Tag Archives: unemployment

STOCKS AND THE MARKET AND EMPLOYMENT

Posted on June 6, 2013 | Leave a comment

BY: Adam Gavriel

The best reflection of how the United States economy, and the world economy in some cases, is going is shown by the stock market. What’s even more incredible about this, is that is an instant indicator, and one that will tell a story in very few words. The stock market can make or break a fortune; but if a picture says a thousand words, how many words does a graph say?

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Here is a graph of today’s market movements so far. In blue, the Dow, in red, the NASDAQ, and in yellow, the S&P 500. All trending downward since the market opened this morning.

This is all because early Wednesday morning reports cited that the economy is continuing to “recover” at its incredibly sluggish pace.

From an article posted on Yahoo! News this morning:

“Investors have become increasingly sensitive to economic reports in the last two weeks. They are trying to anticipate when the Federal Reserve will pull back on its $85 billion of bond purchases a month. That program has supported markets this year, and on some days stocks have even rallied on speculation that an ailing economy would ensure the stimulus will remain in place.

“We’re pleased to see the market sell off on some bad news,” said John Lynch, a regional chief investment officer for Wells Fargo private bank. “The whole idea that bad news was good news was frustrating because it suggests to me that the markets are becoming too Fed-dependent.””

On Friday, the United States Department of Labor will release the employment report from the month of May. Many economists expect the Unemployment rate to continue dropping to a more manageable number. The problem will continue to lie in the speed of the recovery, which is making the economy seem more and more stagnant every month.

As an employment agency, we are seeking candidates every day to fill the open job positions that we have TODAY. We pride ourselves on being a search firm, so we may find you before you find us, but wouldn’t it be greater to meet in the middle somewhere?

At Crossroads Consulting, we firmly believe in being an employment agency that fully understands their clients on both sides of the employment spectrum, we aim to be human. That is why it is our goal as a search firm to put the ‘human’ back into ‘human resources.’

If you’re not comfortable in your resume, we can help you there with our recommended resume service.

Please do not hesitate to get in contact with us, because it is only together that we can speed up the rate at which unemployment falls!

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CREATING JOBS? NOT IN CT THEY AREN’T

Posted on May 15, 2013 | Leave a comment

BY: Adam Gavriel

While the American economy continues to recover slowly, the Connecticut economy has had trouble falling suit. As numbers from the beginning of the year begin to be broken down more fully, Connecticut has fallen off the National pace.

According to a report from the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, the Connecticut department of labor announced that CT had lost 5,700 jobs in February. This news is even more heartbreaking considering Connecticut had ADDED 6400 jobs in January.

This would cause the CT Unemployment rate to rise to 8% off the national average which now stands at 7.6%

Economist Pete Giola called the report “disappointing.”

“It’s very disappointing – we really have a very negative report here,” Giola said. “It points to the real need for policymakers to do everything they can to help businesses grow jobs here.” 

Over the past 12 months, Connecticut has added just 2400 jobs, while recovering only 40% of the 121,000 jobs lost during the peak years of this recession.

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Only government positions (900) and manufacturing (400) added jobs in CT in February. Professional and business services dropped 2400 jobs, Education and health lost 2300, financial activities (700), leisure and hospitality (500), trade, transportation, and utilities (300), information (100), and construction (100), all lost jobs.

So where are the jobs in CT you might ask? Danbury and Norwich-New London were the only locations to add jobs, adding 300 and 100 jobs respectively.

Hartford took the biggest hit losing 2500 positions, followed by Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, 2400,  New Haven lost 1700 and Waterbury would lose 300.

As the nation recovers at a tortoise’s pace, it is time for CT to follow suit.

If you’re looking for jobs in the CT area, look no further than to us at Crossroads Consulting. As a small business based in CT, we are appalled at what is happening in our own backyards and neighborhoods. Since it is our job to get YOU working again, please come to our website today and browse our job openings. If you’re not confident in your resume, we can help you there too with our recommended resume service.

If you’re in Connecticut and struggling, we want to hear from you TODAY. Remember, Crossroads Consulting is here to put the ‘human’ back into ‘human resources.’

