Archives for July 2010

Total Compensation Costs

July 30, 2010 by Tim McMahon

From The Bureau of Labor Statistics

Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 1.8 percent for the 12-month period ending June 2010 while the overall inflation rate (CPI-U) was only 1.05%. This was the same Compensation cost increase as the 12-month period ending in June 2009. Wages and salaries increased 1.6 percent for the current 12-month period, compared to a 1.8 percent increase for the 12-month period ending in June 2009. Benefit costs rose 2.5 percent, up from a 1.8 percent increase for the 12-month period ending June 2009.

Work in the Future

July 30, 2010 by Tim McMahon

Back in 1963 Bob Dylan wrote

Come gather ’round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You’ll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin’
Then you better start swimmin’
Or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’.

Those lyrics seem eerily appropriate almost fifty years later.

In that time many things have changed, change seemed rapid and incessant. Over the years the way we work has also changed. Back in the 1960’s the U.S. was primarily made up of Blue collar workers. Now we are increasingly white collar telecommuters.

A recent special report in Time magazine entitled “The Way We’ll Work” explained the work situation in this way:

Ten years ago, Facebook didn’t exist. Ten years before that, we didn’t have the Web. So who knows what jobs will be born a decade from now? Though unemployment is at a 25-year high, work will eventually return. But it won’t look the same. No one is going to pay you just to show up. We will see a more flexible, more freelance, more collaborative and far less secure work world. It will be run by a generation with new values — and women will increasingly be at the controls.

Unemployment Rate Falls, but Momentum Weak in Job Market

July 30, 2010 by Tim McMahon

By Neil Irwin–
Washington Post.com

The nation’s unemployment rate fell in June, though hiring by the private sector remained soft, according to a government report Friday. The figures suggest the economic recovery is moving forward this summer, but with weak momentum in the job market.

The jobless rate was 9.5 percent last month, down from 9.7 percent in May, a surprising decrease that came as hundreds of thousands of workers dropped out of the labor force. Private employers added 83,000 jobs in June, more than double the rate in May but still below the six-figure job creation numbers that would suggest a strong recovery in employment.

“$100,000 A Year for Part-Time Work”

July 27, 2010 by Tim McMahon

Job Security May Not Be What It Used To Be for Some Government Positions

By Robert Jay

When these are the facts….

61 percent of Americans “always or usually” live paycheck to paycheck, which was up from 49 percent in 2008 and 43 percent in 2007.
66 percent of the income growth between 2001 and 2007 went to the top 1% of all Americans.
24 percent of American workers say that they have postponed their planned retirement age in the past year.
Only the top 5 percent of U.S. households have earned enough additional income to match the rise in housing costs since 1975.
Average Wall Street bonuses for 2009 were up 17 percent when compared with 2008.
In the United States, the average federal worker now earns 60% MORE than the average worker in the private sector.

(Business Insider, 7/15)

… Then people tend to get agitated when they learn that some part-time city employees are earning $100,000 a year.

Yes, it’s another “can you believe this?” financial story of a California town … MORE

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AP reports New Jobless Claims Jump

July 23, 2010 by Tim McMahon

WASHINGTON — New jobless claims in the U.S. jumped last week by the most since February, reversing a sharp fall two weeks ago. The rise is partly a result of seasonal factors but also reflects the job

The Labor Department says new claims for unemployment insurance jumped by 37,000 to a seasonally adjusted 464,000. Analysts expected a smaller rise, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.

The sharp increase comes after claims fell steeply two weeks ago to their lowest level since August 2008. But much of that drop was driven by temporary seasonal factors and not necessarily by an improving job market.

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Two weeks ago, General Motors and other manufacturers reported fewer temporary layoffs than usual this time of year, the Labor Department says.

Payrolls drop by 125K, jobless rate falls

July 8, 2010 by Tim McMahon

FOX News reported the following:

WASHINGTON — A wave of federal census layoffs cut U.S. payrolls in June for the first time in six months, while private employers added a modest number of jobs. The unemployment rate fell to 9.5 percent, its lowest level in almost a year.

Employers cut 125,000 jobs last month, the most since last October, the Labor Department said Friday. The loss was driven by the end of 225,000 temporary jobs for the 2010 U.S. Census. Businesses added a net total of 83,000 workers, an improvement from May. But that’s also below March and April totals.

The country has 7.9 million fewer private payroll jobs than it did when the recession began. [Read more…] about Payrolls drop by 125K, jobless rate falls