States continue to hemorrhage manufacturing jobs

by Liana Fox and Lauren Marra

Since March 2001—the most recent business cycle peak—the United States has lost nearly 3 million manufacturing jobs, a decline of 17.4%. The Midwest and East Coast have seen the worst fallout from these losses, with Michigan and the Carolinas losing the largest shares of jobs. Since March 2001, Michigan has lost 5.2% of total employment (or nearly a quarter of a million jobs) due to declines in manufacturing jobs. With a few exceptions, the states hit the hardest are all east of the Mississippi (See Chart).

enlarge image
Manufacturing job loss as a share of total employment

Interestingly, this decrease in manufacturing jobs comes at a time when productivity growth in manufacturing is largely unchanged.1 As documented in previous EPI research, many of these jobs have been lost due to foreign trade, especially trade with China.

The loss of these relatively high-paying jobs (average weekly wage of $725 compared to overall average of $603) has been a drain on states' economies, as many of these jobs have been replaced by lower wage service sector jobs. The decline in employment in the manufacturing sector also means increased labor competition in other sectors, as unemployed workers try to find jobs elsewhere in the economy. These trends thus threaten to lower labor standards for all workers.

*Go to EPI’s Datazone for a state-by-state table of manufacturing employment. This table will be updated monthly.


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Civil service piles on more than 16 000 new jobs

Only 29000 new formal jobs were created in the third quarter ended September, and more than half of these were government positions, Statistics SA’s latest employment data showed.

South Africa’s 8.3-million formally employed people averaged R8456 earnings in August. This is 7.2percent higher than August last year. Official inflation was 6.3percent over that period, indicating employed South Africans are slightly better off.

The data showed South Africa is now primarily a country of civil servants, followed by bankers and then sales and hospitality industry workers.

The sector that Stats SA entitles “community, social and personal services industry”, which encompasses mainly civil servants, teachers and policemen, grew by 16000 positions during the quarter and 34000 from September last year.

“This is mainly due to increases in employment in national government, provincial government, other central government activities and education,” the report said.

Nearly a quarter of all formal employment is in the community, social and personal services industry sector, followed by 22percent in financial services, and 21percent in the wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles and personal and household goods, and the hotels and restaurant sector.

South Africa shed 15000 factory workers from September last year. Of these, 4000 manufacturing jobs were lost over the quarter.

Fortunately, the commodities boom has seen mines employ people faster than factories are retrenching. There are 38000 more miners than a year ago, but the mining sector only accounts for six percent of all jobs.

The construction boom has seen this sector grow by 16000 jobs from the third quarter last year. But jobs here are the worst paid, with builders averaging R5513 in August. Construction is the second- smallest sector measured by formal employees.

The smallest employment sector, “electricity, gas and water supply industry”, offers the best-paying jobs. Total earnings for the 55000 people here came to an average of R18993 each, a 27percent increase from the second quarter.

Stats SA put the August average pay in the electricity and water sector at a more modest R15449 salary, placing it ahead of the transport, storage and communication industry sector average of R11688.


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French Q3 employment revised up to 0.4 pct gain vs Q2, 1.8 pct gain yr-on-yr

PARIS (Thomson Financial) - French employment in industry, manufacturing, construction and services in the third quarter was revised upward to an 0.4 pct gain from the second quarter and a 1.8 pct year-on-year rise.

Provisional data issued last month had shown the gains at 0.2 pct and 1.6 pct respectively.

Prime Minister Francois Fillon called the data 'very good news', reflecting an acceleration in the net creation of new jobs.

tfn.paris@thomson.com

mjs/ak

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GM will idle 450 workers for a week in January

Most affected by temporary layoff likely won't be paid for time off
Posted By DON FRASER, Standard Staff
Posted 17 days ago

A temporary layoff in early January will affect 450 General Motors employees in St. Catharines and last roughly one week for most workers.

Virginia Lewis, spokeswoman for GM’s operations in St. Catharines, said the V-8 west engine line at the Glendale plant will be down Jan. 6 to 13, resulting in 420 of the layoffs.

The radiator support line at the Ontario Street components plant shuts down Jan. 2 to 13, affecting 30 people.

The local layoff is in connection with GM’s truck manufacturing operation in Oshawa. There, the first two weeks of January will be used as “downtime to adjust their inventory,” Lewis said. GM’s plants in St. Catharines supply parts to Oshawa.

“Any time our assembly plant customers have a change in their schedules, we have to react to adjust our inventory, too,” she said, adding for that reason temporary layoffs can happen throughout the year.

Lewis said demand for the V-6 engine made in St. Catharines — which goes into GM’s new car/SUV crossover vehicles and the Chevy Malibu and Saturn Aura — remains strong.

“There’s no (employment) change for that program,” she said.

The CAW employees have a one-week waiting period with no pay before government and collective agreement unemployment benefits kick in at 65 per cent of gross pay.

As there have been few temporary layoffs for workers over the past year, “the majority of the (laid-off) employees will not have their waiting week in,” Lewis said. That means the laid-off workers will not be paid for the week off in January.

Terry White, the GM unit plant chairperson for St. Catharines, said the layoff is another reason why people need to buy GM products.

Sales of imported vehicles are hurting Canadian jobs in the Big Three North American auto companies, he said.

Without more domestic demand for vehicles made by GM, Ford and Chrysler, “the Big Three will continue to struggle,” White said.



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Mayor: Haldex to layoff 170 workers in '08

Brake manufacturer Haldex has announced it will layoff 170 people early next year at its Prattville plant. Prattville Mayor Jim Byard said company executives blamed the layoffs on sluggish sales of its brake products for medium and heavy trucks.

Haldex Brake Systems has been operating in Prattville since the early 1980s.

Byard also said the company could cut up to 85 jobs as part of a restructuring plan. He said Haldex has no plans to close the plant.

---

Information From: The Montgomery Advertiser


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WaMu to slash 3,150 jobs

Facing 4th-quarter loss, bank cuts dividend 73% and sets office closures

By BILL VIRGIN
P-I REPORTER

Washington Mutual Inc. said Monday that it plans to lay off about 3,150 employees -- including more than 500 in this state -- close more than half of its home loan centers and slash its dividend by 73 percent as it tries to cope with the continuing deterioration of the national housing and mortgage markets.

In an announcement that was laden with indicators of just how ugly the situation is getting for the housing finance industry in general and WaMu in particular, the Seattle-based consumer bank and home loan company said it will report a loss for the fourth quarter because of a $1.6 billion charge to write down the value of its home-loan business.

The quarter also will include the cost of closings and layoffs, as well as adding a larger-than-expected amount to its reserve fund to cover potential losses on loans.

The common stock dividend, meanwhile, will be cut from the current 56 cents a share to 15 cents a share, reversing a trend of a dozen years of regular quarterly increases.

The dividend cut was widely expected, given that the company's third-quarter earnings per share were lower than the dividend payout.

But the warnings that credit problems are getting worse and more money will be set aside to cover potential losses were something of a surprise, even though the company has had to increase its estimate of additions to its reserve fund several times already.

"It's more than I expected on the credit cost side," said James Bradshaw, banking analyst with D.A. Davidson & Co. in Lake Oswego, Ore. "There's no sign credit (quality) is turning around."

Investors signaled their unhappiness with the news in the after-hours session (the announcement was issued after the close of regular trading). WaMu's stock has been pummeled in recent months because of disappointing earnings and warnings that delinquencies and defaults in its loan portfolio are rising.

From a closing price of $44.41 a share in June, the stock finished the regular trading session Monday at $19.88, up 85 cents on the day. In after-hours trading, the stock fell to $18.10.

The big questions ahead for the company now include:

# Does the stock price already reflect all the bad news, or might it fall even more?

# Will investors have patience with Chief Executive Kerry Killinger and senior management as they attempt to turn the company around?

# Has the bottom been reached on credit deterioration?

"My preliminary guess is they're not going to make any money next year," Bradshaw said. "It's hard to get excited about the stock."

Moody's Investors Services, which downgraded several ratings on WaMu, said it had expected WaMu's profitability to recover in 2009. "Moody's now believes this will not occur until 2010."