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JOBS, JOBS, JOBS…REPORT

Posted on March 7, 2013 | Leave a comment

BY: Adam Gavriel

The February Jobs Report is set to be released tomorrow morning, and economists are expecting good news. Last week, the number of Americans seeking unemployment fell to 340,000 according to a story on ABCNews.com. The past four week average for jobless claims has now hit a five year low, showing a positive slide into a favorable number for the economy.

The article states that weekly applications are a proxy for layoffs, when they fall, it suggests that companies are shedding fewer jobs.

Analysts are predicting that companies added 152,000 jobs, which should see the unemployment rate fall from 7.9% to 7.8% in February.

It is important to note that these movements are still very small, but it is encouraging seeing the movements going in the right direction for Americans.

“The improvement is still gradual, but at least things are moving in the right direction,” Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics, said in a note to clients.

It is being reported that services firms, such as retailers and construction companies added jobs at a very substantial rate this past month. Factories also added workers in February, albeit at a smaller rate than the aforementioned retailers and construction.

The number of Americans receiving unemployment aid fell to 5.4 million, a drop of 362,000 from the week preceding.

Auto sales and home sales have also seen major increases in the last few months. New-home sales rose 16% in January to the highest levels in over four years. Home prices are also beginning to rise steadily again.

It is not all good news in America however, as the numbers may regress to their new mean in the coming months. After $85 billion in government spending cuts were put into effect after March 1st, many analysts believe this could cost the country 700,000 jobs, and even reduce unemployment checks for those who have been out of work for more than six months. The number also does not take into account those long-term unemployed who have dropped out of searching for a job.

Benefits currently average about $320 per week nationwide.

At Crossroads Consulting, we are doing what we can to get Americans working again, and trying to do our part in making sure that unemployment rate stays as low as it can. With over 50 job postings across the nation (and even some internationally!) we want to get you the job you’ve been waiting for. If you’re not confident in our resume, we can help you there as well with our recommended resume service.

If you’ve been out of work, or are getting frustrated with the hiring process, please contact us today and we will do whatever we can to help.

Remember, at Crossroads Consulting we’re putting the ‘human’ back into ‘human resources.’

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UNDEREMPLOYMENT

Posted on February 20, 2013 | 1 Comment

BY: Adam Gavriel

After last week’s State of the Union address from President Barack Obama, congressman David Joyce (1st term Republican, Ohio) was quoted on the current job market, and how he feels American’s aren’t well prepared for the market in front of them.

“We need to better prepare our workforce for the jobs that we have,” Joyce said. “There are three million jobs that go vacant each month in this country, so the idea of trying to better prepare our children for the workforce by reforming high schools and stressing technical degrees in engineering, that is something that intrigues me. It’s something that people in other districts hear from their people, who said we have difficulty finding competent workers.”

The website PolitiFact picked up on Joyce’s comments out of intrigue, and decided to do some research. Not willing to believe that in a country with a 7.9% unemployment rate that 3 million jobs could go vacant from month to month.

PolitiFact contacted Joyce’s office, who referred the website to these figures:

“Reports the office issued for previous months in 2012 indicated there were 3.8 million job openings in June, 3.7 million job openings in November, October , July,   May and March,  3.6 million openings in September and August, 3.5 million vacancies in January and February, and 3.4 million unfilled jobs in April,”

Joyce wasn’t wrong.

It is becoming an epidemic in today’s struggling economy that jobs are remaining unfilled. This is due to a believed “skill gap” in the workforce between employers and prospective employees. Currently, employers aren’t paying what prospective employees feel they are worth. With this in turn comes the underemployment number. Underemployment, if you are not familiar with the term, can be defined as people who are working in a lower capacity than they are qualified for, including in a lower-paid job or for less hours than they would like to work.

The current reported underemployment number in the United States sits at around 15%

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Is it possible that all these issues can be tracked back to simple supply and demand theory? There isn’t a very large demand for workers these days, but the supply of those looking for work continues to be at an all-time high. This allows prospective employers to pick and choose as they please, at the rates they wish to pay, with the skills they want to add to their teams.

The job market is always evolving. If you find yourself unemployed at the current time, we encourage you to stick with it, to keep building your resume however you can, and adding those skills that employers in your field desire. If you’re like the many other hardworking unemployed Americans, you are reading job ads daily, you know what companies are looking for. Always remember that unemployed time is NOT vacation time.

At Crossroads Consulting we continue to have over 50 job postings that we’re looking to fill TODAY across the nation. If you believe that your resume is holding you back, we can help you there too with our resume service.

