Twitter Recommendation Engine in Beta?

Just came across the following on my Twitter stream:



"Wondering who this is? Someone you follow thought this was worth retweeting, which is why you are seeing it in your Home timeline."

Looks like Twitter's version of a recommendation engine, similar to Facebook. Not sure how I feel about it being right in the middle of the updates ...

Portland Nursing Jobs Have Most Openings

Fortunately for anyone looking for a career in healthcare, there are more Portland nursing jobs available than any other occupation.

During the spring of this year, employers in the Portland Tri-County area had about 8,575 available jobs, according to the Oregon Employment Department's Job Vacancy Survey. Of those vacancies, one-tenth were left unfilled for at least two months.

The 25 occupations with the most job openings represented only 42 percent of all job vacancies in the Portland area, which means an array of other occupations beyond those 25 also were left unfilled.

Overall, healthcare and social assistance, educational services and retail trade accounted for the most job openings. The four industries combined represented 61 percent of all job openings in the Portland area.

Registered nurses had 451 job openings, accounting for 5 percent of all vacancies in the Portland area, making it the most in-demand job. That was followed by personal and home care aides with 235 openings and retail salespersons with 224 openings, each of which accounted for 3 percent of all vacancies in the area.

Among all other occupations, no single occupation represented more than 2 percent of the total job vacancies. About one-tenth of all job openings remained unfilled for at least 60 days. Occupations in personal care, social services, education, architecture and engineering and healthcare had the highest rates of long-term vacancy.

As further proof that Portland nursing jobs are thriving, the area's healthcare industry has continued to add jobs on a monthly and yearly basis, despite the current state of the economy.

The Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton area's education and health services area employed 134,100 workers during September, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from 129,200 workers during August and a 1 percent increase from last year.

Denver Medical Jobs

If you're looking for a career in Colorado, you may want to consider the various Denver medical jobs that are available, many of which have a positive outlook.

The healthcare industry itself is expected to grow by 18.3 percent between 2008 and 2018, which is faster than the 5.8 percent growth rate expected for all industries in the Denver area. That means 6,828 healthcare jobs, or about 683 jobs per year, will be created during the 10 year period.

There are currently about 155 employers in the hospital sector in the Denver-Aurora area. That includes general medical and surgical hospitals, psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals and other hospitals.

Employees in the hospital sector - including physicians, nurses and other healthcare workers - provide medical, diagnostic and treatment services. Hospital workers can be responsible for providing inpatient or outpatient care.

The top 10 occupations in the hospitals sector, according to the Colorado Department of Labor & Employment, include:

1. Registered nurses with 12,712 employees
2. Janitors and cleaners with 890 employees
3. Medical and clinical laboratory technologists with 888 employees
4. Radiologic technologists and technicians with 873 employees
5. Secretaries with 654 employees
6. Medical records and health information technicians with 631 employees
7. Respiratory therapists with 630 employees
8. Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses with 598 employees
9. Executive secretaries and administrative assistants with 583 employees
10. Pharmacists with 550 employees

Recent statistics show the healthcare industry's ability to grow and add jobs, despite the current economic recession, which also points to the fact that the industry is quite stable and will continue to progress in the future.

The Denver-Aurora-Broomfield area's education and health services industry employed 137,600 workers during September, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from 135,900 workers during August and a 2.4 percent increase from last year.

Jobs in Atlanta Give City Low Milken Ranking

The inability of the local economy to support more jobs in Atlanta contributed to the city's low placement on a new report.

The 2009 Milken Institute's annual list of best performing cities ranked the metro Atlanta area 106th in the nation. The report ranks cities based on how they are doing at creating and retaining jobs amid a challenging economy and evaluates such factors as job and salary growth and the strength of local high-tech industries.

Atlanta's latest ranking is a large decline from the city's 59th place ranking during 2008. The city's five-year job growth, from 2003 to 2008, came in 63rd place, while its five-year wages and salary growth, from 2002 to 2007, came in 110th place.

Atlanta's lower placement is not a big surprise, given the recent state of the local economy, which has continued to lose jobs as the unemployment rate increases.

During September, the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta area saw its unemployment rate increase from 10.3 percent to 10.5 percent, which was higher than the national unemployment rate at the time of 9.8 percent.

The area had a total non-farm employment of 2,270,000 workers during September, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is down from 2,280,000 workers during August and a 5.9 percent decrease from last year.

Two other Georgia cities actually improved their placement on the Milken list. Savannah was ranked 39th, up from 24th place during 2008, while Augusta was ranked 82nd, up from 121st place last year.

