The Perfect Storm?

Wednesday, President Obama made an ominous statement warning that the current recession has the potential to rise to the level of a catastrophe if certain measures are not put into effect immediately. He has postulated that if Congress fails to act swiftly in passing his economic plan, the recession will be both exacerbated and made more lengthy.

Obama’s statements were made in response to the continued debate over amendments to the stimulus package being discussed in the Senate. The debate is expected to last through the end of the week, with a potential vote coming as early as Friday.

While Obama claims that he wants Republican ideas incorporated into the final version of the stimulus plan, he also continues to contend that tax cuts alone are not enough.  Rather, in his view, we cannot afford to ignore fundamental challenges like energy independence and the cost of health care.

Obama says his plan will create or save up to 4 million jobs. However, a preliminary analysis by the Congressional Budget Office shows that the jobs created by the plan currently under debate in the Senate, would cost taxpayers between $100,000 and $300, 000 each. The cost for each job, when not under the proposed economic stimulus plan is around $100, 000.  There is a potential for three times the cost to taxpayers for each job created.

According to many Republicans the problem is not that there is disagreement over whether there should be a stimulus plan or not. Instead they assert that there is complete agreement on the need for one. Consequently, the debate has been focused around the size  and cost of the stimulus package. Much of the $550 billion in spending is divided among these areas: $142 billion for education, $111 billion for health care, $90 billion for infrastructure, $72 billion for aid and benefits, $54 billion for energy, $16 billion for science and technology, and $13 billion for housing.

Whether or not a pared down version or a the bigger version that Obama is pushing for is eventually passed, the economy should receive a boost.  Whatever version ultimately passes, jobs will be created.  So why not find those jobs using EmploymentCrossing. Make sure not forget about our free trial.

Tags: debate, Democrat, economy, Employment, Jobs, obama, partisan, Republican, Senate, stimulus plan, The Perfect Storm, vote

Waiting to Exhale–What Will Become of Obama’s Stimulus Package?

President Obama’s stimulus plan has cleared it’s first hurdle, with it’s passage in the House.  However, it was nowhere near a bipartisan victory.  The victory in the House is primarily attributable to a Democratic majority. And what’s more is that eleven Democrats actually voted against the $819 billion package.

Tags: bipartisan, Capitol Hill, Congress, Democrats, economic future, economy, Employment, House, Jobs, obama, Republicans, Senate, stimulus plan, taking control

It’s Always Darkest Before the Dawn, Let’s Hope That’s True…

As the last week of January is fast approaching, it’s beginning to look like the new year did not bring new hope for vast numbers of unemployed Americans. In fact the trend seems to be that more and more lay offs are occurring and will continue to occur throughout the year. So far this week around 40, 000 more cuts have been made or announced across a number of industries.

The week began with Warner Bros. Entertainment announcing a cut of 10% of its worldwide staff in the upcoming year. As the week progressed a number of other companies, including: Ericsson,  BHP Billiton, Clear Channel Communications, Eaton, Intel, and Williams-Sonoma announced cuts totaling 27,000 in the aggregate. And now sitting at the very end of this, the third week of January,  the tally of lost jobs  has been topped off by Microsoft’s announcement to cut 5,000 jobs over the course of 2009 and by cuts and promised cuts at both Harley-Davidson and Polaris Industries.

Everything being  counted,  the total job loss tally for 2009 has already reached 125,000.  That’s quite a number for a period as short as three weeks.  The year 2008 saw about 2.6 million jobs lost, a number not matched since 1945.  And the awful part is that there is no hope for any kind reversal of this trend in the near future.  Economists predict that job loss rates will intensify over the course of the next few months. Some speculate that the unemployment rate, already at a 16 year high, will rise from 7.2% to as high as 9.1% during and throughout the upcoming year.

With all of this gloom and doom, it seems nearly impossible to get a job.  However, that’s where EmploymentCrossing steps in.  Until the economy picks up, as it is predicted to in 2010, let’s face it, it’s not going to be easy for anyone to find employment, especially desirable employment. But since we are all in the same boat, you may as well do what you can to be competitive for the few positions out there.  At EmploymentCrossing you have access to more job opportunities than at any other location.

So get out there and do what you can to get ahead.  No one said it will be easy, but try our risk free trial today to give you a much-needed boost in this super-competitive job market.

Tags: BHP, Clear Channel, cuts, Eaton, economy, Employment, Ericsson, Harley-Davidson, Intel, Jobs, lay offs, Microsoft, unemployment rate, Warner Brothers, Williams-Sonoma

Light at the End of the Tunnel

What’s topping the agenda for the President-elect? According to the Obama camp, it’s the economy, with the turmoil in the Mideast trailing closely behind. During his first full day in office, Obama is planning to meet with his top economic advisers. The goal is to map out a strategy for getting Congress to pass his stimulus plan–a stimulus plan that has now reached the dollar amount of $825 billion.

Despite Obama’s intention of getting his stimulus plan in action as quickly as possible, he has been reticent to promise major change in the economic situation any time in the near future. He has expressed his intentions to make an economic speech to a joint session of Congress to communicate that even if his economic recovery plan is passed into law during the first 100 days of his term, the financial crisis will likely continue for a long period of time. However, the one upside to the situation is that there appears to be worldwide consensus that the correct step to take in this situation is the one that Obama is pushing Congress to accept.

We need to be bailed out—and I mean literally!

The $825 billion bailout that Obama is sponsoring is expected to create three to four million new jobs. While that is a reassuring estimate, the problem remains—What can we do in the mean time?

