Rhode Island worker training

Rhode Island jobs could see improvement. The state has been given 77 Comprehensive Worker Training grants for on-the-job training. This training would make employees more valuable to a company, thus minimizing layoffs.

This $2 million grant will aid about 6,700 employees. The grants range from $340 to $50,000 from the Job Development Fund.

“Ensuring that people have the right skills for the available jobs is a critical component in laying a stronger economic foundation for when the nation's economy bounces back,” said Governor Donald L. Carcieri.

Improvements in worker productivity, operational efficiency, and workplace innovation is the training goal.

According to Joseph J. MarcAurele, chairmand of the board, “By offering a 50:50 match for training, the Governor’s Workforce Board R.I. is helping Rhode Island businesses invest in their work force today and improve their productivity in the future".

Business include information, finance and insurance, wholesale trade, manufacturing, construction and professional, scientific and business services.

For a complete list of companies affected visit the Governor's Workforce Board website.

Boston teachers may be in trouble

Teachers looking for a Boston job may need to reconsider. Currently, teachers' union are having problems with Mayor Tom Menino. In order to save money, the mayor is requesting that teachers agree to keeping their wages the same.

“Without a wage freeze, these people will be eliminated. It’s as simple as that,” Menino said. If the union gives up their their right to a salary increase it could save Boston $18.8 million.

Menino is threatening to layoff 212 teachers and assistants if they don't agree to freeze their wages.

According to the Boston Herald, hundreds of city employees, including teachers, could be affected if they don't agree to the freeze. The city is $131 million in debt.

In addition to the freeze, the Boston Globe reports that the Boston School Committee authorized a $812 million budget for next year. This could result in layoffs in more than 500 positions, including teachers. This is a 2.5 percent decrease from this year's spending. Not only is the city laying off staff, but six schools will be closing.

Illinois Governor raising taxes to increase jobs

Illinois jobs can have a bumpy road ahead of them. The state has not been doing well in the recent months. They are one of the hardest hit by the recession. In February, the unemployment rate hit a record high of 8.6%, which is higher than the national rate.

The goal is to get Illinois out of the $11.5 billion debt. The Chicago Tribune reported that Governor Quinn wants to raise income taxes as a way to mend the economy. This is part of his $26 billion Illinois Jobs Now plan.

People believe that the current low income tax attracts business to the state. The increase could force away jobs thus effecting the people and the suffering economy. Gov. Quinn believes that higher taxes would allow the government to slowly diminish their debt to businesses and allow the state to keep other governmental services.

However, Quinn promises that this increase is to help citizens. Through increasing taxes, it will bring hundreds of thousands of jobs.

"This is an emergency. We have a good plan, and as a matter of fact we have the only plan. There are people getting very worried about the construction season," Quinn said.

Additional taxes are planned to be issued on cigarettes, drivers license and license plates, and on corporations. This has to potential of creating 340,000 jobs throughout the state.

Virginia losing jobs

Over the past months, finding jobs in Virginia have been on the rise. New companies, including Hilton Hotels, LASCO Bathware, and SPARTA Composite Products, have come to the state to open new plants.

However, some plants are being forced to close their doors.

Belden Inc. , which makes and markets specialty wire, cable and cord products for the electronics and electrical markets, announced on March 18th that they will be closing their Midlothian manufacturing plant. This won't be in effect till July, but 45 positions will be lost.

The company, looking to save money, will be moving their plant to Tijuana, Mexico.

According to Forbes, "In December, Belden said it planned to cut 1,800 jobs worldwide, or 20 percent of its work force, and consolidate some manufacturing operations, as demand for its products continued to soften".

MeadWestvaco , a paper and packaging manufacturer, is closing their Louisa plant. As a result, 171 employees will be let go. Lack of demand for packaging and the company's attempt to save money are the reasons for the close.

According to Virginia Business Magazine, " The company announced in January that it would reduce its worldwide work force by 2,000 jobs and restructure 12 to 14 of its manufacturing plants in 2010 to save $250 million to $300 million".

As of Virginia's unemployment rate is at 6.0%.

Pennsylvania jobs in trouble?

Pennsylvania jobs have seen their fair share of downs. As of January 2009, the state's unemployment rate has increased to 7.0% from the previous year's 4.6%. This does not reflect the hard times the state faced last month.