Austin, Texas, was ranked first in the nation, followed by Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, Texas; Salt Lake City, Utah; McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas; Houston, Texas; Durham, N.C.; Olympia, Wash.; Huntsville, Ala.; Lafayette, La.; and Raleigh-Cary, N.C.

"Regional economic factors also strongly influenced the rankings this year, with the oil and gas sector, technology and alternative energy providing stability among metros in Texas, North Carolina, Washington and Louisiana, which also benefited from low dependence on housing/construction," the report noted.

On the other end of the scale was Flint, Mich., which placed dead last, followed by Detroit, Mich. and Toledo, Ohio.

Where to Find Jobs in Las Vegas

Although the city known for its gambling and entertainment has fallen on hard times as of late, there are many opportunities to find jobs in Las Vegas.

During August, the Las Vegas-Paradise area saw its unemployment rate increase from 13.1 percent to 13.4 percent, which was significantly higher than the national unemployment rate at the time of 9.7 percent.

The area had a total non-farm employment of 846,900 workers during August, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is down from 851,800 workers during July and a 6.7 percent decrease from last year.

Despite the bleak statistics, there are still many viable places in Las Vegas to look for jobs. The State of Nevada itself is home to nine Fortune 500 companies, seven of which are in Las Vegas. Those companies include:

• Harrah's Entertainment
• MGM Mirage
• Las Vegas Sands
• NV Energy
• Wynn Resorts
• Southwest Gas
• Boyd Gaming

The other two Fortune 500 companies - International Game Technology and Amerco - are located in nearby Reno.

Aside from gambling and entertainment, Las Vegas - which is home to 558,383 people - is known for its tourism, conventions, retail and dining. The city also has strong government and education industries.

Whether looking for a teaching job or to further your own education, the Las Vegas area has a lot to offer. The area is home to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; the University of Nevada Medical School; the University of Phoenix; Nevada State College; Touro University Nevada; the College of Southern Nevada; Devry University; the Keller Graduate School of Management; the University of Southern Nevada; Apollo College; National University; and ITT Technical Institute.

Orlando Medical Jobs Created by New Facility

The opening of a new facility will help create several Orlando medical jobs.

Last week, city and state officials and more than 800 business leaders, scientists and politicians gathered for the official opening of the Burnham Institute for Medical Research. The institute is thought to be an important component of Orlando's emergency Medical City.

City of Orlando officials have made a strategic commitment to pursue biomedical and life sciences companies to locate to the Central Florida community in order to secure the future of a medical cluster.

These specific industries were targeted to help diversify the economy, create thousands of high-wage and high-value jobs for the region and provide world-class healthcare options to residents and visitors.

"I am pleased to celebrate the opening of the Burnham Institute's east coast headquarters - the heart beat of our Medical City," Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said. "This could not have happened without the hard work of people and organizations coming together, collaborating and partnering."

So far, almost $1 billion in public funding has been secured for Medical City projects worth more than $1.5 billion.

"We chose Orlando to locate our east coast headquarters because of the highly collaborative environment and strong community support," Dr. John Reed, president and CEO of the Burnham Institute for Medical Research, said. "We knew Burnham would flourish in this synergetic setting."

Further efforts will result in the following entities being located in Medical City: the University of Central Florida College of Medicine, the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, the MD Anderson Cancer Center, Nemours Children's Hospital, the Orlando VA Medical Center and the University of Florida Research Center.

The idea for Medical City began almost 10 years ago when Orlando invested more than $80 million to build roads and infrastructure at Lake Nona. At the same time, the city created the Southeast Orlando Sector Plan, one of the largest urban planning and development projects, to develop a strategic, smart growth plan that relies on the life science sector and increases the livability of the entire community. Medical City is expected to be complete in 2012.

Jobs in San Antonio on the Decline

According to a report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, all other Texas markets, except for McAllen-Edinburg, suffered job losses year over year, including several thousand jobs in San Antonio.

Ninety-nine of the nation’s 100 biggest labor markets had fewer jobs in August 2009 than a year earlier, led by a loss of 230,000 jobs from the Los Angeles area.

Six markets, led by Los Angeles, lost at least 100,000 jobs during the 12-month span. The others were Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, New York City and Phoenix. The biggest declines on a percentage basis occurred in the Detroit area, where 8.5 percent of the job base evaporated in a single year, and in Phoenix, with a drop of 7.9 percent.

