NJ Sends The Right Message

New Jersey is a much-maligned state, sometimes with good reason, especially in the area of political corruption.

But sometimes The Garden State gets it right and does something ahead of everyone else in America, something so correct you can’t believe it needs to be spelled out in writing.

Case in point is New Jersey’s new law that bans job ads, in print or online, that only consider the employed for openings.

The job ad legislation, signed into law by Gov. Chris Christie, is necessary because some employers are discriminating against the unemployed. You must be “currently employed” to apply for positions.

Some employers and recruiters are operating under the misguided assumption there is something wrong with you if you’re out of work.

So, following this bonehead logic, you are not worth the time and effort.

Wake-Up Call

Under New Jersey’s law, which takes effect June 1, no business can post a listing for a job opening in the state that contains:

*Any provision stating that the qualifications for a job include current employment;

* Any provision stating that the employer or employer’s agent, representative, or designee will not consider or review an application for employment submitted by any job applicant currently unemployed; or

*Any provision stating that the employer or employer’s agent, representative, or designee will only consider or review applications for employment submitted by job applicants who are currently employed.

Violators will be fined $1,000 for the first offense and $5,000 for a second offense. Christie rejected as too severe original provisions calling for fines of $5,000 and $10,000, respectively.

Zero-Tolerance Needed

Frankly, WMB believes the penalties should be higher, with strict enforcement. Repeat offenders, after the second offense, should have their names published as a public service and a warning to others who would flout the law.

There is no excuse for practicing discrimination against any group of individuals. People should be judged on legitimate qualifications, knowledge and skills, period.

True, there are laws prohibiting racial, sexual, age, ethnic and religious discrimination, and various forms of bias in between.

But some employers used the Great Recession as cover for creating two classes of workers – those currently employed but seeking new jobs and those unemployed but deemed not worthy of consideration.

Talk about flawed and skewed thinking!

Debunking The Myth

Some of those who lost their jobs since 2008, through no fault of their own, were well-qualified and veteran workers across a variety of industries – construction workers, teachers, police officers, financial advisers, journalists, just to name a few.

Many of these workers had skills, knowledge, strong work ethic and, yes, higher salaries than what entry-level positions provide.

With few exceptions, nobody willingly would want to become long-term unemployed. Unemployment benefits, even generous ones, do run out. Food needs to be on the table; bills have to be paid.

And, doubters aside, many Americans still have a solid work ethic that has been handed down through generations of immigrants. That ethic is part of the thread that makes us diverse and strong as a nation.

Employers since the recession years have held all the hiring cards, especially when the numbers reflected five to seven workers for each job opening, regardless of industry.

Businesses, large and small, should carefully screen all job candidates to find the best qualified, not toss out the unemployed based on arbitrary rules and bias.

New Jersey is on the right path; others should follow its lead.

Ken Cocuzzo

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Temp Jobs Trend Higher

Temporary workers now account for more than a quarter of the jobs added since the Great Recession technically ended, and some experts predict those types of jobs will continue indefinitely as employers seek ways to trim labor-related costs.

The trend is for companies to count more on the services of temporary workers and less on full-time employees, who already may be overworked because of layoffs and buyouts.

This is great news for companies pressing for increased productivity and reduced costs, but it does not bode well for the underemployed and unemployed seeking full-time work.

More than 15 million people remain jobless, with the unemployment rate at 9.8 percent in November. For many, even a temp job is better than no job at all.

Temp workers typically receive few or no benefits – health care, holiday pay, sick time. Essentially, temps work for cash on a per-diem basis, with no job security. Every day could be their last at work.

The New York Times notes that “it is harder for them (temps) to save. And it is much more difficult for them to develop a career arc while hopping from boss to boss.”

There are several factors driving the trend toward temps, including the way work is handled in America’s post-recession era.

“Businesses now tend to organize around short- to medium-term projects that can be doled out to temporary or contract workers,” the Times reports.

And flexibility is another factor: it’s much easier to end a bunch of temp contracts than to actually go through layoffs, according to mediabistro.com.

“We’re in a period where uncertainty seems to be going on forever,” David Autor, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, tells the Times.

“So this period of temporary employment seems to be going on forever.”

View From Inside

Having been a temporary worker more than once in my professional career, I can say it offers more advantages than disadvantages to employers and the temp. It can be an “audition” for both parties.

From the employer side, there is little red tape in terms of temp hiring and termination. The application, background check and interview process typically are the same as for a regular, full-time employee.

In a temp arrangement, an employer tries the worker on for size, to see if he or she fits the position and company culture while performing the same job as regular staff.

It’s not easy, even after an exhaustive resume review and rigorous interview process, to be certain someone is right beforehand for any job.

