As the area saw a yearly decrease in employment during February, Nashville construction jobs were hit the hardest over the year.

Although the Nashville area's February unemployment rate has not yet been released, Tennessee's rate remained at 10.7 percent for the fourth consecutive month in a row, which is above the national rate of 9.7 percent. Nashville had an unemployment rate of 10 percent during January.

The Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin area had a total non-farm employment of 708,200 workers during February, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from 706,500 workers during January, but a 3 percent decrease from last year.

Six industries managed to see a monthly increase in employment during February, including: financial activities by 200 jobs; professional and business services by 100 jobs; education and health services by 800 jobs; leisure and hospitality by 300 jobs; other services by 300 jobs; and government by 1,800 jobs.

Employment in the information industry remained even over the month with 20,000 jobs. However, only one industry managed to see a yearly increase in employment.

The education and health services industry employed 116,000 workers during February, up from 115,200 workers during January and a 1.8 percent increase from February 2009.

The mining, logging and construction industry took the biggest hit when compared to last year. The industry employed 27,700 workers during February, down from 28,200 workers during January and a 15.3 percent decrease from last year.

Other industries that saw an over-the-year decrease in employment include:

• manufacturing by 9.5 percent
• trade, transportation and utilities by 4.3 percent
• information by 3.4 percent
• financial activities by 1.6 percent
• professional and business services by 3.8 percent
• leisure and hospitality by .9 percent
• other services by 1.3 percent
• government by .2 percent

Labels: Nashville construction jobs

Internet sites that allow users to praise or complain about their visits are becoming a new sort of staffing software for the hotel industry. Visit http://pcrecruiter.net/home.htm to learn more.

Today there are several travel sites that give users a forum in which to vocalize their experiences online for other guests to read. The practice has caused many hotel managers to keep track of their businesses' online reputation for fear of losing business.

TripAdvisor, a well-known travel site that has more than 30 million reviews, claims that less than 4 percent of the site's negative reviews receive a response. However, the site saw a 203 percent increase in responses from hotels during 2009.

A recent article from USA Today highlighting this recent practice points out that some experts think hotel managers who ignore customers' reviews may do so at their own peril. Those who do pay attention can find new ways of improving operations and earn goodwill points at a time when every guest counts.

"It's an opportunity to stand apart from your competition," Dean Schmit of Standing Dog, the company that developed the ReviewAnalyst software, said.

Although many hotel companies have long relied on solicited customer surveys from guests, those have mostly been numerical rankings that rarely contain descriptive explanations. The trend toward online review sites is allowing hotels to better improve training, adjust restaurant and staffing hours and add or remove amenities.

Here's what some hotels are doing to respond to this new-age reviewing trend:

• In September, Hilton began testing a software tool at "hundreds of hotels" that will aggregate reviews and comments on Web sites, blogs and other social-media sites, including Twitter.
• Starwood Hotels and about 300 full-service Marriott and Marriott-brand hotels use ReviewAnalyst to manage online content. The software monitors more than a dozen Web sites, including TripAdvisor, Priceline, Flickr and YouTube. Hotel managers also can set certain phrases - such as bedbugs, discrimination, eviction, police or security - that require immediate attention.
• Joie de Vivre Hotels, Rosewood Hotels, InterContinental Hotels and Kimpton Hotels also use a similar product, developed by San Francisco-based Revinate.

Fortunately for hotel managers, the majority of feedback - 70 percent - is positive, according to Maureen Dime of Avalon Report, a firm that compiles online reviews for hotels.

"But if 30 percent is unhappy with you, that's still a large percentage," she notes. "We call it a tidal wave of whispers."

Labels: Staffing software

Financial analysts are one of the most popular occupations for those considering Denver finance jobs.

The Denver-Aurora-Broomfield area's financial activities industry employed 91,500 workers during January, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is down from 92,500 workers during December 2009 and a 2.3 percent decrease from last year.

Financial analysts are responsible for conducting quantitative analyses of information affecting investment programs of public or private institutions. The Colorado Department of Labor & Employment considers financial analysts to be an in demand occupation.

