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Friday, December 16, 2011
Happy Holidays & a Prosperous New Year,
Monday, November 7, 2011
Sterling Financial to Buy First Independent Bank
Posted on: November 7th, 2011
Thomas H. Lee and Warburg Pincus
Sterling Financial Corp., which is backed by Warbug Pincus and Thomas H. Lee Partners, said Monday that it would buy First Independent Bank to boost its presence in Portland and Vancouver in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, Reuters reported. Under the terms of agreement, Sterling Savings Bank would initially pay a premium of $8 million to the net value of the acquired assets and assumed liabilities of the 100-year-old bank, Reuters wrote.
(Reuters) - Sterling Financial Corp said its unit has agreed to buy First Independent Bank to boost its presence in Portland and Vancouver in the U.S. Pacific Northwest.
Under the terms of agreement, Sterling Savings Bank would initially pay a premium of $8 million to the net value of the acquired assets and assumed liabilities of the 100-year-old bank.
Sterling will also pay a premium of up to $17 million over 18 months after the deal closes, on the basis of credit performance of the acquired loans.
First Independent will retain about $49 million of existing loans and $34 million of other assets identified by Sterling, which will take over all of the community banker’s deposits.
This acquisition will add to Sterling’s existing franchise about $691 million in principally core deposits and $455 million of assets under management.
“We expect these product enhancements will not only be a source of additional non-interest revenue, but also provide significant benefits with both customer acquisition and retention,” Sterling Chief Executive Greg Seibly said.
The transaction is expected to be completed in early 2012 and add to Sterling’s full-year earnings per share.
Last year Sterling Bank undertook a massive recapitalization, which included capital infusions of $171 million each from Warbug Pincus and Thomas H. Lee Partners .
Private equity firms often invest in weak banks, boost their capital levels and then use the banks as a base to consolidate other lenders in the region.
Shares of Sterling Financial were trading at $15.15 in the morning trade on Nasdaq on Monday.
Posted on: http://www.pehub.com/125165/sterling-financial-to-buy-first-independent-bank/
Stan Taylor, CSAM
360-695-4688, ext 112
staylor@mrvancouver.com
Thomas H. Lee and Warburg Pincus
Sterling Financial Corp., which is backed by Warbug Pincus and Thomas H. Lee Partners, said Monday that it would buy First Independent Bank to boost its presence in Portland and Vancouver in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, Reuters reported. Under the terms of agreement, Sterling Savings Bank would initially pay a premium of $8 million to the net value of the acquired assets and assumed liabilities of the 100-year-old bank, Reuters wrote.
(Reuters) - Sterling Financial Corp said its unit has agreed to buy First Independent Bank to boost its presence in Portland and Vancouver in the U.S. Pacific Northwest.
Under the terms of agreement, Sterling Savings Bank would initially pay a premium of $8 million to the net value of the acquired assets and assumed liabilities of the 100-year-old bank.
Sterling will also pay a premium of up to $17 million over 18 months after the deal closes, on the basis of credit performance of the acquired loans.
First Independent will retain about $49 million of existing loans and $34 million of other assets identified by Sterling, which will take over all of the community banker’s deposits.
This acquisition will add to Sterling’s existing franchise about $691 million in principally core deposits and $455 million of assets under management.
“We expect these product enhancements will not only be a source of additional non-interest revenue, but also provide significant benefits with both customer acquisition and retention,” Sterling Chief Executive Greg Seibly said.
The transaction is expected to be completed in early 2012 and add to Sterling’s full-year earnings per share.
Last year Sterling Bank undertook a massive recapitalization, which included capital infusions of $171 million each from Warbug Pincus and Thomas H. Lee Partners .
Private equity firms often invest in weak banks, boost their capital levels and then use the banks as a base to consolidate other lenders in the region.
Shares of Sterling Financial were trading at $15.15 in the morning trade on Nasdaq on Monday.
Posted on: http://www.pehub.com/125165/sterling-financial-to-buy-first-independent-bank/
Stan Taylor, CSAM
360-695-4688, ext 112
staylor@mrvancouver.com
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
The Door Is Opening and People Are Leaving
Posted By Kevin Wheeler On July 6, 2011 @ 5:22 am In Advice and How-To's
There is going to be an exodus of workers soon from businesses all across the U.S. It seems that for all the work recruiters do at the front end, organizations are undoing it at the backend. Frustrated employees are seeking new opportunities in record numbers, but if you are prepared, your talent shortages may be over.