WaMu said the reductions in expenses, the additions to loan loss reserves, the dividend cut and the planned sale of convertible preferred stock to raise $2.5 billion in additional capital "should ensure that it has the financial strength to address difficult conditions in the credit and housing markets in 2008."

It also said it will emphasize its retail banking business, which has been performing relatively well in the midst of the decline in home lending.

The home-lending business will endure the brunt of the cuts. WaMu said it plans to drop all lending in the subprime mortgage channel.

The subprime market, made up of those borrowers with poor credit histories, is where the earliest and most dramatic problems with delinquent and defaulted loans have surfaced. Problems are now starting to appear in the prime mortgage business, not only in the volume of loan applications but in credit quality.

"Washington Mutual remains committed to providing mortgage products to its customers," the company said in a statement. "However, the mortgage market is undergoing a fundamental shift due to credit dislocation and a prolonged period of reduced capital markets liquidity." The company said the national market for mortgage originations will shrink from $2.4 trillion in 2007 to $1.5 trillion in 2008.

WaMu said it will close 190 of 336 home loan centers and sales offices, including six in Washington, as well as nine home-loan processing and call centers around the country.

That will result in the elimination of 2,600 home loan positions, about 22 percent of the staff in that operation. WaMu plans to do more home lending through retail branches.

WaMu is also cutting 550 corporate and support positions. Most layoffs will take effect by the end of January.

Also being closed is WaMu Capital Corp., a broker-dealer in mortgage-backed securities.

Washington Mutual has been cutting employment corporatewide (and shifting some work to offshore vendors) for several years in the face of a declining home-loan industry. In its most recent earnings report, the company put total employment at just under 50,000; it had more than 60,000 employees in 2005.

The company has 5,400 employees in Seattle, 6,038 in King County and 7,310 in Washington. The layoffs will affect 540 employees in Washington, including 380 in Seattle.

WaMu said it will take a $1.6 billion write-off of the goodwill on the balance sheet for its home-loan business, resulting in a loss for the fourth quarter. The cuts and closings will cost $140 million, to be charged against fourth-quarter earnings, but are expected to reduce expenses by $500 million next year.

It will also set aside $1.8 billion to $2 billion for loan losses in the first quarter, up from $1.5 billion to $1.6 billion in the fourth quarter, with charge-offs "expected to increase significantly."

For all the speculation about what's ahead for WaMu, one subject that isn't the topic of much conversation is a possible takeover of the company, even though its stock price is down sharply.

"In a perverse way, the depth of the credit problems make it difficult to view them as a takeover candidate," Bradshaw said, since whoever might acquire it would be dealing with the same problems.

Fitch Ratings, which also issued ratings cuts on WaMu, said its downgrade "incorporates the expectation for further, meaningful asset quality deterioration in the residential mortgage portfolio and moderate softening in other consumer exposures, including credit card."

BY THE NUMBERS

49,748: Total number of WaMu employees on Sept. 30

3,150: Approximate number of WaMu employees that will be laid off

5,400: Number of WaMu employees in Seattle

380: Number of those that will be laid off

$19.88: WaMu stock's closing price Monday

$44.41: WaMu stock's price six months ago

P-I reporter Bill Virgin can be reached at 206-448-8319 or billvirgin@seattlepi.com.


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Global Manpower Employment Outlook Survey Reveals Strong Hiring Outlook for the First Quarter of 2008 in India, France, Italy and Netherlands; Slight

MILWAUKEE, Dec. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey released today revealed that employer optimism in the global labor market is varied, with employers in 16 of 27 countries and territories indicating softer hiring plans compared to one year ago, but improved job prospects quarter-over-quarter in 12 countries and territories. In the U.S., the outlook is relatively stable from the fourth quarter, but slightly softer than one year ago, reflecting the economic concerns that continue to weigh on the minds of employers. German and Indian employers anticipate a continued positive hiring pace, although slightly slower than three months ago.

The strongest first quarter hiring prospects reported globally were in Peru, Singapore, India, Argentina, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, South Africa, Australia, Japan and Norway. Meanwhile, Irish employers reported the weakest hiring plans globally. The quarterly survey by Manpower Inc. is the world's most extensive forward-looking employment survey, with interviews of nearly 52,000 employers worldwide. All reports are based on seasonally adjusted data, where available.

"The continuation of business challenges in the U.S. real estate sector, in particular, is contributing to a slightly more cautious first quarter hiring climate as employers evaluate conditions in their respective industries. However, our data indicates that the global labor market continues to experience strong demand in many markets like India, France, Italy and the Netherlands, with many markets more impacted by talent shortages than by any carry-over effects from what is occurring in the U.S.," said Jeffrey A. Joerres, Chairman & CEO of Manpower Inc. "While we have seen a slight softening trend in U.S. hiring plans over the past year and a half, employers are not panicking, but rather, they are keeping a watchful eye on conditions and adjusting according to their business needs."

Joerres added, "In Europe, employers in Italy, the Netherlands and France are reporting their most optimistic hiring plans since the survey began in these countries in 2003. Meanwhile, in Asia, hiring expectations are strongest in Singapore and India, where difficulty recruiting and retaining talent continues to be a key issue for employers due to persistent talent shortages."

Of the countries surveyed in Europe, employers in Norway, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Sweden and the UK are forecasting the brightest first quarter hiring plans. Conversely, employers in Ireland are forecasting the weakest hiring pace in four years.

"The continued strength in Norway is being fuelled by solid hiring plans in the Wholesale & Retail Trade and Manufacturing sectors. In France, job seekers should ring in the new year with solid prospects in the Manufacturing and Public & Social sectors, where employers are reporting their strongest hiring expectations since the survey began in the country," said Joerres. "German job prospects are being bolstered by notable strength in the Finance/Insurance/Real Estate/Business Services and Construction sectors, and the newfound optimism in the Italian labor market is due, in part, to improved expectations in Manufacturing."

With the exceptions of Argentina and Canada, hiring activity is expected to slow slightly in the first quarter among the countries surveyed in the Americas. Employers in Peru, Argentina and Costa Rica are most optimistic about hiring in the next three months. Mexican employers continue to report a healthy Outlook, similar to that of the first quarter 2007, while the pace of hiring in the U.S. is expected to be slightly weaker compared to one year ago. Interestingly, Canadian employers anticipate the strongest first quarter hiring activity in seven years.

"Given the current business climate in the U.S., it should be no surprise that first quarter hiring expectations are weakest in the Finance/Insurance/Real Estate and Construction sectors. On the other hand, employment prospects in the Canadian Construction sector are the strongest in decades," said Joerres. "The optimism in the Argentinean labor market looks set to continue with the strongest activity expected in the Transportation & Utilities and Mining & Construction sectors."

Although hiring activity in the eight countries and territories surveyed across the Asia Pacific region is expected to be positive, employers in Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan indicate they will slow the pace of hiring compared to last year at this time. However, Net Employment Outlooks improved from three months ago in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. The strongest hiring plans were reported in Singapore and India, while employers in Taiwan and China reported the weakest hiring expectations in the region.

"In India, strong job prospects should continue in the Construction sector, as the country continues to make infrastructure improvements to support future growth. At the same time, employers in the Services sector are telling us they will ratchet down the pace of hiring as the busy holiday retail season ends in the U.S. and UK and the demand for call center services lessens," said Joerres. "Not surprisingly, hiring plans declined year-over-year across all industry sectors in China, as many employers are pausing to determine what impact the new national labor contract law will have on their businesses."

The next Manpower Employment Outlook Survey will be released on the 11th of March 2008 to report hiring expectations for the second quarter of 2008. The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is available free of charge to the public through their local Manpower representative in participating countries. To receive e-mail notification when the survey is available each quarter, interested individuals are invited to complete an online subscription form at http://investor.manpower.com/investors/alerts.cfm.

About the Survey

The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is conducted quarterly to measure employers' intentions to increase or decrease the number of employees in their workforce during the next quarter. It is the most extensive forward-looking survey of its kind, unparalleled in its size, scope, longevity and area of focus. The Survey has been running for more than 40 years and is one of the most trusted surveys of employment activity in the world. The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is based on interviews with nearly 52,000 public and private employers worldwide and is considered a highly respected economic indicator.

