Tag: Jobs

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O’Toole: NJ’s Continued Job Growth Proves Need to Advance More Pro-Economic Policies

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December 8, 2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Senator Kevin O’Toole (R-Bergen, Essex, Morris, Passaic) said New Jersey’s addition of 15,200 private-sector jobs in October and an updated total of 24,100 new jobs in the past two months shows that Republican reforms are working and the state’s economic rebound would be enhanced with the advancement of more Senate Republican jobs policies.

“New Jersey is creating jobs at a fast pace under Governor Christie’s administration not seen in recent memory, thanks to ample reductions in red tape and our investments in real private sector job creation, workforce training and smart economic development,” said O’Toole, a member of the Senate Budget & Appropriations Committee. “Our unemployment rate has fallen nearly a full point this year to 5.4 percent, and in the months ahead we’re on track to recover all of the 258,000 jobs lost under the previous administration. Indeed, this is a far cry from what happened under the previous governors where taxes and fees were raised 115 times while the unemployment rate skyrocketed to 9.8 percent.”

O’Toole emphasized, “Not counting Great Recession years, the 15,200 private-sector jobs we created in October alone are more than twice the 7,400 private-sector jobs created in former Gov. Jon Corzine’s best year and more than six times the 2,400 jobs created in Gov. Corzine’s second-best year.”

Senator O’Toole also pushed for the continued advancement of the Senate Republican’s 36-bill package to jumpstart job creation and economic growth without costing taxpayers extra money. So far, 15 of the bills have garnered Senate Democrat sponsorship; 12 have garnered Assembly Democrat sponsorship; the Senate has advanced or fully passed 11 of them and the Assembly has advanced or passed a number of them as well, and the governor just signed into law an innovation bill to help start and grow small businesses by allowing private online investments.

“The investments and incentive programs we’ve enacted under this governor to attract and retain job creators are working, and must continue in a transparent and accountable way until legislative Democrats allow votes on bills to make New Jersey’s nation-high taxes competitive with other states,” O’Toole said. “This new state jobs report is positive and we need to continue that momentum built under Governor Christie by passing Senate Republican solutions to lower costs of doing business and cut even more red tape.”

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Upgrade Your Workers’ Skills with State Funding

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December 5,2015
the staff of the Rmidgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Many state governments, including NJ, have funds set aside to train your workforce at no cost to you. The intent is to create a better skilled workforce that will translate into better productivity and increased profitability for these companies.

These extraordinary state programs allow you to realize income with no strings attached and without deviating from your company’s day-to-day activities. These programs are intended for most companies regardless of size.

In today’s economy, trained and effective workers can mean the difference between a competitive business and an extinct business. The Customized Training initiative is a component of the Workforce Development Partnership program and is funded by a small allocation from employers and workers.
TNT Educational Services is in the business of securing government funding by way of training grants and offering a wide range of training classes targeting an increase of productivity at no cost to the company. Bergen IT LLC (www.bergenit.net) is partnering with TNT Educational Services (www.tntedu.com) in order to become a provider of technology training.

To Request additional Information, please call Bergen IT at – 201-689-1823 or email[email protected]

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Labor Force Participation Improves Slightly; 94,446,000 Americans Not in Labor Force

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By Susan Jones | December 4, 2015 | 8:44 AM EST
The Bureau of Labor Statistics says economy added 211,000 jobs in November, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.0 percent.

(CNSNews.com) – The number of Americans not in the labor force last month totaled 94,446,000–a slight improvement from the 94,513,000 not in the labor force in October–and the labor force participation rate increased a tenth of a point, with 62.5 percent of the civilian noninstitutional population either holding a job or actively seeking one.

(The labor force participation rate of 62.4 percent in September and October was the lowest in 38 years.)

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says economy added 211,000 jobs in November, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.0 percent.

In November, according to the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the nation’s civilian noninstitutional population, consisting of all people 16 or older who were not in the military or an institution, reached 251,747,000. Of those, 157,301,000 participated in the labor force by either holding a job or actively seeking one.

https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/labor-force-participation-improves-slightly-94446000-americans-not-labor

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Obamanomics : Shoppers may be losing their holiday spirit

Holiday Spirit

NOVEMBER 28, 2015    LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2015, 1:21 AM
BLOOMBERG NEWS |
WIRE SERVICE

Could Americans be losing their holiday spending spirit? More than 20 years of retail sales data suggest it’s a distinct possibility.

U.S. retailers have come to rely on a shopping frenzy toward the end of the year, as the annual gift-giving season compels people to open their wallets. That holiday bump, though, appears to be shrinking.

