Employment

Type A Personality? Some Jobs for You to Consider

August 12, 2016 by Guest Contributor

Type A personalities tend to be career- and goal-oriented. They are laser-focused on achieving goals and are considered risk takers. They’re often competitive, driven and controlling. While this can lead to stress, it can be channeled into avenues that can lead to success. If you have a type A personality, you will need to find the ideal career path that works best for your strengths, or you’ll likely experience disappointment, stress and discomfort. Below are some possibilities when considering career paths:

Entrepreneur

While some people are not cut out for having their own business and flourishing, Type A personalities thrive in [Read more…] about Type A Personality? Some Jobs for You to Consider

MSN Picks Up Our Theme of “The Real Unemployment Rate”

August 5, 2016 by Tim McMahon

The Bureau of Labor Statistics published the July Employment/Unemployment numbers on August 5^th .

The seasonally adjusted U-3 (the commonly quoted unemployment rate) was unchanged at 4.9%.
BLS’ Unadjusted U-3 was also unchanged at 5.1%.
BLS’ Unadjusted U-6 increased 0.2% to 10.1%
Gallup’s unadjusted U-3 fell from 5.4% to join the BLS’ 5.1%.
Gallup’s U-6 fell from 13.4% to 12.7% to remain 2.6% higher than the BLS’ U-6.

Meanwhile, MSN’s CNBC decided to enter the fray and help “clarify” the confusing employment situation with an article entitled “Now that you know the official jobs number, here’s the real unemployment rate”. Unfortunately, this article may do more to confuse than to clarify.

In the article author Nicholas Wells delves into the possibility that the U-3 is not as important as the U-6… which [Read more…] about MSN Picks Up Our Theme of “The Real Unemployment Rate”

6 Great Jobs for Left-Brained People

June 6, 2016 by Tim McMahon

The left brain-right brain theory began with the work of 1981 Nobel Prize winner Roger W. Sperry. Generally speaking, the left side of the brain tends to control many aspects of language, logic, learning and information processing. People who are left brain dominant tend to be more analytical in their thinking and typically perform well academically.

When a person is Right Brain Dominant, they are thought of as dreamers, artists, and musicians since the right side of the brain tends to handle spatial information and visual comprehension. People characterized as being right-brained prefer visual instructions with examples, can memorize music more easily, are more spontaneous and tend to solve problems more intuitively.

Left brained people are often considered smart, because modern education is generally geared toward their strengths such as memorizing information and logic. But this does not actually make them “smarter” it simply allows them to succeed academically easier than their right brained counterparts. They are however able to use their abilities to solve complex problems and these strengths make certain jobs perfect for the left-brained individual. Here are six, high-paying jobs, which would probably suit a left-brained person. [Read more…] about 6 Great Jobs for Left-Brained People

5 Things Employers Wish You Knew Before Applying For a Job

May 20, 2016 by Guest Contributor

Some maintain there has never been a wider gulf between employers and job candidates than there is right now. While this is debatable, there can be no doubt job hunting in the 21st century bears little to no resemblance to the job hunts of the previous century. The potential for misunderstanding between manager and future employee is high, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Here are some things employers would like their candidates to know.

Honesty is Still the Best Policy

Employers want the best people in the right jobs. To make sure that happens, they need [Read more…] about 5 Things Employers Wish You Knew Before Applying For a Job

Six Careers for Natural Leaders

May 18, 2016 by Tim McMahon

When choosing a career, it is important that you consider both your interests and strengths. Certain careers are better suited toward people that are naturally strong leaders. If you take the time and consideration to choose carefully, you will be more likely to enjoy what you do and excel at it.

Nurse

We often think of the primary characteristic of a nurse to be compassion but although it may not be obvious at first glance, it is highly beneficial for nurses to also be good leaders, have strong personalities and excellent organizational skills. They often have to keep track of many patients and pay close attention to detail. They have to be effective communicators with patients, their families, doctors, and other supporting staff. And on occasion they need to be forceful in order to ensure the best care for their patients.

Teacher

Teachers are charged with [Read more…] about Six Careers for Natural Leaders

Finding the Right Career Path with Your University Skills

May 18, 2016 by Guest Contributor

Your university experience provided you with tangible work, knowledge, and skills you can use when applying for a job. If you took lab courses, add that experience to your resume as proof of your abilities to follow instructions and achieve results. Any research you did in school can help you secure a job that requires an ability to analyze and dissect information, which is most work. Your major can have a large impact on the job you ultimately choose. Use these tips for finding the right career for your skills and degree.

Skills to Be a Diplomat

Diplomats have to work with a variety of people and be respectful of other cultures as they travel. Many college degrees prepare you with these skills since you’ve likely had to work with people from several different backgrounds.
Courses in subjects like Anthropology and Sociology help you to get a better understanding of other belief systems and values as well. Most any college degree can qualify you for work as a diplomat in the Department of State.