The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is currently available for 27 countries and territories: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Singapore, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States. The program began in the United States and Canada in 1962, and the United Kingdom was added in 1966. Mexico and Ireland launched the survey in 2002, and 13 additional countries were added to the program in 2003. New Zealand joined the program in 2004, China, India, Switzerland and Taiwan were added in 2005, and Argentina, Peru, Costa Rica and South Africa joined in 2006. For more information, visit the Manpower Inc. Web site at http://www.manpower.com and enter the Research Center.

About Manpower Inc.

Manpower Inc. is a world leader in the employment services industry; creating and delivering services that enable its clients to win in the changing world of work. The $18 billion company offers employers a range of services for the entire employment and business cycle including permanent, temporary and contract recruitment; employee assessment and selection; training; outplacement; outsourcing and consulting. Manpower's worldwide network of 4,400 offices in 73 countries and territories enables the company to meet the needs of its 400,000 clients per year, including small and medium size enterprises in all industry sectors, as well as the world's largest multinational corporations. The focus of Manpower's work is on raising productivity through improved quality, efficiency and cost-reduction across their total workforce, enabling clients to concentrate on their core business activities. Manpower Inc. operates under five brands: Manpower, Manpower Professional, Elan, Jefferson Wells and Right Management. More information on Manpower Inc. is available at http://www.manpower.com.


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Spherion Employee Confidence Index Slips to Its Lowest Level this Year;

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Dec. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The number of U.S.
workers expressing confidence in the economy and in their personal employment
situation continued its decline in November, according to a recent survey from
Spherion Corporation (NYSE: SFN) of 3,014 working adults. The Spherion(R)
Employee Confidence Index, a monthly gauge of overall worker confidence,
decreased by 3.5 points to 52.9 in November, its lowest level seen this year.
The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive(R) on behalf of Spherion, reveals
that fewer workers believe there are more jobs available and that the economy
is getting stronger. Despite this, more than three-quarters of workers believe
it is unlikely that they will lose their job in the next 12 months.

According to the survey, the percentage of workers who expressed
confidence in their own job security increased two percentage points from 77
percent in October to 79 percent in November, while the percentage of workers
who felt confident in the future of their current employer decreased four
percentage points from October to 61 percent. Nearly one-third of workers, or
32 percent, reported that it was likely that they would seek new jobs in the
next 12 months, a decrease of two percentage points from last month.

"It appears that the volatile stock market, credit situation, housing
slowdown and continued anxiety over fuel prices may be fueling apprehension
among workers," said Roy Krause, president and chief executive officer of
Spherion Corporation. "Though this month's Index decreased, data aggregated
from specific survey questions indicate a clear majority of workers remain
optimistic and confident about their own job security and the future of their
current employer. Furthermore, the data shows that slightly fewer workers
intend to seek new jobs in the next 12 months, which is could be good news for
employers focused on retaining top performers. When considered along with a
comparatively low 4.7 percent unemployment rate and continued job growth in
industries such as professional services, healthcare and hospitality, we
believe that the overall job market remains strong."

Results from the November Spherion Employment Report:
Confidence Levels Hit Lowest Level of the Year: The Spherion Employee
Confidence Index dropped to its lowest level this year, decreasing 3.5 points
to 52.9 in November. The Index, which measures workers' confidence in their
personal employment situation and optimism in the macroeconomic environment,
reveals that more workers were apprehensive about the economy, job market and
the future of their current employers.

Details of the Index:
Macroeconomic Confidence:
-- 12 percent of U.S. adult workers believe the economy is getting
stronger, compared to 17 percent in the previous month.
-- The percentage of U.S. adult workers who believe that more jobs are
available decreased by four percentage points to 20 percent in
November.
Personal Confidence:
-- 61 percent of U.S. adult workers feel confident in the future of
their current employer, a decrease of four percentage points from 65
percent in October.
-- The percentage of U.S. adult workers confident in their own ability
to find a new job fell two percentage points from last month to 56
percent in November.
Job Security: More Workers Believe it is Unlikely they will Lose Their Job
-- 79 percent of U.S. workers believe that it is unlikely that they
will lose their jobs in the next 12 months, an increase of two
percentage points from October.
Job Transition: Fewer Workers Likely to Look for a New Job
-- 32 percent of workers are likely to look for a new job in the next
12 months, compared to 34 percent in the previous month.

About the Spherion Employment Report
As part of the Spherion(R) Emerging Workforce(R) Series of employment
surveys, the monthly Spherion Employment Report provides a snapshot of the
latest workforce trends across the country and is issued in conjunction with
state and national labor market releases. Three key indices are measured: the
Spherion Job Security Index, which captures how likely respondents think it is
that they will lose their job or that their job will be eliminated in the next
12 months; the Spherion Job Transition Index, which captures how likely
respondents are to look for a new job in the next 12 months and the Employee
Confidence Index that measures employees' overall confidence in the economy,
their employer and their ability to find other employment. The Employee
Confidence Index is calculated from the results of four components that
reflect these aspects of employee confidence. For each component item a
'score' is calculated by taking the difference of the percentage of positive
responses and the percentage of negative responses. These four scores are then
averaged to indicate an overall level of employee confidence, with each score
ranking on a scale from 0 (no confidence) to 100 (complete confidence). A
reading above 50 indicates a positive confidence level.

Methodology
This November 2007 Spherion Employment Tracker was conducted online within
the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Spherion Corporation
between November 6-8 and November 12-14, 2007 among a U.S. sample of 3,014
employed adults, aged 18 years and older. Results were weighted as needed for
age, sex, race/ethnicity, income, education and region. Propensity score
weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.
All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability
sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not
possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error,
error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and
response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris
Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All
that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different
probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates.
These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this
ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed
to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to
reflect the composition of the U.S. adult population. Because the sample is
based on those who agreed to be invited to participate in the Harris
Interactive online research panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error
can be calculated.

About Spherion
Spherion Corporation (NYSE: SFN) is a leading recruiting and staffing
company that provides integrated solutions to meet the evolving needs of
companies and job candidates. As an industry pioneer for more than 60 years,
Spherion has sourced, screened and placed millions of individuals in
temporary, temp-to-hire and full-time jobs. Positions range from
administrative and light industrial to a host of professions that include
accounting/finance, information technology, engineering, manufacturing, legal,
human resources and sales/marketing.
With approximately 700 locations in the United States and Canada, Spherion
delivers innovative workforce solutions that improve business performance.
Spherion provides its services to more than 8,000 customers, from Fortune 500
companies to a wide range of small and mid-size organizations. Employing more
than 300,000 people annually through its network, Spherion is one of North
America's largest employers. To learn more, visit www.spherion.com . For
up-to-date career tips and trends, visit Spherion's career blog, The Big
Time(SM), at www.spherion.com/careerblog .
About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is the 13th largest and one of the fastest-growing
market research firms in the world. The company provides innovative research,
insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident
decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in performance.
Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll, one of the longest
running, independent opinion polls and for pioneering online market research
methods. The company has built what it believes to be the world's largest
panel of survey respondents, the Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves
clients worldwide through its North American, European and Asian offices, and
through a global network of independent market research firms. More
information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at
www.harrisinteractive.com .
To become a member of the Harris Poll Online and be invited to participate
in online surveys, register at www.harrispollonline.com .


SOURCE Spherion Corporation
Kip Havel of Spherion Corporation, +1-800-422-3819, kiphavel@spherion.com



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The Job Market: December

I read the summary of the US job report yesterday with amusement. 90,000 plus jobs were created. Some think that is good; something think it is bad. One third of new jobs were created in the government (your US tax dollars at work); two thirds were created in the private sector.

The report is phony because it adds people who started small businesses and probably hired someone. That part is bogus because it is guess work based upon a model developed in 2003 that has not been tweaked since then to accommodate change.

The major change that I believe we are experiencing is that we are running out of skilled labor and the report doesn't reflect that.

You see the report is generally focused on large companies and large company needs; to the government, that is where "the good jobs are." This, despite the fact that most new jobs have been created by small business for more than a decade. Let me put that aside for a moment.