Last year, December’s share of annual retail sales (excluding gasoline) amounted to 9.9 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That compares with a high point of 10.6 percent in 1993 — a difference worth more than $30 billion. Although the holiday boost tends to fluctuate with economic cycles, the trend is down. Here’s how that looks:

What’s going on? Black Friday could be partly responsible, if retailers have pulled some of the holiday action into November with deep discounts and special opening hours. However, that particular shopping event is on the wane. And even combining sales for November and December doesn’t do much to change the long-term trend.

Another potential explanation is that the kinds of items people buy around the holidays — Xboxes, iPads and the like — have become relatively cheap, because of the efforts of Chinese manufacturers. This would make the dollar value of December’s spending look smaller, even if people were purchasing just as many items. That said, prices on imports from China are higher than they were a decade ago, so maybe not.

There’s also a more troubling possibility: Declining incomes may have left a large portion of Americans less willing to splurge. The median U.S. household income has fallen more than 3 percent over the past decade in inflation-adjusted terms. December’s share of spending tends to suffer when budgets are tighter, as evidenced by the sharp drop during the 2008 recession.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/holiday-shopping-frenzy-on-the-wane-1.1464053

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Record number of N.J. residents living in poverty, study finds

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Record number of N.J. residents living in poverty, study finds

More New Jersey residents are in poverty now than in the past five decades and the outlook for the future is bleak, according to a report released Sunday, which aims to redefine the definition of poor in the state. MaryAnn Spoto, NJ.com Read more

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Union: Obama threw workers ‘under the bus’ in Keystone decision

keystone pipeline

By Timothy Cama – 11/06/15 12:51 PM EST

The main union for construction workers is accusing President Obama of throwing them “under the bus” by rejecting the Keystone XL oil pipeline.

The Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) is one of the few labor unions that broke with the majority of Democrats and supported the project, which Obama rejected Friday after a seven-year review.

“We are dismayed and disgusted that the President has once again thrown the members of LIUNA, and other hard-working, blue-collar workers under the bus of his vaunted ‘legacy,’ while doing little or nothing to make a real difference in global climate change,” Terry O’Sullivan, the union’s general president, said in a statement. “His actions are shameful.”

The group’s statement cited a State Department report that Keystone could reduce greenhouse gas emissions when compared with oil transportation by rail.

“But facts apparently mean as little to the president as the construction jobs he repeatedly derided as insignificant because they are ‘temporary,’ ” O’Sullivan said. “Ironically, the very temporary nature of the president’s own job seems to be fueling a legacy of doing permanent harm to middle- and working class families.”

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/259395-union-obama-threw-workers-under-the-bus

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This Is the Worst U.S. Earnings Season Since 2009

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Biggest quarterly drop since the aftermath of the financial crisis

This U.S. earnings season is on track to be the worst since 2009 as profits from oil & gas and commodity-related companies plummet.

So far, about three-quarters of the S&P 500 have reported results, with profits down 3.1 percent on a share-weighted basis, data compiled by Bloomberg shows. This would be the biggest quarterly drop in earnings since the third quarter 2009, and the second straight quarter of profit declines. Earnings growth turned negative for the first time in six years in the second quarter this year.

The damage is the biggest in commodity-related industries, with the energy sector showing a 54 percent drop in quarterly earnings per share so far in the quarter, with profits in the materials sector falling 15 percent.

The picture is brighter for the telecom services and consumer discretionary sectors, with EPS growth of 23 percent and 19 percent respectively so far this quarter.

When compared with analyst expectations, about 72 percent of companies have beaten profit forecasts. That’s only because the consensus has been sharply cut in the past few months, Jeanne Asseraf-Bitton, head of global cross-asset research at Lyxor Asset Management says in a telephone interview.

For the year as a whole, S&P 500 earnings are expected to fall 0.5 percent, data compiled by Bloomberg shows. For 2016, earnings growth is now seen at 7.9 percent, down from 10.9 percent in late July.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-04/this-is-the-worst-u-s-earnings-season-since-2009

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Even Tax Credits Can not Keep Businesses in Anti Business New Jersey

New Jersey Democrats Move to Raise Taxes

TAX CREDITS: TOO HIGH A PRICE TO ATTRACT COMPANIES, KEEP THEM IN NEW JERSEY?

OCTOBER 26, 2015
JOHN REITMEYER

Companies and critics explore the pros and cons — and costs — of incentives used to convince corporations not to move out of state

When Panasonic was seeking a new location for its corporate headquarters after four decades in Secaucus, moving to downtown Newark was not the original plan, according to chief executive officer Joe Taylor.