The only real option is to find a way to outdo the competition. No one can argue that the best way to outdo the competition is to eliminate it. So why not let Hound sniff out the jobs that are not listed on other sites. By partnering with Hound you can gain access to thousands of jobs that few other people know about.

So until those new three to four million jobs are actually created, let Hound help you weather the economic storm.

Tags: Bailout, economic future, economy, economy 2009, Employment, financial crisis, Jobs, obama

Dude, Where’s My Job?

Earlier today the Senate voted to release the second half of the $700 billion dollar bailout package originally authorized under the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). But this time the $350 billion dollars won’t be bailing out the automotive industry. According to Larry Summers, Obama’s economic advisor, “The incoming Obama administration has no intention of using any funds to implement an industrial policy.” Instead the plan is to keep the funds in the financial sector. Obama is planning to expand lending to consumers and small businesses, and Summers has pledged to commit $50 billion to $100 billion to address foreclosures. The aim is to promote stability of the financial system and increase lending, preserve home ownership, promote jobs and economic recovery, etc…all with the maximum degree of accountability and transparency.

This time around let’s hope that the benefits can be felt by the average American who has been struggling to get by in these tough economic times. Since the economic benefits definitely did not trickle down to most Americans last time, the stated focus of the plan on small businesses and consumer loans seems to be a step in the right direction. And we all know what more money invested in small business and consumer loans means–more spending and the need for more manpower to meet consumer demands.

That’s right, if Obama’s confidence in this plan is well-placed that means you and yours will have a much better chance of finding and keeping gainful employment in the near future. You can be certain that every new position popping up as a result of this economic stimulus plan will be found in one, convenient location. You know what I’m talking about—it’s EmploymentCrossing of course.

So with the help of this bailout money and a little help from EmploymentCrossing, pretty soon you won’t be asking yourself “Dude, where’s my job?” Instead you’ll be asking, “Dude, where’s my car?” You know, the brand new one you just bought with the big bucks you’ll be earning at your new job.

But since you aren’t earning the big bucks just yet, don’t forget to take advantage of our risk free, 7-day trial.

Tags: Add new tag, Bailout, Careers, economy, Employment, Jobs, Larry Summers, obama, TARP

World AIDS Day

Let’s set aside our ‘shop talk’ for a moment and look at a bigger issue that affects us all.

Today marked the 20th Annual World AIDS Day, when groups around the globe took time to recognize progress towards fighting this terrible disease. All throughout the day, world leaders and the affected and their families have been speaking about the importance of prevention, awareness and treatment of HIV/AIDS in both developed and developing nations. Much of the focus was on changing the stigma and wrong information that many people still hold about the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Admist all the discussion about the job market and the economy, let’s remember that HIV/AIDS touches those across all socioeconomic sectors and employment statuses. To learn more about the disease and what you can do to get involved, go to:

World AIDS Day Official website

World AIDS Day campaign website

US Dept. of Health and Human Services

Tags: awareness, economy, prevention, treatment, World AIDS Day

It’s only temporary!

When we talk about today’s economy, trendy metaphors are everywhere. Here’s a sample:  Weather: stormy, cloudy, dark; Movement: reeling, roiling, turbulent; Health: ailing, sick, aching.

If you think about it, each of these metaphors implies a temporary condition. Weather clears, movement slows down, people heal. During this temporarily tough time, sometimes the best way for unemployed job seekers to handle this is by getting a temp job.

You guys are smart (obviously, since you’re being proactive in your job search), so you probably already know what temp jobs are. But we’ll go ahead and tell you anyways. When employees are out for a bit (with health problems or on leave) and work still needs to get done, companies often hire temporary employees to fill in the gaps. Other companies make it their policy to hire temp workers that eventually become permanent positions.

There may be lots of reasons why you temp. If you’re out of a job, temping helps you pay the bills until you find a more permanent position. Temping also allows you set your own schedule (if you want to take a couple of weeks go see the lovely Vermont foliage with Uncle Morty, go right ahead), add skills to your resume if it needs a boost, and try out different positions if you’re not sure about which industry you might be best suited for.

EmploymentCrossing has over 90 sites listing jobs–temporary, part time, and permanent– in tons of different industries. Project management positions, compliance jobs, even nursing jobs.

So as you weather the storm, brace yourself for the turbelence, and drink some chicken soup for the economy, remember that tempin’ may not be easy. . .but it can help get you where you need to go.

Tags: economy, industry, resume, temp jobs

Need More Green??

To get this blog post rollin’, here’s our starter–a sweet little tidbit from Mr. Quirky himself, famed film director Woody Allen: “Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons.” Well, duh.

Most certainly a little money is better than no money and a lot is better than a little, and in the current economic tornado, dough is def muy importante. You don’t want to lose any of those fantastic material goods (not to make too light of the situation, you obviously wouldn’t want to be kicked to the curb of your own neighborhood street because your home was foreclosed, either) you’ve acquired in your twenties because you gotta sell them for ramen noodles, do you?

Well, ladies and gentlemen, EmploymentCrossing can help you snag a bigger paycheck! We have this really awesome method of scouring the interwebs and rounding up THOUSANDS of jobs and magically organizing them so you can find what ya want in a snap. Whipya!…that’s my snap noise, btw.

So if you’d like to purchase brand-name TP, instead of the stuff that chafes your naughty bits, you better get a move on with our free trial. Better paying jobs await

Tags: better paying jobs, economy, job board, Job Search