If you are looking for a job doing what you do at another company, you will have little trouble finding a job if your skills are up-to-date. If you are working on some "less current skills", even then you can find work if you are geographically flexible; if you only want to work where you live now, you will struggle because there is only a finite number of jobs there--open up your geography and you will find work.

If you are looking to change your career, like someone I know who is trying to move from a vendor technical role where he was involved with pre- and post-sales support to one involving just sales, you will struggle unless you are willing to accept a serious salary reduction.

Some of the newer technology classifications related to architecting solutions for clients are extremely hot but most so when someone is geographically mobile. Why? Because, you will create a solution for an organization once but they firms can hire you or even share you if you are mobile.

You see the new hot skill is mobility; it will help you boost your salary over those who are not . . . at a price, of course. Look at salaries in professional services--the salaries are higher because you are generating revenue while you globe trot vs, being an expense to a firm in industry.

On a different note, have you noticed the size of the losses announced in sub prime just between Merrill Lynch ($5.5 billion could go as high as $15 billion), Citigroup ($7 billion and rising), HSBC ($3.4 billion), Deutche ($3.3 billion), UBS ($3.4 billion) and what Deutsche Bank speculates could be between $300 and $400 billion dollars in losses.

When local government offers a rationale for building a new stadium or giving tax breaks for a convention, they speak of a multiplier effect. For each dollar spent, tat dollar creates $6 in new revenue and tax potential.

Now what happens when the reverse is true--we subtract $1.8 - $2.4 trillion from the world economy (I am of the opinion that the numbers offered by Deutsche will later to be found to be low because speculation like this usually is found to be low). Do you think it will have an effect?

You bet!

So, as you go into the holidays, do a little networking. Drop a card or make a call to a former boss just to say, "Hi!" Open up some doors again because hen that much money vanishes, we have to have some indigestion. Better to be prepared if you need to take action than not.

Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com

© 2007 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com.

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More layoffs coming to the Volvo Plant in Pulaski County

Volvo trucks in Dublin plans to layoff up to 650 people at the end of January.

Volvo Spokesperson Jim McNamara says the job cuts are needed because of a change in production levels. This is the second round of layoffs at the plant in a year.

In November of 2006, the company announced it would cut more than a thousand positions. The number was eventually reduced to 900.


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Bristol-Myers to layoff 10% of employees, sell Medical Imaging business

Dec. 6 — In a Wednesday meeting with investors, the New York City-based Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) announced it will lay off approximately 10 percent of its 43,000 employees and close half of its production facilities, which would cut $1.5 billion in costs by 2010, when BMS is scheduled to lose its exclusivity to the Plavix patent.

The company also plans to sell its Medical Imaging business, which is headquartered in North Billerica, Mass. BMS currently maintains the rights to radiopharmaceuticals and contrast agent products, of which Definity and Cardiolite have been the most profitable. However, in October, the FDA added a black box warning to Definity over concerns that there is an increased diagnosis of heart problems during its use in ultrasound imaging.

Cardiolite, which entered the U.S. market in 1990, is an FDA-approved myocardial perfusion nuclear cardiology imaging agent indicated for detecting coronary artery disease by localizing myocardial ischemia and infarction.

According to the American Chemical Society, Cardiolite is the leading cardiac imaging agent in the world, but BMS will also soon lose its patent exclusivity, which will make the company subject to competition from generic versions.

"We remain fully aware of the important contributions these businesses have made to earnings and cash flow, and we will take these factors into full consideration when weighing our strategic options," said James M. Cornelius CEO of BMS.

The company said it began making layoffs late last week and the pace would quicken next year and into 2009. BMS joins Pfizer, Merck and other pharmaceutical companies forced to make dramatic job cuts in response to competition from generic drug makers.

“It is difficult to see our valued colleagues leave the company, but right-sizing our workforce across all areas is critical to achieving our productivity goals and enhancing the competitive position of the company,” Cornelius said. “While we are reducing headcount in certain functions, we will continue to invest in R&D, biologics and commercialization talent.”


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Layoff plans rise 16% in November, Challenger says

By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch
Last update: 7:58 a.m. EST Dec. 5, 2007

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Layoffs in the auto industry accelerated in November, driving announced job reductions to the highest level since August, according to an unscientific tally compiled by outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas released Wednesday.

Total announced job cuts rose 15.9% from October to 73,140, Challenger said, led by 19,144 jobs eliminated in the auto industry and 10,018 in energy industries.

November's cuts were down 4.7% from the previous November. Through the first 11 months of 2007, announced layoffs are down 7.8% compared with the first 11 months in 2006.

Reductions in the financial services, which have totaled 147,395 so this year, slowed to just 6,953 in November, the fewest in the sector since just before the credit crunch hit in August.

"Of course, we probably have not seen the last of financial job cuts tied to the housing slump and subsequent collapse in the credit markets," said John Challenger, CEO of the outplacement firm. "In fact, many analysts are waiting for a major announcement from Citigroup in the coming weeks that some say could impact as many as 45,000 jobs."

The Challenger report covers only a tiny fraction of those who lose their jobs each month.

In September for instance, a total of 1.9 million workers were discharged from their jobs involuntarily, representing about 1.3% of total employment, according to the latest available data from the Labor Department. By comparison, 2.7 million people quit their jobs voluntarily in September.

The layoff announcements as tracked by Challenger could take place immediately or over time. The reductions could be accomplished by voluntary means such as retirements, buyouts or workers leaving for other jobs, and they could be offset by hiring in other divisions of a company. End of Story

Rex Nutting is Washington bureau chief of MarketWatch.


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Dow Chemical to shutter plants, slash 1,000 jobs

By Christopher Hinton, MarketWatch
Last update: 5:17 p.m. EST Dec. 4, 2007

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Dow Chemical said Tuesday it would shut down a number of its global-wide operations, including an exit from its automotive sealer business and certain performance chemicals facilities, eliminating about 1,000 jobs.

The Midland, Mich.-based company said the move would result in a $500 million to $600 million charge in the current quarter, which includes severance and asset write-down costs. The strategy should save the company about $180 million a year once it's completed.

Last year Dow Chemical earned slightly more than $3.72 billion on sales of $49.1 billion.

"Today's announcement reflects our commitment to prune businesses that are not delivering appropriate value and tackle tasks more efficiently across the entire organization ... freeing up capital and resources that will be redirected toward value-creating growth opportunities," said Chief Executive Andrew N. Liveris in a statement.

Investors seemed unimpressed by the cost trimming, with shares off by 1.2%to close at $41.05. The stock is up almost 2% year to date, but has had a volatile run, changing hands in the range of $47.96 and $39.85 because of merger rumors.
Credit ratings provider Egan-Jones said the company remains a buyout candidate and a purchaser of Imperial Chemical Industries (UK:ICI: news, chart, profile) . Meanwhile Dow Chemical is purchasing shares in an effort to support its stock price.


DOW 42.74, +0.60, +1.4%) said it intends to exit its North America, Asia Pacific and Latin America automotive sealer business within the next nine to 18 months, and will explore "strategic options" for its related European operations.

The company also plans to pare back a research and development facility for its wholly-owned subsidiary Union Carbide in South Charleston, W.Va., resulting in the loss of about 200 jobs; as well as shutter the subsidiary's St. Charles, La., polypropylene plant because of high capital costs.

Dow's styrene plant in Camacari, Brazil, will also be shuttered because of escalating competition and weak industry fundamentals, and its facility for producing hydroxyethyl cellulose -- used as a thickener in lotions and creams -- in Aratu, Brazil.

Finally, Dow Chemical said it would write down its Petromont and Co., Limited Partnership, a joint venture producing plastic materials and resins, and close a fungicide plant in Lauterbourg, France. End of Story

Christopher Hinton is a reporter for MarketWatch based in New York.




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Behind today's Jobs(?) data

by taonow
Fri Dec 07, 2007 at 08:40:44 AM PST

Nonfarm payroll employment continued to trend up in November (94,000), and the unemployment rate held at 4.7 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today

The November employment data came out today, and although there were no headline surprises in the data, there are some interesting trends if you look more closely.

