Social Security is the common name for the United States federal government’s Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI). The program guarantees the nation’s most vulnerable citizens can depend on a minimum sustenance and care support. Taxpayers fund Social Security through payroll taxes, self-employment contributions, and IRS investment of these funds into special government trusts. The Social Security Cost of Living Act (COLA) guarantees increases in benefits amounts to account for inflation but in recent years the official inflation rate has been low enough that they have not given Cost of Living increases. Americans become eligible to draw Social Security benefits when they reach age 62 but depending on the year you were born you may not get full benefits until you are 67 (or older). To ensure you will receive your full Social Security benefits when the time comes, you need to begin planning for your future now. The following measures can help you plan for and protect your benefits. [Read more…] about Social Security Benefits: Planning for Your Future
Archives for January 2017
5 Careers to Consider for 2017
Whether you are looking for your first job or a new career in 2017, you should always consider the economy before beginning your search. For instance, today unemployment rates are low and many industries are still looking to hire. Several jobs require a college degree, but others do not. The more skill in a particular area you have the better your chances will be. If you are on the hunt, you’ll need to know your area and the industries that are hiring. You’ll also have to know yourself and what kind of job you might be suited for. Below are five great careers to consider for 2017.
Environmental Science and Protection Technicians
If you like science and engineering, a career in [Read more…] about 5 Careers to Consider for 2017
Top 5 Places To Work In U.S. Oil And Gas
Anadarko Petroleum and Chevron have emerged as the top two employers in U.S. oil and gas, according to a survey conducted by the job site Indeed. The top five for the industry was completed by Plains All American at #3, Occidental Petroleum at #4, and Noble Energy at #5.
Indeed said that it ranked companies based on a number of factors but generally speaking, the better the site visitor ratings and reviews a company had, the higher it ranked on the “Best Places to Work” list.
The site has 200 million unique visitors monthly, lending credibility to its findings. The reviews and ratings it collected to compile the rankings included postings from current and former employees.
These, in the case of Anadarko, Chevron, and the rest of the best, praised the companies for [Read more…] about Top 5 Places To Work In U.S. Oil And Gas
5 Tips to Manage House Payments While You’re Unemployed
While you may not look forward to going to work every morning, it does provide the income that you need to make the mortgage payment. However, if you are out of work, it doesn’t mean that you should immediately look to sell the family home. Obviously, the best solution would be to plan ahead and pay into an emergency fund which optimally would cover 6 months of living expenses. But what if you weren’t that farsighted?
Here are some ways to manage the mortgage payment until you can get back to work:
1) Apply for Unemployment Benefits
The first thing to do when you become unemployed is to apply for unemployment benefits through your state unemployment agency. Often it takes time to be eligible for benefits or to wade through all the “red tape” before you actually get your benefits. So it pays to start early. Unemployment benefits vary by state with high cost states like Massachusetts paying as much as $993 per week for 30 weeks. But most states limit benefits to a maximum of 26 weeks and pay less than $500 per week. Note: While you are collecting unemployment benefits might be a good time to acquire new skills that make you more employable. See: Highly Skilled Worker Shortage in a Recession?
2) Call the Lender
The next thing that you should do is [Read more…] about 5 Tips to Manage House Payments While You’re Unemployed
When is Moving for a Career Worth It?
In the current job marketplace, more people are being forced to consider relocating in order to either find the job of their dreams or even just to find any job at all. With every passing year, the idea of remaining with the same employer for decades has become more the exception and much less the rule. While moving on to greener pastures can be alluring, knowing when to make the leap is important. To determine whether or not relocating is the right call to make, it pays to keep the following things in mind.
New Expenses
Consider the difference in the costs of living between [Read more…] about When is Moving for a Career Worth It?
Unemployment Inches Up
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced on Friday January 6th, 2017 that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for December was 4.7% up from 4.6% in November. The unadjusted U-3 came in at 4.5% up from 4.4% in November. Gallup on the other hand says the unadjusted U-3 is 5.1% up from 4.9% in November.
The U-6 unemployment rate, which includes discouraged workers, marginally attached workers and part-time workers who want to work full-time, was 9.1% in December up from 9.0% in November.
Gallup says their equivalent “Under Employment Rate” was 13.7% in December up from 13.0% in November.
For the 20 years from 1989 to 2009 the Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) held fairly steady at around 66%
of the workforce being employed.
But starting in 2010 [Read more…] about Unemployment Inches Up
Is the U.S. Really at “Full Employment”?
Back in February of 2016 Fortune magazine published an article entitled “The U.S. Economy Is Finally at Full Employment” and then in May CNN-Money published an article entitled The U.S. is ‘basically at full employment’ quoting San Francisco Federal Reserve President John Williams as saying “We’re basically at full employment…that’s very good news.”
“We’re basically at full employment…that’s very good news.” San Francisco Federal Reserve President John Williams
So what is “Full-Employment” and are we really there? At first glance you might think that full employment should equal 0% and with the current unemployment rate hovering around 4.7% we obviously aren’t there. But Full employment, in macroeconomics, is defined by many economists as being an acceptable level of unemployment somewhere above 0%.
Even when employers are having difficulty finding employees some people are [Read more…] about Is the U.S. Really at “Full Employment”?