Offices in San Diego, Chicago, and Atlanta were all under consideration, but after intense lobbying from politicians here — and the enticement of an $80 million state economic-development tax incentive — Taylor decided to keep the company and its 1,000 employees in New Jersey, choosing to relocate in downtown Newark.

Now, Taylor said 60 percent of the company’s employees are taking the train to work, meaning their cars are off New Jersey’s already choked and potholed highways. Panasonic also has an agreement with city government to give local residents a first crack at job openings.

“I’m a huge proponent of economic development,” Taylor said while participating in a panel discussion during NJ Spotlight on Cities, a daylong conference held earlier this month at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark that focused on the state of New Jersey’s cities.

“I think tax credits are critically important,” he said. “I think other kinds of credits are critically important.”

https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/15/10/25/tax-credits-too-high-a-price-to-attract-companies-keep-them-in-new-jersey/

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What’s the future for suburban office space in Anti Business New Jersey ?

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file photo Boyd Loving

OCTOBER 25, 2015    LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY KATHLEEN LYNN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

What do you do with a big, isolated office building that no one wants anymore?

It’s a question being asked around New Jersey as giant office parks — built along highways when the suburbs boomed in the second half of the 20th century — sit empty or half-empty while corporations shrink their footprints and younger workers look for a more urban, transit-friendly buzz.

In northern Bergen County, for example, A&P, Mercedes-Benz USA, Hertz and Pearson have left or soon will leave offices built in the 1970s and 1980s, when corporations headed out of the cities for greener suburbs.

“There was a whole movement toward beautiful, idyllic campuses, but the workforce today wants to be in an urban hub,” said Andrew Merin, vice chairman with Cushman & Wakefield, a real estate firm with offices in East Rutherford.

As a result, “each of these properties is going to have to invent its own future,” said James Hughes, dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers.

Some of these properties are destined for the wrecking ball — including the former Pearson building in Upper Saddle River, owned by Mack-Cali, New Jersey’s largest office landlord, which is fighting to build housing on the site.

Others will be redeveloped. The most striking example is the ambitious, multimillion-dollar renovation of the old Bell Labs in Holmdel into Bell Works, a mixed-use property that aims to turn the landmark building’s giant atrium into an indoor Main Street with an “urban” vibe.

Whatever their fates, it’s clear that many of the state’s large, 30- or 40-year-old buildings will no longer function as home to a single corporate user. And, experts say, municipal officials who depended on those corporations — and their big property-tax payments — need to make another plan.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/big-office-buildings-look-to-reinvent-themselves-1.1440856

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‘America is a bomb waiting to explode’

Obama-Golf

Sam Gerrans is an English writer, translator, support counselor and activist. He also has professional backgrounds in media, strategic communications and technology. He is driven by commitment to ultimate meaning, and focused on authentic approaches to revelation and realpolitik. He is the founder of Quranite.com – where the Qur’an is explored on the basis of reason rather than tradition – and offers both individual language training and personal support and counseling online at SkypeTalking.com.
Published time: 18 Oct, 2015 10:27

The United States is in decline. While not all major shocks to the system will be devastating, when the right one comes along, the outcome may be dramatic.

Not all explosives are the same. We all know you have to be careful with dynamite. Best to handle it gently and not smoke while you’re around it.

Semtex is different. You can drop it. You can throw it. You can put it in the fire. Nothing will happen. Nothing until you put the right detonator in it, that is.

To me, the US – and most of the supposedly free West – increasingly looks like a truck being systematically filled with Semtex.

But it’s easy to counter cries of alarm with the fact that the truck is stable – because it’s true: you can hurl more boxes into the back without any real danger. Absent the right detonator, it is no more dangerous than a truckload of mayonnaise.

But add the right detonator and you’re just one click away from complete devastation.

We can see how fragile the U.S. is now by considering just four tendencies.

1. Destruction of farms and reliable food source

The average American is a long way from food when the shops are closed.

The Washington Post reports that the number of farms in the country has fallen by some 4 million from more than 6 million in 1935 to roughly 2 million in 2012.

And according to the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, only about 2 percent of the US population live on farms.

That means that around 4.6 million people currently have the means to feed themselves.

Food supply logistics are extended, sometimes stretching thousands of miles. The shops have nothing more than a few days’ stock. A simple break in that supply line would clear the shops out in days.

2. Weak economic system

The American economic system is little more than froth.

The US currency came off the gold standard in 1933 and severed any link with gold in 1971. Since then, the currency has been essentially linked to oil, the value of which has been protected and held together by wars.