I like to look at the data over a one year period to get a feel for underlying trends. The one month data is just too subject to random variation/manipulation.

So the good news is that since November of last year, the economy has created 2.5 million jobs. Now that sounds good, but the real interesting stuff is in seeing where the jobs were created. This will give us an idea of where the economy is headed and whether or not the jobs created are "good" jobs.

* taonow's diary :: ::
*

Overall:
Let's start with the big picture and look at the major categories of job growth/shrinkage

Goods producing (manufacturing etc.): Down 196,000 (down 0.9%)

Trade, transport, utilities: Up 687,000 (up 2.6%)

Professional and Business services: Up 416,000 (up 2.3%)

Health Care: Up 414,000 (up 3.2%)

Educational services (private sector): Up 278,000 (up 9.4%)

Local Government - education: Up 447,000 (up 5.6%)
State Government - education: Up 199,000 (up 8.6%)

Analysis:

As has been the case for some time manufacturing (goods producing) employment continues to shrink. More and more the country's economy is service based. This trend has been ongoing and shows no sign of reversing, even with the decline of the US dollar.

The majority of jobs created continue to be in services, with health and education being the main drivers. The big jump over the last year has been in education related employment, though so far I have not been able to uncover what is behind this other than local governments in the real estate boom having funds available to plow back into education.

On the trade transport and utilities side, the gains are almost all from retail. Retail employment is up 464,000. The gains here are broadly based with the biggest gains in general merchandise stores and department stores. As would be expected employment in building material stores was down.

In professional and business services the gains are broad based with the biggest jump percentage wise coming from management and technical consulting services (up 8.5%).

Other points of Interest:

Food services and drinking places is a huge employer (almost as many employees as under production workers in manufacturing). Here the increase in jobs was 233,000 (up 2.4%). By comparison manufacturing production workers decreased by 68,000 in the same period. It won't be too long before hamburger flippers and wait staff outnumber production workers.

As would be expected construction employment has fallen over the last year. The surprise is that the fall has not been bigger. Overall construction employment is down only 49,000, although this obscures the drops in residential construction (down 53,000) and residential building contractors (down 92,000). The rest of construction is basically flat. Somehow this number does not seem right. If the number of housing starts is down so much, how can residential building construction employment only be down 9.5%? Or Residential specialty trade contractors only down 4%?

Jobs in real estate continue to be relatively unaffected by the real estate slump down only 3,000 (0.2%) jobs. I find this one a bit hard to imagine.

Outside of education, governments at all levels are not adding significant numbers of jobs.

Conclusion:

Base on the government data enough jobs are being created to handle the increase in the labor force...BUT...there is some question as to the economic worth of the the jobs being created. The continued decline in manufacturing jobs remains a big problem. In addition the jobs picture remains vulnerable to a a number of possible slowdowns. Retail employment would fall with a drop in consumer spending, and a decline in taxes (real estate based) to local governments may cause backtracking on education related employment gains).

Canada employment rate hits record high at 63.8 pct

OTTAWA (AFP) — Canada's economy added 43,000 jobs in November, Statistics Canada said Friday.

So far this year, 388,000 jobs were created -- an increase of 2.3 percent, and stronger than the 1.8 percent increase seen over the same period in 2006 -- the government agency said in a statement.

But, as more people entered the labour force in November, the unemployment rate still moved up 0.1 of a percentage point to 5.9 percent, it said.

The new jobs boosted the country's employment rate to a record high of 63.8 percent.

According to the most recent international data available, Canada's employment rate was higher than that of the United States and most European countries in the second quarter of 2007.

Among European countries, only Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden had higher rates of employment.

Four industries recorded employment gains in November: transportation and warehousing; business, building and other support services; educational services; and natural resources.

Gains were concentrated among men aged 25 to 54 years.

Manufacturing continued its slump in November. So far this year, factory employment losses have totalled an estimated 98,000, with most of the declines in Quebec and Ontario provinces.


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Jobs Grow, Productivity Up In U.S.

Andrew Farrell, 12.05.07, 4:30 PM ET

American worker productivity and job growth leapt higher last month, but its unlikely the stronger-than-expected data will be enough to dissuade Federal Reserve policymakers from slashing interest rates next week to ensure the U.S. economy stays out of recession.

An analysis of payroll data released on Wednesday showed an increase in private-sector employment of 189,000 during November, significantly above market expecations. The analysis, which was performed by Macroeconomic Advisers, used payroll data from Automatic Data Processing (nyse: ADP - news - people )'s clients. The number was more than twice the 65,000 rise expected by analysts.

The growth was stronger than expected and bigger than the previous month's gains. On Wednesday, ADP and Macroeconomic Advisers upwardly revised their figure for October growth to 119,000, an increase of 13,000. That remains below the 166,000 reported by the federal government for the month, though the figures often are subject to change and the federal government data also includes government jobs. ADP processes paychecks for more than 20 million U.S. workers, and the company feels it has insight into employment trends.

The sizable November growth was boosted by a rapidly growing service-producing sector. Service jobs climbed by 197,000, according to the ADP data. That compensated for a decline of 8,000 jobs in the goods-producing sectors.

The November employment data showed signs of stabilization in the troubled residential-construction and mortgage-lending sectors. Jobs in both areas have tumbled over the past year because of a weak U.S. housing market and restricted mortgage lending.

"Today’s data suggest that in these two crucial sectors employment may be stabilizing. In November, construction employment fell for the 12th consecutive month, but November’s decline of 6,000 was the smallest since January," said Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers. "Employment in financial activities, which declined by 16,000 from July through October, reversed course and grew 10,000 in November."

Also Wednesday, the Labor Department reported that worker productivity climbed at an annualized rate of 6.3% during the third quarter, an upward revision from the previous rate of 5.7%. The climb was stronger than expected and the biggest growth since the summer of 2003.

Despite the strong economic data, the Fed is widely expected to cut interest rates by at least 25 basis points next week. Central bankers are worried the U.S. economy is losing steam. Federal Reserve Governor Janet Yellen said earlier this week she expects "very meager" fourth-quarter growth. (See: "San Francisco Fed's Yellen Sees Weaker Economy")

University of Maryland business professor Peter Morici explained the robust productivity growth actually gives the Fed more leverage to cut interest rates. "Continued strong productivity growth helps keep inflation in check in the face of rising oil prices, and accommodates moderate wage growth," he said. "The Fed can focus on the subprime crisis and stabilizing credit markets without fear of a significant surge in inflation."

The favorable economic data apparently pushed investors from bonds to equities early on Wednesay. The Dow Jones industrial average closed 1.5% higher, while prices fell on U.S. government bonds, sending the yield on the 10-year Treasury note to 3.94% from 3.89% late on Tuesday. The dollar gained 0.6% against the Euro.

There was some bearish economic data released Wednesday. The Institute for Supply Management said its index measuring activity in the non-manufacturing industry fell to 54.1 in November from 55.8 in October. Economists had expected a November reading of 54.8.

The Associated Press and Thomson Financial News contributed to this artricle.




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US manufacturing data

US manufacturing expands amid signs of weak employment
The New York Times

Manufacturing in the US expanded last month as new orders and production improved, but weakness in employment suggested that industrial jobs may not be as plentiful in coming months.

The trade group Institute for Supply Management said on Monday that its manufacturing index registered 50.8 last month, down from 50.9 in October. A reading above 50 indicates growth; below that spells contraction.

The manufacturing report showed a decline in the employment index to 47.8 from 52.0, indicating manufacturing jobs were contracting, the deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, Doug Porter, said. The institute said the index for new orders rose to 52.6 last month from 52.5 in October, while production expanded to 51.9 from 49.6 in October. The latest report also showed strong growth in export orders, which registered a 58.5 reading last month, up from 57.0 in October. The price index, meanwhile, advanced to 67.5 from 63.0 the month before.
The Wall Street Journal

Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui expressed concern on Monday that a downturn in the US economy could slow global growth, suggesting that Japan's central bank is unlikely to raise interest rates any time soon.

"The US economy is widely expected to slow in the fourth quarter this year and the first quarter of 2008 on the back of a continued adjustment in the housing market," Fukui said after meeting with business leaders in Nagoya, central Japan. But he added, "Even if the US economy slows, it will not affect our monetary policy."