The following are some of the biggest labor markets in America, ranked according to raw change in employment between August 2008 and August 2009. Each market’s percentage change is in parentheses:

McAllen-Edinburg, Texas, gain of 3,200 jobs (1.5%)
Jackson, Miss., loss of 1,200 jobs (-0.5%)
Baton Rouge, La., loss of 3,300 jobs (-0.9%)
El Paso, Texas, loss of 3,500 jobs (-1.3%)
Worcester, Mass., loss of 3,500 jobs (-1.4%)
Trenton, N.J., loss of 4,000 jobs (-1.7%)
Little Rock, Ark., loss of 4,600 jobs (-1.3%)
New Haven, Conn., loss of 4,900 jobs (-1.8%)
Columbia, S.C., loss of 5,100 jobs (-1.4%)
Huntsville, Ala., loss of 5,100 jobs (-2.4%)
Augusta, Ga., loss of 5,200 jobs (-2.4%)
Winston-Salem, N.C., loss of 5,900 jobs (-2.7%)
Des Moines, Iowa, loss of 6,100 jobs (-1.9%)
Madison, Wis., loss of 6,200 jobs (-1.8%)
Wichita, Kans., loss of 6,200 jobs (-2.1%)
Poughkeepsie, N.Y., loss of 6,400 jobs (-2.5%)
Syracuse, N.Y., loss of 6,500 jobs (-2.0%)
Omaha, loss of 6,800 jobs (-1.4%)
San Antonio, loss of 7,100 jobs (-0.8%)
Austin, loss of 7,200 jobs (-0.9%)
Bakersfield, Calif., loss of 7,300 jobs (-3.1%)
Chattanooga, Tenn., loss of 7,400 jobs (-3.0%)
Charleston, S.C., loss of 7,600 jobs (-2.5%)
New Orleans, loss of 7,700 jobs (-1.5%)
Tulsa, loss of 7,700 jobs (-1.8%)
Greenville, S.C., loss of 7,900 jobs (-2.5%)
Spokane, Wash., loss of 8,000 jobs (-3.7%)
Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, Pa., loss of 8,700 jobs (-3.3%)

San Antonio lost 7,100 jobs, a decline of .8% from the previous year.

Thousands Apply for Jobs in Tucson

The Arizona Daily Star has reported that a brand new Target received 16,000 applications from job seekers eager to apply for these jobs in Tucson.

The Target.com Fulfillment Center, 8940 E. Rita Park Drive, near Interstate 10 and Rita Road, is the Minneapolis-based company's first such center built from the ground up to Target's specifications. It is only one of three in the country dedicated solely to filling customer orders placed through its Web site.

The company's other two fulfillment centers are in Ontario, Calif., and Woodbury, Minn.

The Fulfillment Center held a grand opening in its new 975,000-square-foot Tucson warehouse last Friday. Elected and appointed government officials attended the opening.

The Tucson fulfillment center is operating just one shift, and at a fraction of its capacity. It began operations four months ago with 100 full-time workers, now employs more than 200 and is expected to gear up to 300 during the holiday peak period. Thousands more are expected to apply for jobs during this time period. It will be several years before the Fulfillment Center reaches full operating capacity.

Target spokesmen wouldn't say what the facility cost to build and equip, but the Pima County Assessor's Office set the full cash value of the land, building and improvements at $33.5 million for 2010.

The Arizona Star reported that a spokeswoman for TREO, Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities, which was involved in recruiting the Target fulfillment center, said Target received no tax waivers or other incentives to build here.

Target handed out five $3,000 checks at Friday's ceremony, one each to:
• The Vail Unified School District, for early-childhood literacy and the Vail Pride Day celebration.
• The Tucson Symphony, for free family concerts.
• Casa de los Niños, for a family violence-prevention program.
• Van Buskirk Elementary School in the Tucson Unified School District, for a library makeover.
• The Hope Network, for Hope Fest 2009.

Target has 1,719 stores in 49 states nationwide. Vermont is the only state without a Target store.

Airline Jobs in Milwaukee

According to MilwaukeeBizJournals.com, Republic Airway Holdings is now pitting three airlines' hometowns in a bidding war for at least 400 jobs, which could create new jobs in Milwaukee.

Frontier Airlines is ready to exit bankruptcy in the hands of Midwest Airlines owner Republic Airways Holdings Inc.

Frontier CEO Sean Menke gave an exclusive interview about the deal to Denver Biz Journals. Apparently Denver, Indianapolis and Milwaukee all are competing for the jobs.

Menke, who is overseeing both Frontier and Midwest operations, said he is looking for cost savings and incentives on where to locate heavy maintenance and parts warehousing jobs now at Denver International Airport.

