“Data supports the idea that Nevada is likely in a recession,” Jeff Thredgold, an economist for Nevada State Bank, says. This comes after the state unemployment rate dropped a mere 0.1 percent in April.

Although this may seem like good news, the percentage of the population that is unable to find work remained 1.1 higher than it was in the previous year, according to the Nevada Department of employment, Training and Rehabilitation. Statewide employment increased by 1,400 since March, but was down by 5,800 since April of 2007.

The Reno jobless rate also dropped in April by 0.2 percent to 6 percent. James Shabi, a state labor economist, said that this small decline in unemployment in Reno and elsewhere in Nevada since March is smaller than usually experienced in the area during the spring time. According to Shabi, this means that the economy is soft.

PPG Industries, which is a world-wide supplier of paint, recently opened its first new plant in the United States since 1975 in the Reno area. This plant will be supplying paint to 250 stores in the western part of the country and will produce approximately 15 million gallons a year. It is expected to create hundreds of Reno jobs.

PPG managers said that the company chose to build the plant in the area because of it’s central location and the available work force. “It’s unbelievable the amount of potential I see in the area,” said Reno’s Plant Manager, Terry McGinnis. “My family traveled out here and I see phenomenal opportunities.”

These jobs in Reno will start around $18.00 an hour, plus benefits. The plant will create positions for both high school graduates and those with college degrees. The company hopes that expansion will be in its future and that it will be able to create even more Reno jobs as time passes.

Labels: Las Vegas Jobs, Reno Jobs

With the economy on shaky grounds, one of the best traits that a career can provide is job security. This is one of the most enticing aspects of jobs in healthcare. The increasing age and size of the population means that many medical facilities have to regularly make additions to their staffs.

The fact that many in the industry are nearing the age of retirement and there is a limited number of individuals being trained to take their place has caused a shortage workers. When a shortage occurs, jobseekers stand to gain because employers become competitive for talent and new opportunities arise.

One new option for those who are seeking jobs is healthcare are travel positions. This is particularly popular for nurses. With a shortage of workers effecting many medical facilities, employers are now hiring temporary help to maintain standards of care until a more permanent option can be found. Those who have travel jobs in healthcare take on assignments that last anywhere from a few weeks to a year. These individuals may work only at hospitals within a certain distance or they have the opportunity to take on assignments anywhere in the country. Jobs in healthcare of this nature often come with higher wages and paid housing.

Those that would enjoy traveling and have experience in the industry often use the internet as a resource to find out about new opportunities. One company, Onward Healthcare, which provides healthcare staffing solutions throughout the country, has recently launched an updated version of its site, www.onwardhealthcare.com.

In hopes of being able to provide better service to those with jobs in healthcare, Onward has conducted numerous usability test. The results are an upgraded navigational structure, a clearer design, and improved search capabilities. New features include a news and resource section, featured jobs RSS feeds, and a traveler photo gallery. Users are also able to apply for jobs in healthcare online via this site, but do not have to do so in order to access the other features of Onward’s website.

“Today’s healthcare professional is in high demand and has numerous choices on the web when searching for a career,” Steve Dobrowski, who is the director of corporate marketing for Onward Healthcare, said in a press release. “Our goal was to provide travel nurse and allied healthcare professionals with a one-top resource that allows them to best maximize their travel experience.”

Those interested in starting this sort of career can find instructional information on the company’s website. Users will also be able to locate information on salary and benefits for those with travel jobs in healthcare.

Labels: Healthcare Jobs

Employers growing need for IT professionals has spurred the success of a new internet recruiting site, ITJobCafe.com. Only recently launched, the page has already attracted over 400 employers. This is an extremely large number of companies to be attracted to an internet recruiting site in such a short span of time.

The website was created in hopes of offering a less expensive alternative to other internet recruiting search engines. Geared toward smaller and mid-sized companies, ITjobCafe does not charge a subscriptions fee. Since the fees of many websites are increasing and many employers internet recruitment budgets are shrinking, job portals of this sort are becoming very popular.

Internet recruitment sites, such as ITJobCafe, are also becoming the favorite of employers because they generate a smaller number of resumes from unqualified individuals. Although large job search engines attract a greater number of would-be workers, smaller boards that are industry specific tend to only attract individuals that are qualified for that sort of work.