Fukui said the Bank of Japan needs to watch whether the US sub-prime-mortgage crisis puts a serious dent in private consumption, one of the main engines of US economic growth. "US Christmas sales results are one key factor to gauge how strongly the sub-prime issue has affected private consumption," he said.



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Stronger rupee makes employment hunters labour harder

NEW DELHI: The rising rupee has only added fuel to the fire. While employment in the exports-led sectors has taken a beating this year as the rupee appreciated sharply against the US dollar, the strain on the labour market became visible last year.

According to the latest official statistics, the number of registered job seekers in the country shot up by more than 20 lakh to 4.14 crore during 2006. Significantly, the increase comes after two straight years of decline in registered work applicants during 2004 and 2005, a period when the corporate sector started pouring in new investments and expansion capital into the country.

Interestingly, the number of job seekers in India increased at a time when the number of unemployed in more developed but slow-growing economies, such as the US and Japan, came down. The number of registered job seekers in India had shrunk from 4.13 crore in 2003 to 3.93 crore during 2005, the first time in eight years that the absolute number had dropped below the 4-crore mark.

“Job seekers are growing at a rate faster than available opportunities,” International Labour Organisation (ILO) India’s Employment & Labour Market Policy specialist Sukti Dasgupta said.

To put the numbers into perspective, the 5.4% increase in the number of work applicants last year, the highest growth in a decade, was more than thrice the annual growth rate of the country’s population and came about even as the country’s GDP expanded 9.4% during 2006-07.

Also, the absolute number of job seekers was the highest in the last five years, a period when the economy started revving up after a slowdown and corporate restructuring in the late ’90s, when jobs were cut.

There are four possible sources of this addition to the number of job seekers: those entering the work force for the first time, those under-employed in traditional agriculture migrating to towns to seek new jobs, those who lose their jobs and seek fresh ones, and those already employed seeking better alternatives.

“Last year, there was huge urban migration. People are moving out of the farm sector, where there isn’t much money left to be made, looking for jobs in the urban centres. However, most of them are unskilled workers and are not readily employable. This urban migration is going to continue for a long time,” according to TeamLease chairman Manish Sabharwal. TeamLease is the largest temporary staffing firm in the country.

Additional signs of job losses are already visible this year as certain sectors, such as textiles and leather, have started cutting jobs. This is due to the adverse impact of the rupee’s appreciation, which has made Indian exports less competitive.

Interestingly, the increase in the number of registered job seekers in India came about even as most large economies reported a decline in the number of unemployed last year. A sample of 25 large and prominent emerging economies picked by ET for whom unemployment data is available for 2006, shows that more than 80% have reported a decline in the number of unemployed.

This includes even mature markets that have been facing job losses as global corporations move operations to low-cost emerging markets. Countries such as the US, Japan, Germany, Italy, South Korea and Australia reported a decline in unemployment during 2006. Among the emerging economies, Argentina, Mexico, Pakistan, Poland, South Africa and Thailand reported a decrease in the number of jobless.

India was among the few exceptions, including countries such as Russia and Indonesia, which reported an increase in the number of unemployed. While the data may not be comparable on a one-on-one basis given the differences in methodology for collating information, this is in line with global trends.

According to ILO’s Global Employment Trends released early this year, based on preliminary estimates, the number of people unemployed worldwide remained at a historic high in 2006 despite strong global economic growth. The number was pegged at 195.2 million in 2006. In percentage terms, the number of registered job seekers in India would account for about 20% of the world’s job seekers given this ILO estimate that included data from China as well.




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Labor market stronger than expected in November

Payrolls up 94,000; jobless rate stays at 4.7% on household survey gains

By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch

Last update: 10:38 a.m. EST Dec. 7, 2007

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. labor market was slightly stronger than expected in November, the government said Friday, a factor that's likely to weigh on the Federal Reserve's decision next week on whether to cut interest rates.

The economy added 94,000 nonfarm payroll jobs last month, according to a survey of business establishments, the Labor Department said in a mixed report released Friday. Read the full report.

Economists surveyed by MarketWatch were expecting growth of 85,000. See Economic Calendar.

"The November employment report was not a blowout, but it was certainly healthy enough to put off talk that the economy is careening off the cliff into a recession," wrote Stephen Stanley, chief economist for RBS Greenwich Capital.

Payrolls had risen a revised 170,000 in October. Payroll growth in September and October was revised lower by a total of 48,000.

However, a separate survey of households showed the strongest job growth in nearly six years, with 696,000 more people saying they had jobs in November. As a result, the unemployment rate was steady at 4.7%.

Economists were expecting the unemployment rate to tick higher to 4.8%.

"Today's report does little in the way of clearing up what has been a somewhat cloudy economic outlook of late.," wrote Richard Moody, chief economist for Mission Residential.

Ahead of the report, economists were expecting the Federal Open Market Committee to lower its overnight lending rate by a quarter percentage point to 4.25% at its meeting on Tuesday, but some market participants are looking for a half-point cut. Last week, St. Louis Fed President William Poole said a large gain in payrolls could force the market to re-evaluate its expectations for a big easing.

The middle-of-the-road report "will allow the FOMC to do whatever it wants on Tuesday, wrote Joshua Shapiro, chief economist for MFR Inc. Other analysts said the FOMC would likely cut the federal funds rate by a quarter point next Tuesday. See full story.

The strength in the household survey in November is a conundrum, following months of weakness. Some economists suggested the gains reflected problems in seasonally adjusting the raw data.

Employment in the household survey had fallen by a total of 250,000 since March, leading some economists to believe the economy was much weaker than the payroll survey suggested. Economists generally judge the payroll survey to be more accurate, but acknowledge that the household survey could do a better job of catching turning points in the economy.

In a separate report, the Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index fell again, hitting the second lowest level in 15 years; only the month after Hurricane Katrina hit was worse. See full story.

Details

Payrolls have grown by an average of 103,000 per month over the past three months, the best since July.

The employment participation rate -- the percent of adults who were in the labor force -- rose from 65.9% to 66.1%, also the best since July.

Average hourly earnings rose 8 cents, or 0.5%, well ahead of the 0.3% expected. October's wage growth was revised lower to a 1 cent gain. In the past year, average hourly earnings are up 3.8%.

Goods-producing industries cut 33,000 jobs in November, including 24,000 in construction and 11,000 in manufacturing.

Services-producing industries added 127,000 jobs. Financial services cut 20,000 jobs.

Government added 30,000, including 13,000 in education, continuing a string of strong hiring in schools.

Professional and business services added 24,000 jobs, including 11,000 in temporary-help services, a sign that businesses could be cautiously optimistic about the economy.

Retail industries added 24,000 jobs, the first gain since July. Education and health-care added 28,000 jobs.

Total hours worked in the economy increased 0.1%. The average work week was steady at 33.8 hours. Hours worked in manufacturing increased by 0.2%.

Of 278 industries, 49.8% were hiring in November, the first month since September 2003 that fewer than half of industries were adding jobs. Of 84 manufacturing industries, 45.2% were hiring in November.

Rex Nutting is Washington bureau chief of MarketWatch.

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National RV shuts Perris operation; 600-plus lose jobs

By JOSH BROWN
The Press-Enterprise

After six years of financial losses, National RV Holdings Inc. on Friday shut down its headquarters and main production facility in Perris and laid off almost its entire work force - more than 600 employees.

The closure follows a year of turmoil during which the company was forced to sell both its most profitable line of RVs and its land and buildings in Perris to stay in business.

"Our board of directors decided last night to shutter National RV Holdings," Jonathan Corn, the company's vice president and general counsel, said in an interview at National RV's headquarters. "At this time, it is unknown whether this will be temporary or permanent."

Corn said the company shut down some operations on Monday and let some workers go temporarily.

National RV has lost money every year since 2002, a total of more than $80 million. In October, the company's stock was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange after its share price for a month fell below $1, the bourse's trading threshold. In its most recent quarter, the company lost $8 million after sales fell 42 percent.