According to Forbes, 41,000 jobs in state were lost in February alone, the largest lay offs since 1996. In an attempt to save Pennsylvania jobs, Rendell pleaded with Sunoco, Philadelphia based oil company, to call off their impending job cuts.

Themultimillion dollar company says the 750 cuts are neccessary to ensure the company profits, and they will not reverse their decision.

However, a potential 42,000 jobs could be created in the coming months. There are numerous plans to begin construction jobs throughout the state.

According to the Pittsburgh Business Journal, with every $1 billion in infrastructure projects bring 30,000 new related jobs. The state has been given $1.4 billion, which could quickly jump start the work force.

Citizens are eager to to start work. In a poll of several contractors, "About 85 percent said they could start work on a shovel-ready project within a month of getting the contract, while 30 percent of those said they could do it within a few days".

There is hope for things to pick up for Pennsylvania.

Gov. O'Malley to the rescue

Maryland jobs hunters won't have much to worry about, if construction is their forte. The state's employment, like numerous other states, has been in trouble over several months.

39,000 job have been lost over the year from January 2008 to January 2009. The unemployment rate has increased to a record high, since 1993, of 6.2% .

Governor Martin O'Malley realizes that his state needs some help. His hope was that the Recovery and Reinvestment Act could turn the situation around. Once the Act was signed, O'Malley put plans in motion. According to a press release on March 4th, the governor announced the first construction prject to be funded by the ARRA.

"Moving quickly to preserve jobs in Maryland by investing in its infrastructure, Governor Martin O’Malley today announced construction will start this week on a $2.1 million road resurfacing and improvement project along New Hampshire Avenue in Montgomery County. The New Hampshire Avenue project is the first project in the nation approved by the Federal Highway Administration under The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act".

Other projects to be established are meant to to improve roads, bridges, and other transportation means, in which 17,500 jobs are estimated to result.

The Why's of Background Checks

The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse offers some key information into the why's and how's of employer background checks. Worried about an employment screening? Here are a few reasons for the process:

Negligent hiring lawsuits are on the rise. If an employee's actions hurt someone, the employer may be liable. The threat of liability gives employers reason to be cautious in checking an applicant's past.

Child abuse and child abductions in the news in recent years have resulted in new laws in almost every state that require criminal background checks for anyone who works with children.

Terrorist acts of September 11, 2001, have resulted in heightened security and identity-verification strategies by employers.

Corporate executives, officers, and directors now face a degree of scrutiny in both professional and private life unknown before the Enron debacle and other corporate scandals of 2002.

False or inflated information supplied by job applicants is frequently in the news. Some estimates are that 30% to 40% of all job applications and resumes include some false or inflated facts.

Federal and state laws require that background checks be conducted for certain jobs. For example, most states require criminal background checks for anyone who works with children, the elderly, or disabled. The federal National Child Protection Act authorizes state officials to access the FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database for some positions.

The "information age" itself may be a reason for the increase in employment screening -- the availability of computer databases containing millions of records of personal data. As the cost of searching these sources drops, employers are finding it more feasible to conduct background checks.

Jobs in Healthcare

Looking for a career in the medical industry? Absolute Health Care is the leading Internet source for jobs.

"We enable all types of healthcare / medical facilities, staffing companies, travel companies, and recruiters to post healthcare / medical job listings in our jobs database, and help healthcare / medical job seekers find new career opportunities when seeking employment".

With 267,428 resumes, 275,000 posts with 1,000 companies, job seekers can find the right or ideal job.

Companies from all over the country post available jobs. Also, there is a list of companies to allow you to get to know the companies, and whether they are right for you. Don't know exactly where you want to work? Job seekers can post their resume on the site's database.
The site has over 100 available positions in numerous areas including:

• Nursing,
• Rehabilitation,
  
• Pharmacy,
  
• Radiology,
  
• Physician,
• Office/clerical, and more

Absolute Health care is the place to look for medical jobs. They know the difficulties those face seeking medical positions. Through partnering with companies, their website is the best place to find the job that is right for you.

See what Cheezhead can do for you

With all the different recruiting sites on the web, everyone needs help in the job search. Cheezhead, a notable recruiting blog, formed a group of sites to write about jobs and changes in the market around the country, while linking to job finding sites.