The whole world has had enough of the US and its hubris – not least the people of the US themselves, which the massive support currently for Putin’s decision to deal with ISIS demonstrates.

Since pro-active war is what keeps the US going, if it loses the monopoly on that front, its decline is inevitable.

Fiat economies always collapse. They last on average for 37 years. By that metric the US should have already run out of gas.

Once people wake up and smell the Yuan, the Exodus out of the dollar will be unstoppable.

https://www.rt.com/op-edge/318986-america-bomb-society-crisis/

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Study: Government Workers Make 78 Percent More Than Private Sector

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Average pay and benefits $52,688 higher than non-gov’t employees

BY: Elizabeth Harrington
October 8, 2015 2:45 pm

Employees for the federal government earn far more than their counterparts in the private sector, according to a new study by the Cato Institute.

Federal workers’ pay and benefits were 78 percent higher than private employees, who earned an average of $52,688 less than public sector workers last year.

The study found that federal government workers earned an average of $84,153 in 2014, compared to the private sector’s average of $56,350. Cato based its findings on figures from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).

But when adding in benefits pay for federal workers, the difference becomes more dramatic. Federal employees made $119,934 in total compensation last year, while private sector workers earned $67,246, a difference of over $52,000, or 78 percent.

https://freebeacon.com/issues/study-government-workers-make-78-percent-more-than-private-sector/

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Payrolls Disaster: Only 142K Jobs Added In September With Zero Wage Growth; August Revised Much Lower

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Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/02/2015 12:36 -0400

And so the “most important payrolls number” at least until the October FOMC meeting when the Fed will once again do nothing because suddenly the US is staring recession in the face, is in the history books, and as previewed earlier today, at 142K it was a total disaster, 60K below the consensus and below the lowest estimate.

Just as bad, the August print was also revised far lower from 173K to 136K. And while it is less followed, the household survey was an unmitigated disaster, with 236,000 jobs lost in September.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-10-02/payrolls-disaster-only-142k-jobs-added-september-zero-wage-growth-august-revised-muc

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Temporary Visas to Import Talent Help Copycats Move Jobs Abroad

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By JULIA PRESTONSEPT. 29, 2015

A Toys “R” Us store in Totowa, N.J. The retailer replaced 67 employees with workers in India.  The Indian workers were trained by the American workers Toys “R” Us eventually laid off. 

WAYNE, N.J. — When Congress designed temporary work visa programs, the idea was to bring in foreigners with specialized, hard-to-find skills who would help American companies grow, creating jobs to expand the economy. Now, though, some companies are bringing in workers on those visas to help move jobs out of the country.

For four weeks this spring, a young woman from India on a temporary visa sat elbow to elbow with an American accountant in a snug cubicle at the headquarters of Toys “R” Us here. The woman, an employee of a giant outsourcing company in India hired by Toys “R” Us, studied and recorded the accountant’s every keystroke, taking screen shots of her computer and detailed notes on how she issued payments for toys sold in the company’s megastores.

“She just pulled up a chair in front of my computer,” said the accountant, 49, who had worked for the company for than 15 years. “She shadowed me everywhere, even to the ladies’ room.”

By late June, eight workers from the outsourcing company, Tata Consultancy Services, or TCS, had produced intricate manuals for the jobs of 67 people, mainly in accounting. They then returned to India to train TCS workers to take over and perform those jobs there. The Toys “R” Us employees in New Jersey, many of whom had been at the company more than a decade, were laid off.

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/30/us/temporary-visas-meant-to-import-talent-help-ship-jobs-abroad.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0

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A&P deal preserves jobs; 95 stores sold to Acme, Stop & Shop

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file photo by Boyd Loving

SEPTEMBER 21, 2015, 1:11 PM    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2015, 7:10 AM
BY JOAN VERDON
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

Workers at 11 A&P-owned stores in North Jersey, and thousands more at 84 other stores, breathed a collective sigh of relief Monday after learning that those stores had been sold to the Acme and Stop & Shop chains for $370 million.

The deals, approved Monday by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain in White Plains, N.Y., preserve the jobs of 10,750 union employees, including 4,000 workers represented by United Food & Commercial Workers Local 464a in Little Falls.

Acme and Stop & Shop have been negotiating with the unions representing the workers and are close to reaching an agreement, a union official said. A cornerstone of the deals with Acme and Stop & Shop is that current union jobs will be preserved, the official said.

A&P is selling its stores to pay off creditors in its bankruptcy case. But the company, Drain and the unions have argued that job preservation should be considered, along with sale price.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/judge-oks-sale-of-a-p-owned-stores-to-acme-stop-shop-including-11-in-north-jersey-1.1414836