The company's fate was still uncertain Friday. Kathryn Thompson, an RV industry analyst with Avondale Partners LLC in Nashville, said it's unlikely that another company will want to buy National RV.

There's a chance that Fleetwood or another company like Thor could just buy certain brands off them," Thompson said. "But at the end of the day, it's too much of a liability to buy the whole company."

She said the news that National RV was closing was not altogether surprising.

"What I've been saying for about four years is that if there's a company that could just go out of business, it's National RV," Thompson said. "It's a cash-flow issue for them."

National RV's problems are not unique in the RV industry, which has suffered in recent years because of rising gasoline prices and a glut of RVs on the market driving down demand.

Across the industry, motor-home sales for the first nine months of 2007 are down 5.3 percent over the previous year, according to Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Statistical Surveys, which tracks the RV industry.

In an attempt to turn around its fortunes, National RV in February sold its luxury motor home subsidiary Country Coach Inc. to a group led by the manufacturer's largest shareholder for $38.75 million

The move was part of a continuing attempt to turn around the financially struggling company.

The deal left National RV debt-free but without its only profitable asset.

Then in April, the company's board of directors voted to sell its 607,000-square-foot complex and land and lease back the buildings for 10 years with two five-year renewal options.

Four months later, the company's chief executive, Brad Albrechtsen, who led the company for six years, stepped down, and David Humphreys, the company's recently appointed chairman, was named CEO.

Employees who arrived at the Perris production plant Friday morning were given notices announcing the layoffs.

The letters said the layoff is expected to be permanent and the entire site will be closing. Typically, a company must give a 60-day notice of an impending layoff, but the letter said since National RV was actively seeking capital during that time period, a layoff notice would have hurt its chances of getting funding.

By noon, dozens of workers waited outside the main office to pick up their paychecks and layoff notices, huddling under an awning to stay out of the rain.

"You know it's coming, but it's still surprising," said Rigo Rincon, who had worked on National RV's assembly line for nine years. "I got the feeling something was going to happen three months ago."

The 34-year-old Moreno Valley resident is optimistic about his job prospects.

"I'm healthy. I speak English. I'm not worried," he said. "I'll go on unemployment for a little while, but then I'll look for another job. I can't just sit around. I have a family."

Sergio Alvarez, 38, of Perris, worked for National RV for 12 years. The father of two said he has apprehensions about entering the job market after so long.

"There are going to be a lot of people unemployed looking for jobs," he said. "It's really difficult. It's almost Christmastime, and we get this notice."

Reach staff writer Josh Brown at 909-806-3074 or jbrown@PE.com


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After Promising No Layoffs, Gateway Pink Slips 100

Workers in Gateway's headquarters and Iowa facility lost their jobs a month after Acer's CEO downplayed layoff fears.

On the heels of the being acquired by Taiwan-based Acer last month, Gateway laid off 50 workers in North Sioux City, Iowa, and another 50 at its headquarters in Irvine, Calif. Nov. 28

The announcement came just weeks after Acer CEO J.T. Wang told BusinessWeek that Acer had no plans to lay off Gateway employees.

"People in Gateway started to think how many employees will be laid off. That's not a priority. We want to keep the business. The synergies calculated don't include laying off people," said Wang in an October interview.



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Citigroup reported to layoff 45,000 employees

BEIJING, Nov. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- New York City-based Citigroup may soon layoff as many as 45,000 jobs in an effort to cut costs, CNBC reported Monday.

The company with roughly 200 million customers worldwide currently employs about 320,000 people. Citigroup refused to confirm the size of potential layoffs.

"We are engaged in a planning process in anticipation of our new CEO and our business heads are planning ways in which we can be more efficient and cost effective to position our businesses in line with economic realities," Citigroup said. "Any reports on specific numbers are not factual."

The bank is still searching for a new CEO, after Charles Prince resigned as chairman and chief executive earlier this month. That same evening the bank announced that it will likely write down the value of its portfolio by another 8 billion U.S. dollars to 11 billion dollars in the fourth quarter.

In the third quarter, Citi's subprime mortgages and its exposure to financial instruments tied to those mortgages led to a loss of about 6.5 billion dollars.

In April, Citigroup cut 17,000 jobs, or 5 percent of its workforce. It was a cost-cutting move that was spurred by billions in losses caused by the widening sub-prime mortgage crisis.

Hofstra University business professor Dr. Robert Campbell said the financial sector's problems are far from over and will spill over into other sectors of the local economy.

However, Campbell said he doesn't expect a recession. He called the U.S. economy complex and able to adapt to problems. Nonetheless, some people in the Tri-State Area could still lose their jobs, he said.


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Alcatel-Lucent disputes local layoff rumours

By Roman Zakaluzny, Ottawa Business Journal Staff
Thu, Nov 22, 2007 2:00 PM EST


Rumours are emerging regarding Alcatel-Lucent's layoff plans in Ottawa.

Some 500 Alcatel-Lucent workers in Ottawa will be looking for new jobs by the end of December or by early January, sources close to the company have told the Ottawa Business Journal.

According to a source, the work the 500 staff perform – in departments such as payroll and finance –is being moved to the French-American company's operations in the United States.

Most of the Ottawa-based engineers and scientists will keep their jobs for the time being, the source continued, as Alcatel-Lucent restructures operations. Plans for the Ottawa operation have it remaining a research and development centre.

But company spokespeople in New Jersey dismissed the rumours, saying that no announcement of any specific cuts have been made for any of Alcatel-Lucent's 79,000 workers in 130 countries.

"The information is inaccurate," said Denise Panyik-Dale, a spokesperson for the firm. "We haven't announced anything specific in any specific location, anywhere."

"What we did announce was the 4,000 employees worldwide would be laid off by the end of 2009 when we announced our third quarter earnings."

In late October, the company announced the layoffs, Ms. Panyik-Dale said, a bid to save 400 million euros (US$578 million) by 2009. The 4,000 were in addition to 12,500 worldwide job cuts Alcatel-Lucent announced in February.

Third-quarter financial results showed losses of 258 million euros, compared to a profit of about 532 million euros a year earlier, and a sales drop of 11 per cent to 4.35 billion euros, due to an overall weakness in Alcatel-Lucent's wireless business.

"To say that 500 jobs will be gone in Ottawa is inaccurate," Ms. Panyik-Dale said again. "We can't speculate it's going to be in one place."

Morale at the 2,000-employee Kanata operation is low, claims the source, and getting worse week by week with between three and five employees getting pink slips every Thursday since mid-summer.


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Satisfied Brake to cut 180 jobs

Posted By Greg Peerenboom
Posted 10 days ago
The shadow cast by the high loonie has darkened Christmas prospects for employees at the city's fourth largest industrial employer, Satisfied Brake Products.

The automotive brake maker told staff Wednesday that about 180 of them will be laid off by next February.

Entire family incomes will be wiped out, said Sean Floyd, the local representative for Retail Wholesale Department Store Union, manufacturing division, local 713.

"The biggest hit is that we have many two-salaried families in this place, in some cases, three salaries," Floyd said, explaining that not only does a set of parents work at Satisfied Brake, but also one of their children.

"Satisfied regrets that it is forced to make this decision. We know these layoffs will adversely affect both employees and the community," stated a press release hand delivered to the Standard-Freeholder.

The company added its "intent" is to keep the plant open.

The company representative did not stay to be interviewed. A copy was not provided first to the union, Floyd said. The layoff notice is the biggest since Domtar announced its Cornwall plant closure - a loss of 390 jobs - almost two years ago to the day.

It's the continuation of a grim trend in the manufacturing sector.

"We're in a phase now of seeing the obliteration of the middle classes," Floyd said, citing 300,000 job losses in Ontario and Quebec since the loonie started its climb to parity against the U.S. dollar a few years ago.

Satisfied Brake employees had been steeling themselves against the deep cuts.

"Yeah, they've been saying that again and again; there's been rumours going around the plant," said Lise LaFrance, who was among the first to leave the Education Street plant at the conclusion of the 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift.

She had become resigned to her fate.

"There's not much you can do about it," said the middle-aged woman who had seven years of service, adding she'll get by until she finds other work because her boyfriend has a job.

Most workers stoically trudged on past attempts to interview them over their particular situation.