As patriotic as we are, we want to see all of America back on its feet and in the workforce. This economy cannot recover on its own, but requires a team effort from everyone out there. Make your connections, including us, work them, and let’s get working together.

Remember, Crossroads Consulting is here to put the ‘human’ back into ‘human resources.’

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CHICAGO FOR EXAMPLE…

Posted on December 19, 2012 | Leave a comment

BY: Adam Gavriel

The struggles of today’s American economy are not just presenting themselves to the small-town America economy; No. The country’s biggest cities are also among those being affected.

At Chicagobusiness.com released an article showing the percentage gains and losses in the cities biggest sectors. As with most areas in the country, they have experienced gains in some categories with major losses coming elsewhere.

Chicago’s biggest growths occurred in the Mining and Logging sector, as well as the professional and business services. These are good sectors to grow in being mining and logging involving mass quantities of laborers, while professional and business services includes small-businesses (which we all know is the engine that drives the US economy).

Unfortunately, Chicago received nearly no growth in the education and health services (0.1% growth) as well as a huge loss in retail trade (-4.3%). The loss in retail trade is even more discouraging figuring in holiday hiring in the retail markets.

Here is the full chart of losses and gains in Chicago.

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While the countries unemployment rate continues to remain steadily less than 8% Illinois has fallen on harder times than the rest of the nation experiencing an unemployment rate of 8.8%

The country will need it’s major cities, like Chicago, to begin to experience growth in order to change the fate of the rest of the country. We need everyone working together in order to make this recession disappear once and for all.

At Crossroads Consulting, LLC. we are trying to do our part. With job openings across the nation being updated on a daily basis, and a resume service to make sure you’re in the best position with potential employers, it is OUR mission to help get the Unemployment rate to a more respectable figure; and get Americans working AGAIN.

Please don’t give up on your search, and please let us know if there is anything we can do to help your search for a career run a little more smoothly. Remember, we’re here to put the ‘human’ back into ‘human resources.’

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PAGING ACCURATE UNEMPLOYMENT NUMBERS…PAGING ACCURATE UNEMPLOYMENT NUMBERS!

Posted on December 6, 2012 | Leave a comment

BY: Adam Gavriel

The November jobs report has arrived and boy was it discouraging.

Gallup reported on Wednesday that there was a huge increase in the United States unemployment number jumping from a reported 7% in October to close to 8% again moving to 7.8% for November. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rose from 7.4% in October to 8.3% over the same time frame.

Though the cause for the huge jump in unemployment is not clear, some economists believe it could be due to jobs lost to the devastating Hurricane Sandy. Economists also believe that it could be due to a very lackluster holiday hiring season.

Looking at November alone, it’s not as bad as it has been as the unemployment rate remains below 8% and at 7.8% is the 2nd best month reported in the year 2012. However after the unemployment rate hit a huge low at 7% in October, and just after the presidential election, it is discouraging to say the least that the unemployment rate is now a reported 7.8%

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A report from Bloomberg shows a different side however, reporting that the number of people seeking unemployment fell heavily last week. The report at Bloomberg states that this could be due to those who filed for unemployment in the wake of Hurricane Sandy now back at work. The number reported showing that applicants dropped 25,000 last week and fell to a seasonally adjusted 375,000. In the week ending November 10th, just 12 days before the biggest day of thanks in the nation, unemployment applicants was at 451,000 so it is very encouraging to see that number continue to drop.

From Bloomberg:

“The report is “a positive development for the labor market, which appears to be recovering from the temporary effects of Sandy more rapidly than originally anticipated,” Joseph LaVorgna, an economist at Deutsche Bank, said in a note to clients.”

This report provides little encouragement however on top of the news of the unemployment rate skyrocketing today. Hopefully, as more and more get off of their temporary stay on unemployment aid, the unemployment rate returns to a manageable level.

The news doesn’t end there however. Further reports from Gallup show that Small-Business Owners continue to slow down their hiring. Small-Businesses are the engine that run the United States economy and when they’re not hiring it’s easy to tell which way the economy will head. Net hiring intention for the next 12 months plummeted to -4 matching its previous record low.

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Gallup also reported that small-business owners who intend to decrease jobs at their companies sky-rocketed to 21%, while those who intend on adding jobs dropped to 17%

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All further signs that this recession is here to stay.

