Beating expectations, the US added 151,000 jobs in October, for the first time since May. Analysts had projected only a 60,000 gain. It wasn’t enough to nudge the unemployment rate, however, which held at 9.6%. [More]
unemployment
Study: Higher Minimum Wage Doesn't Increase Unemployment
By 11.1.10
A new study shows that increased minimum wage does not increase unemployment. [More]
The Real Underemployment Figure Is 22.5%
By 10.19.10
Ever get the feeling that things are a lot worse than everyone is letting on? [More]
Apply Now For A Seasonal Job
By 10.15.10
If you’re looking to pick up some extra cash this holiday season, around $10.60 an hour, the time to apply for a seasonal job is now. Stores are already putting out the Christmas Creep so managers are already thinking about staffing. Here’s a few things you can do to make yourself stand out from the competition, which is expected to be fiercer than ever: [More]
Corps. Gobbling Up Cheap Debt Instead Of Hiring
By 10.6.10
You can’t get a loan but Microsoft sure can, and it’s taking advantage of uber-low interest rates to raise billions by selling bonds. Why? “Because they can,” writes NYT. They’re not alone, across the board companies are plumping up their cash reserves so they can take advantage when the economy turns around, but it’s unlikely to anytime soon if companies keep saving instead of creating jobs. What came first, the chicken or the nest egg? [More]
Court Says Man Can't Be Fired For "Stealing" 2 Cents Of Electricity From Work
By 9.13.10
A court has ruled that the man who was fired after he charged his Segway at work for 1.5 hours was wrongfully terminated. His boss asked him to remove the unit from the power source and 12 days later he got sacked for “stealing electricity.” The amount of power he absconded with was estimated to be of 2 cents in value. [More]
You Can Get Unemployment Payments On A Debit Card That No One Accepts
By 9.2.10
Many states no longer issue unemployment checks. You can receive your payments through direct deposit, or using a Visa or Mastercard-branded debit card. That’s the state of affairs in Pennsylvania, where reader Sam lives. He tells Consumerist that this method would be less of a racket for banks and more useful for people on unemployment if there were any places other than fee-happy ATMs that actually accepted the darn things. [More]
Ohio Woman Indicted For Using Starbucks Job Applications To Commit ID Theft Worth $115K
By 8.26.10
The last thing anyone needs when they’re out of work is to worry about the safety of the personal information they put on a job application. But the U.S. Attorney in Ohio has indicted a woman on allegations that she used this sensitive info to falsely obtain credit cards and run up a $115,000 tab. [More]
Job Search Credit Check Scammers Still Roaming The Internet
By 8.18.10
Molly writes that her brother has been looking for employment for a long time, and finally received a tentative job offer for a job in a warehouse. It’s underemployment, but it’s employment, right? The problem is that the agency doing the hiring seems kind of shady to Molly. They want to verify that her brother is a U.S. citizen by having him use a “free” credit score service, and e-mailing them the score. Molly’s right: it’s a scam. [More]
Should I Patronize A Company That Treated Me Unprofessionally As A Job Applicant?
By 8.12.10
If you’ve applied for a job with a company and been turned down, how does that affect how you feel about that company? What if you feel that the company treated you poorly as a job applicant? Joe writes that he wonders just that. He feels that a company of which he was a customer treated his girlfriend unprofessionally after interviewing for a job there, and wonders whether he’s justified in taking his business away from them. [More]
Dramatic Animated Recreation Of Flight Attendant Quitting, Using Emergency Slide
By 8.11.10
Taiwan news media produced this thrilling animated replay of how JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater quit his job, complete with cursing on the PA, beer grab, emergency slide run, and embracing his lover. This looks like the making of the best Sims mod ever! [More]
Flight Attendant Weighs In On Angry Passengers, Job Stress
By 8.11.10
Steven Slater’s dramatic job walk-off slide-down on Monday wouldn’t have been anywhere near as cool if he hadn’t used that escape slide. Another flight attendant named Bobby Laurie, writing about the stress of the job for The Daily Beast, says popping the slide and stealing alcohol are “the two most taboo things in the industry.” He also says he’s fantasized about doing something similar after being forced to deal with angry or obnoxious passengers. [More]
Woman Quits Job By Outing Boss's Farmville Addiction To Staff
By 8.10.10
UPDATE: It appears that this was all a hoax perpetrated by the editors over at thechive.com. [More]
Jobless Claims Reach 3 Month High
By 8.5.10
Jobless claims went up 19,000 to 479,000 at the end of last month, higher than expected, and the most since April. It signals that as the recovery sputters, employers are continuing to cut payrolls. [More]
After 99 Weeks Of Unemployment, Still No Job
By 8.3.10
The NYT has a profile of a woman who has passed the 99 weeks of unemployment benefits and is now essentially homeless, living in a motel paid for with charity from friends. In 2008 she had a good job and was going to business school. Now she’s on food stamps and making ramen in a motel ice bucket. [More]
Strip Clubs Banned From Advertising Jobs At UK Employment Offices
By 8.2.10
Times are tough everywhere. Which means desperate people will consider taking jobs, like stripping or performing nude on a web cam, they wouldn’t otherwise have considered. But the government in the UK doesn’t want to encourage its citizens to find these types of sexy jobs and has banned a certain class of employers from advertising at tax-funded employment offices. [More]
Congress OKs Unemployment Extension
By 7.22.10
The bill to extend and restore unemployment benefits to out of work Americans now only has to make its way to the White House after Congress passed the legislation by a vote of 272 to 152. [More]