Most of those who stopped momentarily indicated they were among "the lucky," including Lorraine Gregoire and her boyfriend Eric Bailey, who were among the first to be hired by Satisfied Brake when it opened in 1997.

"It's really sad, so sad," Gregoire said.

"All my buddies will all be gone," she said, of the friendships she's made while there.

That included Bailey, whom she knew for some time, but started dating about six months ago.

Another co-worker, who left before giving her name, said even her nine years of service wasn't enough to keep her on payroll.

The layoff slices Satisfied Brake's staff by almost two thirds and its operations from three shifts over 24 hours to one shift.

It will be reduced to the eighth largest industrial employer in the city from the fourth largest.

At its peak a few years ago, the plant had 600 workers.

In those better times, Satisfied Brake had received kudos from a big industry consulting firm, Frost & Sullivan, which gave them the 2005 Growth Strategy Leadership Award for increasing sales and expanding its customer base.

Due to the plant's relatively young life, Floyd doubts any of the affected workers would be able to bridge the gap between employment and retirement by stretching out their severance and Employment Insurance pay.

So unlike many of Domtar's employees who may have managed to maintain a semblance of their lifestyle and stay in the city, ex-Satisfied Brake workers will have to wait it out on government assistance until they find new work or move out of town.

The fallout won't just be shouldered by the out-of-work, as the ripple effect will hurt the local economy, Floyd said.

He said the average wage was between $13 and $14 an hour, although some workers earn more than $15. Add benefits and the total value increases to almost $19.

Floyd said the union couldn't do much more to prevent the big layoff. It had already accepted an 18-month wage freeze which began earlier this year and allowed a "two-tier" salary grid which paid new workers less.

The concessions, he said, saved the company about $500,000 annually. While the high Canadian dollar was the main culprit, the Satisfied Brake press release said: "higher oil prices, raw material costs and higher utility prices have eliminated Satisfied's Canadian manufacturing competitive advantages."

Satisfied said 80 per cent of its brake products are sold in the U.S., making the city plant vulnerable.

Most of its revenue is paid in a less valuable U.S. dollar while expenses are paid in Canadian currency.

"As a result, some products are no longer economically feasible to produce in Canada, and therefore, production and staffing levels must be scaled back," the press release stated.

Under such conditions, Floyd could understand Satisfied's decision, especially when senior levels of government don't stand in the way of corporations.

"The manufacturing sector is being sold out by the governments," he said.

"We have petitioned through our national union and (local) council for assistance from both provincial and federal governments and received zilch.

"The strength of the Canadian dollar is playing a major role in mass termination in the manufacturing sector," he said, blaming the federal Conservative government for not reining in the high-flying loonie.

He said the Liberal provincial government's auto sector programs are designed to boost research and development, "not to help the guy on the street pay rent or feed his kids."

Provincial Liberal MPP Jim Brownell was unaware of the union representative's criticism when he left a voice mail at the Standard-Freeholder.

"It's very sad that at this time of year as we head into holidays that we have another (layoff)," Brownell said. He added he will be contacting Satisfied Brake for more information and then lobby the ministries of post-secondary training and economic development and trade to assist the laid off workers.

Stormont, Dundas and South Glengarry's federal Conservative MP Guy Lauzon was attending a vote in the House of Commons and was unavailable for comment.



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California tops in layoffs for October

Mass layoffs in October -- because of difficulties in industries such as forestry, entertainment and auto manufacturing -- resulted in the loss of 131,780 jobs nationwide, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The job losses, as measured by unemployment insurance claims, represented more than 1,000 "layoff events."

California reported the highest number of layoffs in October -- 28,004 from 380 layoff events -- because of problems in its forestry, agriculture, administrative services, motion picture and sound recording industries. Other states with large numbers of layoffs included Ohio (10,896), Illinois (7,710), Pennsylvania (7,009) and Michigan (5,187).

Ohio had the largest year-over-year increase in layoffs, with an increase of 8,006.

The West had the second-lowest number of layoff events last month, at 38, with a loss of 2,905 jobs. New England had the fewest layoff events, at nine, with a loss of 614 jobs.

The labor department's data covers mass layoffs of 50 or more employees in a month, regardless of the length of the layoff.

Layoff data comes from the department's Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program. A federal-state collaboration, the program resumed in 1995, after being canceled for lack of funding in 1992.


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National job loss tops 130,000 in October

Mass layoffs in October -- because of difficulties in industries such as forestry, entertainment and auto manufacturing -- resulted in the loss of 131,780 jobs nationwide, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The job losses, as measured by unemployment insurance claims, represented more than 1,000 "layoff events."

Colorado had four layoff events involving 322 people in October. By comparison, the state had six layoff events in October 2006, with a loss of 517 jobs.

The West, which includes Colorado, had the second-lowest number of layoff events last month, at 38, with a loss of 2,905 jobs. New England had the fewest layoff events, at nine, with a loss of 614 jobs.

California reported the highest number of layoffs in October -- 28,004 from 380 layoff events -- because of problems in its forestry, agriculture, administrative services, motion picture and sound recording industries. Other states with large numbers of layoffs included Ohio (10,896), Illinois (7,710), Pennsylvania (7,009) and Michigan (5,187).

Ohio had the largest year-over-year increase in layoffs, with an increase of 8,006.

The labor department's data covers mass layoffs of 50 or more employees in a month, regardless of the length of the layoff.

Layoff data comes from the department's Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program. A federal-state collaboration, the program resumed in 1995, after being canceled for lack of funding in 1992.


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Progressive Corp. to layoff 341 people

MAYFIELD VILLAGE, Ohio (AP) -- Progressive Corp. said Thursday it is laying off 341 employees as part of a companywide reorganization.

The auto insurer said 263 jobs are being cut from its information technology group and 78 jobs from its personal lines group, where the layoffs are affecting mostly supervisors and managers in the company's sales and customer service call centers, a company statement said.

"We have met with each individual affected, are trying to help them with the transition and will continue to work to help them find other jobs," said Progressive President and Chief Executive Officer Glenn Renwick.

Layoffs won't take effect until Nov. 30. Most of those affected are based in Cleveland, the company said. Progressive has more than 26,000 employees nationwide and almost 10,000 in northeast Ohio.

Progressive shares fell 45 cents, or 2.32 percent, to close at $18.96 on Thursday.

Progressive, based in this Cleveland suburb, is the nation's third biggest auto insurer, ranking behind State Farm and Allstate and slightly ahead on National Indemnity (Berkshire Hathaway), which includes GEICO.



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Rheem Announces Job Layoffs

By Tara Muck

TIMES RECORD • TMUCK@SWTIMES.COM

Rheem Heating and Cooling Division announced late Thursday that it will lay off 125 workers at its Fort Smith plant effective Nov. 26, according to a news release.

The layoff comes on the heels of a previously announced temporary layoff that will affect nearly all of the 1,225 workers at the plant. Earlier this month, Ed Raniszeski, the division’s director of market development and communications, said the facility will shut down its operations during the weeks of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year holidays.

Raniszeski could not be reached for comment late Thursday to clarify the difference between the two layoffs.

The latest layoff will affect second-shift employees who assemble gas furnaces for Rheem. The Fort Smith plant manufactures residential and commercial heating and cooling products for the Atlanta-based company.

According to the news release, “The continued downturn in the nation’s housing industry coupled with unseasonably warm weather has resulted in an untenable inventory build up of gas furnace supplies.”

In an earlier interview regarding the temporary layoff, Raniszeski said by the time the weather turns cold, most of the furnaces have already been built for the first major wave on the market.

“A lot of times people don’t realize we begin building air conditioning products right after the first of the year,” Raniszeski said.

But the housing market slump has caused low sales figures for the company’s heating and cooling division, which has caused inventory to build up. To lower inventory, Rheem planned its first layoff over the holidays, of which six days would be paid holidays.

While both layoffs begin at the same time, whether that shift will return this year is yet to be learned.

Jeff Hammond, an analyst with Key Banc Capital Markets in Cleveland, Ohio, told the Times Record earlier this month that extended production shut downs in the heating and air industry are happening nationwide in the fourth quarter.

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