The median wage for financial analysts in the Denver-Aurora area during 2008 was $33.07 per hour, slightly higher than the median wage throughout Colorado of $32.54 per hour. The median yearly wage in Denver during the same time was $68,793, compared to $67,673 per year throughout Colorado.

Employment for financial analysts in Denver is expected to increase from 4,142 workers during 2008 to 4,949 workers by 2018, accounting for an increase of 1.8 percent each year and a total of 807 additional jobs.

The top 10 industries in Denver that employed financial analysts during 2009 were:

1. Financial investment and related activity at 24.7 percent
2. Professional and technical services at 18.8 percent
3. Management of companies and enterprises at 8.5 percent
4. Telecommunications at 6 percent
5. Credit intermediation and related activity at 5.7 percent
6. Insurance carriers and related activity at 3.2 percent
7. Publishing industries at 1.7 percent
8. Oil and gas extraction at .8 percent
9. Merchant wholesalers, durable goods at .6 percent
10. ISPs, search portals and data processing at .3 percent

Some related occupations include: accountants; auditors; credit analysts; personal finance advisers; tax examiners, collectors and revenue agents; actuaries; and economists.

Labels: Denver finance jobs

While the government industry saw the biggest yearly increase in employment, St Louis teaching jobs were among the second-largest yearly industry increase at the beginning of this year.

Although the January unemployment rate for St. Louis has not yet been released, the unemployment rate in Missouri as a whole decreased from 9.6 percent to 9.5 percent, keeping it below the national rate of 9.7 percent. St. Louis had an unemployment rate of 9.8 percent during December 2009.

The city had a total non-farm employment of 1,262,100 workers during January, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is down from 1,297,200 workers during December and a 2.9 percent decrease from last year.

No industries managed to see a monthly increase in employment. However, three industries did see a yearly increase in employment. The government industry increased the most, employing 178,200 workers during January, down from 181,500 workers during December, but a 2.9 percent increase from January 2009.

The education and health services industry saw the second-largest yearly increase, employing 213,400 workers during January, down from 216,500 workers during December, but a .7 percent increase from last year.

The financial activities industry employed 78,800 workers during January, down from 79,900 workers during December, but a .6 percent increase from January 2009.

The mining, logging and construction industry took the biggest hit when compared to last year. The industry employed 57,200 works during January, down from 61,300 workers during December and an 11 percent decrease from one year earlier.

Other industries that saw an over-the-year decrease in employment include:

• trade, transportation and utilities by 4.4 percent
• information by 3.2 percent
• professional and business services by 5.6 percent
• leisure and hospitality by .6 percent
• other services by 4.7 percent

Labels: St Louis teaching jobs

A new report may help students preparing for Seattle jobs better know what to expect when they graduate.

A recent article from the Seattle University Spectator explored the notion of whether or not the famously "job friendly" majors are translating into secure careers once students graduate. Daniel Pascoe, executive director of the Career Services Center, said that question is hard to answer.

"The exact number is difficult to determine," he said. "The extent to which we can help students is limited. We give them the tools, but the hiring itself is up to the student and potential employer."

Pascoe noted that, because of the economic downturn, careers in globally-focused employment industries are now the strongest. That includes green jobs, such as those in environmental engineering or environmental science, and traditionally successful careers, such as those in information technology and medical services.

The U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that education and health services each increased by 1.8 percent during 2009, while the government industry grew by 1 percent. At the same time, however, the construction industry lost the most jobs, decreasing by 18.3 percent.

Several Career Services counselors at Seattle University have stated that such a gaping hole in one industry can negatively affect other industries surrounding it. For instance, a drop in the construction industry affects the real estate sector.

Counselors at the Career Services Center and the Albers Placement Center reported that management and entrepreneurship are the most popular business majors.

Overall, nursing majors remain the most popular at the school, with 446 of the 4,490 declared undergraduates taking nursing. Business finance is a close second with 254 students, followed by psychology majors with 233 students.

On the opposite side, film studies, clinical lab science string performance, theater and music are the most unpopular majors, as each has less than 10 registered students.

Labels: Seattle jobs