Frontier and its soon-to-be owner Indianapolis-based Republic are now deciding whether to relocate 400 or more positions, some 250 of which are based in Denver, as part of their consolidation. Those jobs include the Las Cruces positions.

“It’s an interesting sort of dilemma that the politicians are in here ... There’s been a lot of questions about whether they’re going to step up and support the company,” Menke said told the Denver Business Journal. “With the city and county, it’s been a relationship that’s been strained at times ... We’ve asked and we’ve pushed, and we’ll see what they come up with at the end of the day.”

BizJournals said that state and city officials are putting together a package of incentives that includes about $1 million in job-creation and job-training tax credits. The deal also includes cost reductions on things such as facility leases at the airport, which are meant to offset a city tax on aircraft maintenance parts that some airline officials have called onerous.

Republic CEO Bryan Bedford, who is currently the chief executive of Midwest, has said he’s looking to make a decision on where to locate jobs quickly after receiving the three cities’ packages.

Menke said, “We are working on the platform of a new company, and we have to ensure we’re doing the right things in terms of incentives and cost reduction,” he said. “Because if you make an emotional decision, it may feel good from an emotional standpoint, but it may not be the best decision.”

Minimum Wage Increase Costs Arizona Jobs

A bump in Arizona's minimum age, now up to $7.25 per hour from $6.95 since last January, is costing Arizona jobs.

According to AZBiz.com, HR Wise, a professional employer organization in Mesa, estimated the 35-cents per hour bump in the minimum wage cost businesses in the state $1.2 billion more per year. The figure includes matching taxes business pay the government.

The increase came three months after the collapse of the financial markets.

This change meant that Arizona's minimum wage in 2009 exceeded the federal minimum wage through the first half of 2009. The federal minimum wage increased to $6.55 per hour in July of 2008 and then again in July of 2009 to $7.25 per hour.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Phoenix metropolitan area has lost 7.8 percent of its jobs over the last year. No other metropolitan area has lost a higher percentage of jobs.

Many businesses couldn’t afford that $1.2 billion and were forced to terminate or reduce the hours of their employees.

The article states that the consumer price index, upon which Arizona basis its minimum wage increases, has decreased every month this year from what it was a year ago. The August-to-August drop was 3.25 percentage points, the U.S. Labor Department announced last week.

Arizona’s minimum wage law has no provision for being reduced.

It might sound paradoxical to say that raising the minimum wage in a state would lead to job loss, but that is what's happening in Arizona. Instead of reveling in an increased standard of living, many workers in Arizona are now jobless and are forced to fall in line with the thousands already competing for jobs.

Another city in Arizona, Tucson, has lost 7.5 percent of its jobs last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It is second only to Phoenix in terms of most severe job loss percentage in the nation. Detroit comes in third.

Michigan voted to bump its minimum wage up to $6.95 per hour in October 2006 and subsequently increased it twice more so that it now stands at $7.40 per hour.

Outplacement Firms Face Performance Reviews

Outplacement firms, many of which have enjoyed a surge in business since the recession began, have come under fire for providing job seekers with standardized services that provide little value.

According to an article on WSJ.com, businesses that are anxious to shed former employees impose time limits that hamper effectiveness. Even though employers dole out substantial fees to these agencies, many of them don't track whether outplacement even works.

Executives estimate about 40% of workers offered outplacement services don't show up or ask for cash instead.

The article said that some industry participants are troubled by reports of mass-produced résumés, canned job advice and lackluster counseling.

WSJ noted that outplacement services arose in the 1960s to provide out-of-work managers with an office, a phone and a secretary. Layoffs were less common and participants needed to battle the stigma of losing a job.

By the 1990s, outplacement firms expanded to serve everyone from CEOs to hourly workers. Providers competed by lowering prices, offering volume discounts to corporate clients for an increasingly standardized menu of workshops and referral services.

Now, outplacement is a standard feature of corporate layoffs. More than two-thirds of 265 U.S. employers with layoffs during the past two years offered outplacement, at an average cost of $3,589 an employee, according to a June survey for The Wall Street Journal by the American Management Association and Institute for Corporate Productivity.

Outplacement generally begins the day an employee is terminated. Providers often send staff members to each work site to explain their services. The process helps companies efficiently show employees the door, and gives the outplacement firms a chance to market themselves.

The article said that employees usually gain access to online seminars, group workshops and individual time with a coach, for periods ranging from a month to more than a year. Programs for executives, priced around $10,000 and up, generally provide a private office and more coaching time; those for midlevel managers or clerical workers, priced $5,000 or below, may offer a chair and phone at a shared table.