Massachusetts job data point to further recovery

The unemployment rate remained steady, the workforce grew, and new unemployment claims are down.  This means the discouraged are returning to the job hunt, and employers are starting to hire...

http://bit.ly/aUpZ82

The U.S. economic recovery is on track and labor data should look better in March and beyond

http://bit.ly/aw3h5a

FedEx sees economic recovery spreading

Let's hope it's true...
http://bit.ly/aLlyxQ

The Case Against Layoffs - They Often Backfire...

Newsweek published this insightful article on the fallout from layoffs, and how they hurt employees, bot the layoff victims as well as survivors.  Surprisingly, they also negatively impact the bottom line of businesses.

http://bit.ly/97Nywb

Unemployed persons by duration of unemployment

One of the true surprises of this recession has been how long it is taking folks to find new jobs.   February 2010 statistics show that 58.9% of the unemployed have been out of work 15 weeks or longer, and 40.1% have been out for six months or longer.  This compares with 42.3% (15+ weeks) and 23.4% (6+ months) just one year ago (February 2009).

I know many people approaching 18 months, 2 years, and even longer periods of unemplyment with no end in sight.  Will these folks ever work again?  They must wonder if it's true.  Employers allegedly want to hire people in their 30s - for folks over 40, a period of extended unemployment only takes them further away from this employer ideal.

To see the full table of statistics, follow this link:
http://bit.ly/dpJxMO

It's time to spring forward again

Daylight Saving Time starts this weekend, so set your clocks forward lest ye be late to church on Sunday...

http://bit.ly/bKcIEt

Euro-zone industrial production posts record rise Rises 1.7% in January, December production revised higher

A record monthly increase in industrial output across the euro zone in January supports sustainability of economic recovery in the region, but doesn't completely dispel concerns.


http://bit.ly/d9zCuX

few enterprises know what they spend, on which products, or with which suppliers...

In the absence of good spend data supply managers and business executives are forced to develop strategies and decisions based on intuition rather than actual data. 

Impediments to accurate spend data include:

• incompatible data sources
• incomplete and/or inaccurate spend data
• insufficient category expertise
• inconsistent naming conventions
• limited analysis tools.

In the absence of all of these, it will be difficult for any organization to understand how it spends its money or how to improve procurement practices.

Best Practices in Telecom Spend Management

The challenge: few enterprises have a detailed understanding of how much they’re spending on telecom equipment and services or with whom they are spending these dollars. The reason? Telecommunications services purchase decisions are widely decentralized and poorly controlled at most companies.

In fact, a June 2004 Aberdeen benchmark study of telecommunications spend practices of 115 enterprises uncovered the following:

• 7% to 12% of telecom service charges are in error. For large enterprises, such errors are costing more than $8 million a year in lost profits.

• Up to 85% of a typical enterprise’s telecom bills are not audited and are simply paid in full. For bills that are validated, billing analysts most often examine just a subset of invoices associated with the largest spending.

• There is a lack of insight into telecom spending. Forty-five percent of companies are actively managing less than 50% of overall telecom spending.

http://bit.ly/bA0SUP

How controlled is YOUR telecom spend?

In my experience, telecom is viewed as a necessary evil, and the invoices and service are never examined for errors or waste. I instigated a detailed spend analysis of a previous employer's telecom service, and discovered:

1. The bill had not been examined in ten years.
2. 34 out of approximately 185 phone lines on the bill did not exist.
3. Telecom usage patterns had changed since the services were installed, and many of the lines were no longer needed.
4. The bill contained many errors, including double charges, erroneous rental charges and charges that were patently incorrect.
5. These problems were organization wide.
6. Despite the fact that this was draining much needed funds from the budget, nobody cared.

The Aberdeen Group published a White Paper titled "Best Practice in Telecom Spend Management", detailing these problems. In it, they concluded that:

7% to 12% of telecom service charges are in error. For large enterprises, such errors are costing more than $8 million a year in lost profits. 

Up to 85% of a typical enterprise’s telecom bills are not audited and are simply paid in full. 

There is a lack of insight into telecom spending. Forty-five percent of companies are actively managing <50% of overall telecom spending.

To read this insightful paper, follow this link:

http://bit.ly/bA0SUP

Senate passes $149 bln for jobless aid, tax breaks

Here's a statistic I have not heard before:

"More than 40 percent of unemployed Americans have been out of work for at least six months, the usual cutoff for jobless benefits. Congress extended the program to cover those out of work for nearly two years in some high-unemployment areas, but millions could still exhaust their benefits starting next month without a further extension."

http://bit.ly/9lFvcR

U.S. Labor Market Continues To Score Gains In February

It's hard to tell when the economy turns, either for the good or for the bad, because the data needs to show a trend over time. We often don't know if we're in a recession or out of one until months after the fact. It's being reported now that this recession ended in the the third quarter of 2009.  But when will the jobless recovery end, and hiring begin in earnest?

Here's an article that suggests we are starting to see improvement in the job market.  

http://bit.ly/9TWPim

It's counterintuitive, but the employment rate needs to get worse before we can start to say things are actually getting better. Those who gave up looking for a job, and who were therefore no longer counted as being in the labor market, need to see enough hope in the local economy to start their job search anew.

Anecdotally, friends and family who are searching for work are reporting more positions posted, and they are getting more face-to-face interviews. Lets hope that the trend continues.

World equities up 73 percent a year after crisis low

"Equities have had a volatile 2010 so far, but globally they remain around 73 percent higher than the low ebb of the financial crisis exactly 12 months ago."

Let's hope this is just another sign of better things to come...

http://bit.ly/bUwMCO

Oil touches 8-week high over $82 on optimism

http://bit.ly/bslP0a


Is the economy improving? Are we out of the Great Recession already, and just don't realize it yet?

Unemployment benefits: Jim Bunning relents, Senate passes extension When Sen. Jim Bunning lifted his block, the Senate approved a 30-day extension of federal unemployment benefits. More than 200,000 unemployed Americans were set to lose benefits, half of whom already had stopped receiving unemployment checks.

http://bit.ly/aSpjcR


Who among us doesn't know people who are unemployed? This particular episode of senate wrangling scared a lot of people. Without unemployment checks coming in, people would need to turn to other forms of public assistance. Would this represent progress? Probably not.


It remains to be seen how the jobs bill will play out, and if it will, in fact result in job creation. This is important not only to the ranks of the unemployed, but also the overworked employed folks who need help.