On the flip side, the temp can do the same thing in terms of sizing up the company and whether a full-time, regular staff position – assuming it’s available and offered later – would provide financial stability and flexibility for professional and personal growth.

A survey by Staffing Industry Analysts, a Mountain View, Calif., research firm, shows 68 percent of all temporary workers are seeking permanent employment, the Times reports.

Temp Worker Advances

My previous career as professional journalist in daily newspapers began this way:

A college internship led to a temporary reporter’s job that led to full-time employment in the career of my choice. Certainly, not all temp work ends in such a positive outcome, but the potential does exist.

The key for me turning the temp journalism job into a regular one was performing at the highest level; that is showing mastery of basic skills, willingness to learn new ones, and developing interest regardless of the assignment.

If you’re not curious about the why and how of things, chances are you won’t make a very good journalist. You have to combine reporting (gathering facts) and writing (context packaging) to get the job done right, regardless of print or electronic format.

Change Direction Now

My point is the use of temporary workers – to fill gaps and cut costs – should not be considered a long-term substitute for hiring full-time employees who, admittedly, do bring higher costs, especially in the health and retirement benefits.

Whether you’re an employer or employee, temporary staffing is a practical solution for the here and now.

But it offers no lasting commitment to the future, whether that’s building a business, improving-maintaining services, or developing a career path.

Temporary workers should be just that, temporary. There's too much at stake for all sides of this equation to let this trend become permanent.

As for me, I practice what I preach at writenowworks.com. If you like this post, please share it.

Boomers Can Make The Pieces Fit

The economic outlook offers a skewed puzzle of confusing jobless figures and fleeting glimpses of the future: multi-tasking, more training and varied skills. For Baby Boomers, those born from 1946 to 1964, it means a dizzying array of choices and challenges.

The jobs crisis has brought an unwelcome discovery for many unemployed Americans, especially those in middle age. Job openings in their old fields exist, but they no longer qualify for them, according to the Associated Press. The job descriptions have changed, with new skills, certifications and other education now required.

The jobless are running into a trend that took root during the Great Recession. Companies became more productive by doing more with fewer workers. Some asked staffers to take on a broader array of duties — ones that used to be spread among multiple jobs. Now, someone who hopes to get those jobs must meet wider demands.

Employers, who hold all the cards because of so few job openings, want "two skill sets in one human being," says Harry Griendling, chief executive of DoubleStar Inc., a staffing firm outside Philadelphia.

The trend reflects the push that companies made during the recession to control costs, squeeze more output from their staffs and become more productive. Productivity measures output per hour worked. Economy-wide, it soared 3.5 percent last year. It was the best performance in six years.

"There are jobs available, but the worker just has to have more skills than before," notes Mark Tomlinson, executive director of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, whose U.S. headquarters is in Dearborn, MI, a state hammered by the Great Recession.

Even so, employers faced with slow sales and a weak economy see little reason to boost hiring. Frustrated in their efforts to find qualified applicants among the jobless, employers are turning to those who are already working to fill select openings.

"They're hiring a known quantity that already has this specific experience on their resume," said Cathy Farley, a managing director at Accenture. "It is slowing some of the re-hiring from the ranks of the unemployed."

The unemployment rate held at 9.6 percent last month, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The jobless rate has now topped 9.5 percent for 14 straight months, the longest stretch since the 1930s, when the nation was in the throes of the Great Depression.

Nearly 14.8 million people were unemployed in September. Including those who have given up looking for work, and those who were working part time but wanted full-time jobs, the so-called "underemployment" rate jumped to 17.1 percent last month, from 16.7 percent in August. That reflected an increase of more than 600,000 involuntary part-time workers.

The most rampant layoffs of teachers and other local government workers in nearly three decades more than offset weak hiring in the private sector in September, resulting in a net loss of 95,000 jobs, according to the Labor Department.

"We have to keep doing everything we can to accelerate this recovery," President Obama says. "The only piece of economic news that folks still looking for work want to hear is, `You're hired.' And everything we do is dedicated to make that happen."

The combination of weak hiring by businesses and more governments layoffs expected means unemployment could rise to 10 percent again this year or next. When Obama took office in January 2009, the unemployment rate was 7.7 percent, the AP notes.

Still, the Obama administration is promoting stronger partnerships between two-year public colleges and big-name U.S. employers, such as McDonald's and The Gap, as a way to help better match workers with jobs during the economic recovery and beyond.

Whether the "Skills for America's Future" initiative will gain any traction nationally remains to be seen since, traditionally, community colleges have focused on local employer/worker needs.

For their part, community colleges are short of cash, jammed with laid-off workers and students who in better times would attend four-year schools, and spending heavily on remedial education for students ill-prepared for college.