According to the Department of State website, “As a Civil Service employee, you’ll [Read more…] about Finding the Right Career Path with Your University Skills

BLS Monthly Employment Report for April

May 6, 2016 by Tim McMahon

The US economy added 160,000 “seasonally adjusted” jobs in April, the lowest figure in the last seven months. The adjusted U-3 unemployment rate remained steady at 5%. The Unadjusted U-3 fell to 4.7% while the Unadjusted U-6 fell to 9.3% from 9.9% last month.
On a seasonally adjusted basis employment has fallen while on a non-adjusted basis the actual number of non-farm employed has increased from 142.887 Million to 143.944 million for a net increase of 1,057,000 jobs but since April traditionally sees a large increase in seasonal workers the seasonally adjusted number says that we were only 160,000 jobs better than what we would expect if there were zero jobs growth.

Labor Force Participation Rate

The Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) is the percentage of the Labor Force that is currently either looking for a job or actually has one. So even though it sounds like it is talking about how many people are working it actually is the percentage who “want to work”. As of April this stands at 62.8%. This rate has been steadily falling for a number of years and has reached levels not seen since the 1970’s.

Since the Bureau of Labor Statistics measures unemployment as the percentage of the labor force that can’t find work as people stop looking for work they fall out of the labor force and are no longer counted. Thus the unemployment rate can fall even though no new jobs have been created.

Long Term Labor Force Participation Rate

As we can see from the above chart the LFPR peaked in the late 1990’s and fell during the recession from 2000 through 2004. From 2004 through 2007 it leveled off but then the “Great Recession” hit and the LFPR has fallen pretty steadily since. And even though we are supposed to be in a recovery the LFPR continues to fall although there was a bit of an up tick at the end of 2015 and early 2016, April’s LFPR is lower than March’s.

Some people wrongly assume that the LFPR is falling due to retiring baby-boomers. This premise however has been proven false. See Record Low LFPR which shows the LFPR by age group since 1999. The biggest declines occur in the younger ages while those above age 60 actually show a higher percentage are working. For instance, in 1999 only 24% of those age 65-69 were working but according to the BLS in 2015 30.8% of those age 65-69 were working.

Gallup “Good Jobs” Index

Gallup’s “Good Jobs” Index is their version of the LFPR it is calculated as a percentage of the total population rather than limiting it to the “work force”. So although the percentage is lower it is a better indicator of the actual situation since it is not subject to fudging through simply redefining who is in the “work force”. Gallup says 44.9% of the total adult population is in the “Good Jobs” Index i.e. has a full-time job. This does not mean that they are employed at their full capacity or that they are earning a “decent wage” simply that they are employed full-time. Gallup defines a full-time as 30+ hours per week for an employer who provides a regular paycheck. This is up from 44.5% last month confirming the seasonal increase in employment mentioned above.

March Jobs Data

April 2, 2016 by Tim McMahon

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released their employment data for the month of March 2016. The adjusted U-3 unemployment rate was 5.0% up from 4.9% in February. The unadjusted U-3 unemployment rate was 5.1% while the Gallup survey says the unadjusted U-3 was actually a full 1% higher at 6.1%. See: Unemployment Rate Chart

U-6 Unemployment

The BLS says the broader U-6 unemployment rate that includes short term “discouraged workers” was 9.9% while Gallup says the rate is really 14.4%.

Meanwhile, according to [Read more…] about March Jobs Data

Oil Jobs Lost: 250,000 And Counting, Texas Likely To See Massive Layoffs Soon

December 4, 2015 by Guest Contributor

Crude oil just capped off a third straight week of declines, as WTI nears the $40 per barrel threshold. Goldman Sachs is once again raising the possibility of oil dipping into the $20s per barrel.

That spells more pain for the energy sector. Many companies have already slashed spending and culled their payrolls, but the total number of job losses continues to climb.

According to Graves & Co., an industry consultant, oil and gas companies have laid off more than 250,000 workers around the world, a tally that will rise if oil prices remain in the dumps.

“I was surprised it’s gotten this far,” Graves & Co.’s John Graves told Bloomberg in an interview. In an eye-catching statistic that highlights [Read more…] about Oil Jobs Lost: 250,000 And Counting, Texas Likely To See Massive Layoffs Soon

The Gig Economy Is the New Normal

November 19, 2015 by John Mauldin

By John Mauldin

An already-confusing employment environment grew even more complicated this past week. Many readers responded to my “Crime in the Jobs Report” letter with their own stories. Some confirmed what I wrote, while others disputed it. Some of the stories I read from readers who are stuck far from where they want to be in this job market were very moving. I think everyone agrees the labor outlook is uncertain. I sense a lot of nervousness, even from those who have secure jobs that pay well. In today’s letter, I’m going to respond to some of the observations and data that came in this week on employment.

As we will see, we have a right to be nervous. Big changes in the employment world are happening, and we don’t yet know how they will affect us individually. Analysts like me can say we’ll muddle through, but we must remember that not everyone will muddle at the same pace.

We will also take a look today at a growing new phenomenon: the gig economy.

Employers Want Gray Hair?

We talked last week about employers’ reluctance to hire older workers. Reader Steve Lange from Denver pointed me to a ZeroHedge article that questions this premise.

If you look at the BLS age breakdown for new jobs (Table A-9), you’ll see that workers aged 55 and over accounted for virtually all of October’s strong gains. That group added 378,000 jobs last month.

Meanwhile, the number of workers aged 25-54 actually declined by 35,000. That’s supposed to be “prime working age,” so any decline should ring alarm bells. And the numbers are more alarming if