On the job search page, Cheezhead not only posts available jobs in different fields, upcoming career fairs in the areas are as well. If the site can't help a job seeker find a job, they provide other opportunities for job fulfillment.

For example, when searching a marketing job in Cleveland, one is given a listing of related positions in field. These range from sales and advertising to management.

Numerous listings are linked to the TopUSAJobs site. In addition to the job description, related job postions are linked to. It is helpful to take advantage of these sites, when looking for a new job.

Check out the Cheezhead job page and see what it can do for you.

Where The Jobs Are

The national unemployment rate rose from 7.2 percent in December to 7.6 percent in January – 2.7 percentage points higher than a year earlier, in what continues to be a tough market for jobs.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

• The largest over-the month decreases in the level of employment were recorded in California, Michigan, Ohio, and Texas.
  
  
• Michigan, Arizona, and Ohio reported the largest over-the-month percentage decrease in employment, followed by Arizona and Ohio.
  
  
• The largest over-the-month increases in the level of employment were reported by Maryland, Washington DC, and New Hampshire.
  
  
• Washington DC, New Hampshire, Hawaii, Maryland, and Montana experienced the largest over-the-month percentage increase in employment.
  
  
• The largest over-the-year percentage decreases in employment were reported by Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Florida, and Ohio.
  
  
• The largest over-the-year percent-age increases in employment were reported by Wyoming, Washington DC, Alaska, North Dakota, and Oklahoma.

Gov. Quinn working toward new jobs

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, in his short time in office, has come to the state's aid. He has high hopes for helping Illinois citizens, like creating Chicago jobs.

On February 21st, Quinn launched Recovery.Illinois.gov to assist citizens looking for benefits of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act. The goal is to help the unemployed through:

• Tracking projects, spending and new jobs;
• Listing state programs receiving funding including unemployment benefits, food stamps, vocational rehabilitation, and others;
• Connecting to agency sites posting available project lists; and
• Allowing citizens to suggest uses for federal stimulus funds.

“We are moving as quickly as possible to get projects going so that we can get the people of Illinois back to work,” said Governor Quinn. “This website will help them learn about important programs and track our progress.”

In addition to the recovery website, on March 9th, Quinn announced his desire for a $25 billion construction program. His hopes are that, if approved, the program will improve school, roads, and bridges. Thus, creating more jobs throughout the state.

The state could be seeing changes as soon as spring time.

Online Recruiting

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, unemployment has hit an historic 8.1% in February. With jobs decreasing, online recruitment is as well.

The Monster Employment Index is down 26% from last year. With the increase in unemployment, companies aren't posting jobs because they don't have the funds to fill positions.

March isn't looking up either. According to a press release, LINE, Leading Indicators of National Employment Report, estimates this month is facing a 51.4 percent drop in manufacture hiring and a 17.9 percent drop in service hiring. This is the biggest decrease in the survey's four year history.

Companies are aren't aiding in the job seeking and the hiring process. "Fewer HR professionals are recruiting during the economic downturn and, with an increased number of people looking for work, HR representatives and recruiters can afford to be selective and are having few issues with finding top-level talent," said Jennifer Schramm, manager of workplace trends and forecasting at Society for Human Resource Management.

However, with the failing economy and the rising unemployment it is important to keep checking these websites because its impossible to know when a good job is posted.

It is hopeful that recruiting sites' postings will increase in the coming months. There are 3.5 millions jobs resulting from the Stimulus Plan. Positions will become available.

Manufacturing Facility to Bring 198 Jobs to Virginia

SPARTA Composite Products will invest $13.2 million to open a manufacturing facility in the Suffolk, Virginia. The company will manufacture composite parts for the aerospace and defense industry, creating 198 Virginia jobs over a five-year period. The new facility is expected to be operational in December 2009. Hiring will begin in the 3d quarter of 2009.

"SPARTA already has a significant presence in Virginia, operating in three different localities in the state," Governor Kaine said. "I am confident that as a division of this successful company the Suffolk operation will be the right fit for SPARTA Composite Products' expansion into the East Coast market. The project is also a great complement to the Commonwealth's growing and impressive aerospace cluster."