According to industry reports, the need for quality IT staff members has grown drastically in recent years. This is most likely as a result of the fact that more companies are investing in new computer systems and updated software. The businesses that are having the most difficulty recruiting new IT employees are the larger firms, which have at least 1,000 employees. In a recent survey of IT executives, 27 percent claimed that Internet recruiting was their top staffing problem.

ITJobCafe is also free to jobseekers, who can easily post the resumes free of charge. Employers can also access these documents without paying a fee, which is something that few internet recruiting sites offer.

Labels: Recruiting Methods

Illinois jobless rate dropped slightly in April to 5.4 percent from the previous month’s 5.5 percent, according to state officials. This is still slightly higher than the national average of 5 percent and up significantly from April of 2007’s 4.8 percent.

Like elsewhere in the nation, the manufacturing and construction sectors continue to do away with Illinois jobs. Both of these industries have been greatly effected by the housing market and rising price of fuel. The state’s Department of Employment Security says that manufacturers cut approximately 1,900 Illinois jobs last month alone, partially due to the auto industry’s struggles. According to the department, there was a loss of 1,200 construction jobs. This means that there are now 671,600 manufacturing and 264,600 construction jobs in the sate.

Despite these decreases in employment, professional and business services added 3,400 Illinois jobs. Educational and health services also added 1,800 new positions. These two industries helped to balance the problems that manufacturing and construction sectors could have created. Overall, the department says that 9,300 Illinois jobs have been created so far this year.

State officials have been discussing the movement of certain government jobs. Originally it was planned that 148 jobs with the Illinois Department of Transportation would be moved from Springfield to southern Illinois, although the exact location remains unknown. IDOT is now saying that the number of positions to be moved will be closer to 110. Brian Williamsen, a spokesperson for the agency said that this is still an estimate and not the final word on the transfers.

Governor Rod Blagojevich believes that transferring these jobs in Illinois will help the struggling economy in the southern part of the state. Williamsen agrees that the transfers could have a big impact. Positions that maybe staying in Springfield include that of the director of the Division of Traffic Safety and associated top staff members.

Last week, Governor Blagojevich said that he had “pretty much” decided the exact city he would like to transfer the jobs to, but has yet to announced the location. Perhaps Chicago's in need of some jobs?

Labels: Chicago Jobs, Illinois Jobs

Despite the fact that that the national unemployment rate continues to rise as fear of an economic recession increase, Massachusetts seems to be relatively unaffected at this time. The state’s jobless rate remained at 4.4 percent in March and 2,9000 jobs in Boston and elsewhere were added. A report recently released by the Federal Reserve found that Boston is one of the few cities in the country that has yet to suffer from the wide spread turmoil caused by the housing market crisis.

Nevertheless, there will soon a small decrease in the number of jobs in Boston. First Marblehead Corp. recently announced that it will soon be laying off over half its workforce. The company says that it will do away with 500 jobs in Boston and Medford in hopes of saving $200 million in annual expenses. The layoffs have been caused at least in part to by the instable circumstances in the student loan business at this time. According to a company spokesperson, the positions being done away with will include upper-level executives.

In March of this year, the company’s partner in business, The Education Resources Institute (TERI), which guaranteed the student loans issued by First Marblehead, filed for bankruptcy. This had made it harder for First Marblehead to sell these securities. First Marblehead took another economic hit in April when its other partner, Bank of America, announced that it would be leaving the private student loan business.

According to TERI chief executive Willis J. Hulings, the loss of Boston jobs was not unforeseen. Hulings says that “A significant workforce reduction should not have been unexpected given the significant changes in the capital markets.” He acknowledged that his company’s bankruptcy filing mostly likely contributed to First Marblehead’s financial problems.

First Marblehead’s chief executive Jack Kopnisky said that “This has been an extraordinarily challenging business environment for our company.” He went on to say that “the market and credit conditions have not improved, and TERI’s bankruptcy filing has forced our business situation to change quickly.”

Kopnisky believes that these layoffs could help his company get back on the right part. In a separate statement he said that there is “a strong demand for private student loans and limited supply as some lenders leave the market.” He also said that First Marblehead believes that they have the depth of experience needed to make it through the market’s time of struggle. He finished saying that the changes the company is currently making will allow it to evolve “into a diversified education finance products and services company.”

As of February, First Marblehead had 920 employees. After the job cuts in Boston and Medford were announced shares in the company rose 18 cents to $4.04.

Labels: Boston Jobs