Here at Crossroads Consulting, LLC. we are working to try and keep the unemployment rate in the country as low as possible. We understand that the motor that feeds a strong economy is a strong working class, and getting people in to jobs and lowering the unemployment rate. That’s what we strive to do every day. Check out our listings. We have over 50 positions, many unadvertised on our website. Don’t be shy about applying either; we want to see your resume. If you’re not confident in your resume, don’t worry, we can help you there as well with our recommended resume optimization process.

Remember, at Crossroads Consulting we’re trying to put the ‘human’ back into ‘human resources.’

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EUROPE ATTITUDES

Posted on November 27, 2012 | Leave a comment

BY: Adam Gavriel

Crossroads Consulting is always trying to keep you up to date on what is going on in the world of employment. Here we literally are looking at how citizens around the world think of the job market.

It’s a fair question…as dismal as the jobs report has recently been in the United States, this recession has grown to affect the entire world. A post released on Monday the 26th of November from Gallup.com reports that the job outlook across the European Union has been steadily decreasing this year. While the American unemployment rate continues to hover around the 8% mark, over in Europe, the EU has seen a steady deterioration.

Gallup asked the question: “Thinking about the job situation in the city or area where you live today, would you say that it is now a good time or a bad time to find a job?”

The results were astounding.

Germany came back with the best ratio with 46% of respondents believing it was in fact a good time to find a job. Of the other countries surveyed, 32% in Sweden believe it’s a good time, in Finland that number is 24%, Poland found 18% subscribing to the positive outlook, while France was at just 16%, the UK at a dismal 9%.

Greece is, unexpectedly, in a class by itself. The chickens have certainly come home to roost ion the overly entitled and now bankrupt society that Greece is. Just 1%, that’s right, just 1% of their residents got the warm and fuzzies about their nation being a good environment for job hunting.

The unemployment rate in Greece was 25.1% in August and reports say that it has increased slightly in September from its already record high number. In most countries in the EU, the unemployment rates have not improved since 2011.

In terms of how outlook has changed among job seekers, Finland takes the “title.” It was reported in 2011 that 36% of Fins believed it was a good time to be looking for a job; whereas as mentioned above, that number has dropped 12 percentage points down to 24%.

Despite Germany’s staggering 46% believing times still looked rosy ahead, but that number is also down 2% from the 2011 survey. Job outlook has only increased in seven countries of the EU, those being Latvia (+8), Malta (+6), Lithuania (+6), Estonia (+5), Poland (+4), Bulgaria (+2), and Romania (+2). There was no change in four countries, and the rest of the surveyed, sixteen countries, reported a more bleak outlook on the jobs situation.

Gallup also took a look at those who currently hold full-time positions for an employer and compared it to the 2011 numbers. Fortunately, these numbers have remained relatively stable, but they are still quite discouraging. Sweden is now the only country who reported full-time employment of over 50% There were significant increases in full-time employment in France (+12%) and Luxembourg (+13%) from 2011 to 2012. However there were also so disappointing drops in Slovakia (-7%), and Denmark, Cyprus, Austria, and Spain who all experienced drops of 4%

There is no denying that we have reached a discouraging time across the globe in the economy. The recession that has hit the United States has certainly been felt across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Some may even believe that it’s better to focus on American’s problems before reaching our hand overseas to help, however as we’ve noted it’s going to take a full team effort to get the global economy working again. Think about it this way, the more people working in the EU, allows more imports into that country. And of course, the more they’re importing, the more they’re going to need the countries that they import from to continue to manufacture. It’s going to take a worldwide effort.

At Crossroads Consulting we are looking to reach our hand out and help pick those up who need the assistance. We are asking you to check our nationwide job openings and send us your resume right away! If you’re not confident in your resume, our resume evaluation and editing service can help. It’s thorough and VERY affordable. We’d love to take a look at it for you to make sure it best shows your qualifications to employers.

Remember, we want to be there from point A to placing you in your new office. Crossroads Consulting is here to put the ‘human’ back into ‘human resources’

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ECONOMY, ECONOMY, ECONOMY

Posted on October 26, 2012 | Leave a comment

BY: Adam Gavriel

October continues to be a slow but promising month for the United States economy. Reports from Bloomberg.com today are showing that the number of Americans filing first-time applications for unemployment fell last week by 23,000. This figure returns the statistic to a level that shows the labor market is continuing to make progress in the year’s third-quarter. Though progress may be a bit of a stretch however, as the market continues to grow albeit at a slower pace than everyone would prefer.