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the City of Suffolk and the Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance to secure the project for Virginia. Governor Kaine approved a $300,000 grant from the Governor's Opportunity Fund to assist Suffolk with the project. The Virginia Department of Business Assistance will provide training assistance through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program.

Healthcare Jobs Cut with AMN

One company is planning to eliminate almost 200 healthcare jobs across four states. Click here to see more healthcare jobs.

AMN Healthcare recently announced that it plans to eliminate 190 healthcare positions in California and three other unnamed states. About 40 workers will lost their jobs in San Diego, where the company is based. Some employees will be offered positions in other parts of the company and some will receive severance packages.

The company is eliminating positions as part of its plan to restructure its travel nurse staffing division, according to an article by the San Diego Union-Tribune. Although the healthcare industry is often one considered to be recession-proof, many hospitals across the country are reducing their number of traveling nurses to help save costs.

AMN supplies traveling nurses, traveling doctors and other temporary healthcare workers to hospitals, clinics and physician practices. The company has acquired several smaller competitors throughout the years.

AMN has announced that two of those brands, RN Demand and Preferred Healthcare Staffing, will be phased out. However, the company will continue to recruit temporary nurses through American Mobile Healthcare, NursesRX, NurseChoice, O'Grady Peyton International and Medical Express.

AMN also plans to close its office in Huntersville, N.C. as of April and move its NursesRX recruiting services to Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

San Diego's education and health services industry employed 134,600 workers during December 2008, according to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from 134,200 workers during November 2008 and a 2.4 percent increase from last year.

California's education and health services industry as a whole employed 1,738,200 workers during December 2008, up from 1,735,900 workers during November 2008 and a 3.1 percent increase from last year.

New Jobs from Atlanta Casino

New Atlanta jobs could result from a new casino. On Monday, March 2, the Atlanta City Council unanimously gave their support for a possible up and coming casino. The $450 million gaming establishment tied to the Georgia lottery.

The casino would be located in historic Underground Atlanta. The current owners of the Underground currently have almost a billion dollar plan for a casino and hotel before the Georgia Lottery Board.

“We look forward to the opportunity to work with the City to make this redevelopment a reality, and bring economic vitality to the City," said Dan O'Leary, owner of Underground Atlanta.

According to Georgia Department of Labor, the unemployment rate for the city has increased to 7.4%, a steady increase from past months due to increasing jobs lose. If passed, numerous jobs could be created throughout the hotel, casino, restaurant, and more.

The Council has high expectations for the establishment. According to The Weekly, City Councilman Jim Maddox, Chair of the City Council’s Community Development Committee, stated that, “The development has the potential to create 1,000 new jobs in the first phase of the development and a cumulative 2,000 direct jobs in the second phase. Additionally, we expect $42 million to be spent on food and beverages the first year and a total general and administrative payroll of more than $20 million."

If passed, the casino could increase tourism and therefore financially benefiting the city.

Rhode Island Jobs To Be Helped By Stimulus

Rhode Island Governor Donald L. Carcieri has officially certified that the State will receive funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) - a big step toward helping citizens find jobs in Rhode Island.

“By certifying that Rhode Island will participate in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, we are on the path back to economic recovery,” said Governor Carcieri. “I pledge to work with the General Assembly, our congressional delegation, and our cities and towns to identify and agree upon projects quickly, to maximize the federal stimulus dollars available to Rhode Island, and to get our economy moving again.”

The Governor will certify the receipt of federal unemployment insurance funds increasing benefits by an additional $25 per week. Individuals currently collecting unemployment insurance benefits are now eligible to collect an additional $25 each week. Whether individuals are entitled to regular unemployment insurance, Rhode Island Extended Benefits or Federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation payments, they will receive an additional $25 in their weekly benefit payments. The week ending February 28 is the first eligible week for the program, and payouts are scheduled to begin on March 2.

“The additional $25 per week in unemployment benefits is a small, but important, first step to helping individuals who have lost their jobs,” said Governor Carcieri.

Existing unemployment insurance customers do not need to apply separately for these benefits, which will be added automatically to their weekly payments. For the week ending February 14, Rhode Island had a total unemployment insurance claim load of approximately 38,500. Of these, approximately 2,400 were new claims.

The Governor is also seeking to move ahead with additional changes in unemployment benefits, allowing the state to maximize the $23.5 million in available stimulus funds.