So what does all this economic turmoil mean for graying Boomers?


WMB believes it means we have to find ways to balance our needs, along with that of our children and our own aging parents. The what-next is key in our consideration of choices that address each of these generations. It’s a tough juggling act for sure and the road ahead, of course, is filled with potholes.

If our job or industry vanished/downsized during the Great Recession, do we train for a new career (assuming something is of interest and reflects one’s aptitude) or do we attempt to rebuild our former career with more education? Reinventing one’s self sounds great, but what does it take to accomplish it and do we have the will to see it through?

Given the speed and breath of the recession’s devastating impact on jobs across many industries, there are many of us mulling the answers to these questions right now. But there is no one-size-fits all when it comes to solutions. In some cases, it’s going to be trial and error (and I’m no exception to this rule).

Make no mistake, there is hope because Americans, on the whole, are a resilient people who dream big things, regardless of the obstacles. That separates us from many other cultures on the planet. Some older folks call it the “can-do” attitude, the idea of achieving something bigger than us.

The Boomers sought to remake the world into something better (not just a bunch of self-absorbed, spoiled, drug-taking kids, as some critics still insist). The Boomer ideals have shifted and changed with the times, but the early lessons learned still apply and resonate.

WMB believes Boomers can leave a legacy by reclaiming our lives and recovering from a downturn that is one for the history books. An earlier generation overcame the Great Depression and led us into a post-World War II prosperity.

It’s our turn now. Whatever you do, get inspired!!!

As for me, I practice what I preach at writenowworks.com. If you like this post, please share it.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Our economy remains stuck on a path of uncertainty: With unemployment hovering around 10 percent and foreclosures at all-time highs, consumers are afraid to spend and employers are wary of new hiring.

Meanwhile, some employees face wage cuts. USA Today reports union electricians in St. Louis took an 8.23 percent slice in their pay and benefits. Union officials insist that with one of every three out of work, there was little they could say or do about it.

“We are in the throes of a construction depression … We have catastrophic unemployment,” says Steve Schoemehl, business manager of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1.

Such dramatic wage decreases are hinting at deflation – when prices and wages drop simultaneously. On the other hand, stagflation is when wages drop but prices increase. Inflation is, of course, when wages and prices increase.

The last time this country witnessed deflation was between 1931 and 1933 during the Great Depression, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Prices prices fell at an average annual rate of more than 8 percent.

The Consumer Price Index (an inflationary indicator that measures the change in the cost of a fixed basket of products and services, including housing, electricity, food, and transportation) fell three consecutive months by the end of June 2010, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“I think deflation is a very real threat (to our economy),” says Richard DeKaser, president of Woodley Park Research in Washington, D.C., where he oversees macroeconomic forecasting, real time economic analysis, and housing valuation research.

On the flip side, some believe we’re in the clutches of inflation. Our national debt jumped in the last 18 months with more money being printed to help sustain our ever-increasing debt-load with China, Japan and the United Kingdom, the major players.

David J. Lynch of USA Today reports falling prices, of course, can benefit consumers as long as the economy is growing and the declines are seen as temporary.

But if the declines are expected to continue indefinitely, consumers will postpone spending and businesses typically delay investments. As incomes shrink, mortgages and other debts become harder to repay. This is one of the reasons mortgage foreclosures are rising.

Many economists, including DeKaser, who anticipate continued modest price declines, say the risk of a truly crippling and prolonged deflationary period, remain low.

“I just don’t think it’s a problem,’’ says Michael Bordo, professor of economics and Director of the Center for Monetary and Financial History at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. “The economy is recovering.”

We at WMB agree, but the pace is nearly flat and probably will remain that way for the immediate future unless some an industrial breakthrough leads to a new pattern of growth.

Generally speaking, as the economy continues to recover, demand for goods and services will increase and prices will likely continue to rise. Many financial experts agree that even if our economy reverts to another recession, and prices drop, the Federal Reserve would most likely intervene.

Even though the Fed’s current lending rate is already near zero, the Central Bank could use other tools to help stimulate the economy.

For example, the Fed could announce it would keep interest rates around zero for a specified period. It also could set specified ceilings for the yields on T-bills and other government bonds. This could be enforced by the Fed buying unlimited government debt, even if it means printing more money.

Whatever the case, we at WMB believe the ultimate solution to our sagging economy is to cultivate wealth by creating jobs through incentive programs.

Stimulating academia and industry to create new technology is one way this can be accomplished. Breakthroughs in such areas as energy creation or computing could lead us out of our current financial crisis.

This post is from TechMan, WMB co-author who blogs about trends, issues and ideas affecting business, industry, technology and consumers.