.

Continue reading Jobs: Really a good number?

Jobs: Really a good number? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Time to get-ahead-of-the-pack with ADP

Time to get-ahead-of-the-pack with ADP originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 08 May 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.