Kevin Cummins, an economist at UBS Securites LLC in Connecticut had this to say about the report, “There is no pickup, nor any further deceleration. Employment growth is moving along at a pretty disappointing pace.” Continue reading →

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OCTOBER SURPRISE

Posted on October 18, 2012 | Leave a comment

By: Adam Gavriel

Reports have surfaced this week (October 15-18) that state that the 7.8% unemployment reported earlier in the month has decreased as autumn has taken over the country. Now in mid-October, the unadjusted unemployment rate (according to gallup.com) is 7.3%. Some take issue with this number because the number doesn’t take into account the high number of people who are considered to have just plain stopped looking. Some economists are stating that the correct number if you take back the people, the ones who dropped out of the workforce, would be at 10.7 percent.

This report came out just a day after the most recent Presidential debate on Long Island at Hofstra University. Perhaps to those who don’t pay attention to world affairs, they might find a bit of optimism. While debate has continued on the accuracy of the September report, with some believing the numbers may have been ‘cooked’ or weighted in some manner for political purposes, today’s release via Gallup reignited the controversy on the accuracy of the “numbers” and put it right back in the spotlight.

Statistics are never perfect. Many people will tell you that you can make them read anything you want to depending upon what you’re looking to get out of them. For example 75% of those polled in the Beck Household think that the owner of Crossroads Consulting, Mitch Beck, is the most amazing man on Earth. On the other hand you can just as easily report with the same poll that 25% of the members of the Beck Household do NOT think Mitch Beck is the most amazing man on Earth. So with every poll and statistic, you have to look at it in it’s full context.

So remember that when reading these numbers that are coming out, that they don’t necesserily paint the full picture. For example, the percentage of American’s working part-time is known as being, “underemployed” are included as working in the polling numbers.  Some numbers: full-time work Gallup will tell you has increased from 8.6% to 9% On top of that; the underemployment rate fell to 16.3%.

Are those the kinds of numbers that give you confidence? They don’t here at Crossroads Consulting. Here we’re doing all that we can to put a dent in both of those numbers.

We’re hopeful that perhaps a false sense of optimism will areise from these numbers to convince some businesspeople that it will be okay to start hiring again. One final report is due out just before the general election on November 6th.

As millions of Americans struggle to find full-time employment, satisfaction has to be found somewhere. As we approach the holiday season, many employers will be looking to fill part-time employment spots. And while that won’t solve the long-term problems that face many American’s today, a stop-gap measure to get money in the hands of Americans, and then their spending of that money is what fuels the economy.

On the other hand, if you are part of the American workforce who won’t look for part-time work as you fear it will get in the way from your full-time work search, don’t look down upon that. But remember, and this is very important, time unemployed is NOT vacation time. There is nothing wrong with taking the time to work on your skills, to improve your resume, to make sure you are applying for jobs daily. The jobs are out there folks!

At Crossroads Consulting we can help you with all of the above. From our job openings that feature positions around this great Nation, to making sure your resume best presents your assets to employers, we’re here to help you get the job you’re searching for. Putting the ‘human’ back into ‘human resources’ is how we operate on a daily basis, and we want to get the nation working again!

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UNEMPLOYMENT AS IT RELATES TO THE RACE FOR POTUS

Posted on October 5, 2012 | Leave a comment

BY: Adam Gavriel

After Wednesday night’s debate, where Governor Mitt Romney was declared the winner, President Barack Obama got what he would say is some good news Friday. The September jobs report was released, the United States jobless rate dipped below 8% for the first time since the POTUS took office. The US jobless rate, which some despute how they came to those numbers, is on the surface at its lowest point since 2009 dropping from 8.1% in August to 7.8%. The report also shows that the economy added 114,000 jobs although that number was 86,000 fewer than were created in July, and less than in June. The number also does NOT take into account the number of Americans who’ve stopped looking for jobs at all.

But the Labor Department on Friday revised their findings to reveal that the figures reported for August and July were a bit higher than they had previously reported. Continue reading →

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