Earlier this week, Mercer released its What’s Working survey that found that “one in two U.S. employees [are] looking to leave or [have] checked out on the job.” Other surveys support these findings, including ones by Right Management.
Is this simply the grass-is-greener syndrome, or is there something else going on? Even though there are plenty of jobs for certain types of people — Amazon is adding 5,000 people, and McDonald’s, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Apple are just a few others that have announced fairly large hiring plans — we are not actually out of this recession, and changing jobs is a risky business.
While money and benefits are not the primary reason people leave their employers in normal times, these times are very different.
This recession has lingered longer than most and is impacting a generation of workers who have not suffered much from recessions in the past. Their tolerance is different, and so are their expectations.
Today I think there are four primary drivers of these rather frightening statistics. And these same reasons will eventually drive away the new people you recruit as well, unless you are candid and realistic right up front with the candidates.
The first driver is actually pay this time. For many employees it has been a long time since they have gotten much in the way of a pay increase. The recession is often used as a reason for not granting reasonable increases, and managers have been more focused on performance — of lack of performance as a way to hold down these increases.
Yet, employees see their organizations making good profits and in some cases even record profits. Corporate coffers are flush with cash, yet this has not translated into significant pay increases. At the same time, option grants have shrunk due to changes in how they are taxed, giving some employees even less reason to stay.
Employees perceive a unfairness in how they are paid compared to how firms are profiting.
Second, and not completely separated from pay, is the amount of work that is being asked of employees. Many people I speak with are really doing what two or more would have done prior to this recession. Managers have asked for more and gotten it as employees fear there are few other jobs.
Yet the perception about jobs is changing, and many are starting to make a move if for no other reason than to lessen their workload or find a more flexible employer.
A third growing issue is the attitude younger workers, especially those in the Gen Y category, have about work. They feel their personal freedom is threatened by restrictive social media polices. And they are unhappy with the unwillingness of many firms to allow flexible working hours. They are also inclined to want open, authentic cultures and this recession has caused firms to tighten up communications, keep more secrets, and allow much less open discussion. This is all negative to the younger folks who will seek out more open and flexible environments.
A fourth element is lack of development. Many surveys have pointed out that Gen Y in particular, but all of us at some time, want to take on new responsibilities and learn new skills. During the recession organizations cut back on training and limited development opportunities. In some cases when development was available no one could take advantage oif it because of high-demand work requirements that left no time available. This has resulted in frustrated and bored employees who are looking for a change.
In reality, it’s not hard to see why these surveys are showing a potentially devastating amount of turnover about to happen.
I also realize that while there may not be a lot you can do about these things; there are always creative tactics that can help. Here are some thoughts.
First of all, make internal mobility the most important thing you focus on. Helping employees find new positions may be the best and most direct way you can influence them to stay. Yet, most organizations either erect numerous bureaucratic hurdles that make moving around tough, or they simply do not offer any simple way for an employee to learn about possibilities.
The intranet or some other internal website should be designed so that employees can learn about open positions and can apply for those positions. Work with HR to take down barriers and make it as easy to move between positions as it is to move outside the firm. This probably means that many current practices will have to change. Organizations with low turnover generally follow several rules that guide the internal application and transfer process.
1.Employees should be able to interview for new positions without permission from anyone.
2.They should not have to complete any sort of application form, and resumes should be very simple, if used at all.
3.They should be able to leave their current position within a maximum of two weeks after accepting another offer — even if their old position has not been filled.
4.Salaries offered should be similar to those an external hire would receive.
Second, help hiring managers reposition jobs to match the available skills rather than seek out only those who are perfect fits.
Don’t go for the exact match. Encourage hiring managers to be more open to giving internal candidates an opportunity. Exact matching is expensive and pays little in return. No one is good enough at predicting what the exact set of skills are going to be for every project and job. Hiring internal people with basic qualifications is often the better decision as these people not only bring enthusiasm and freshness, but also fit the culture. Recruiters need to encourage managers to experiment and realize that most of us are not doing the exact job we were trained to do or even the work our degrees prepared us for.
And, finally, be open with potential candidates about what’s going on in the company.
When you set realistic expectations up front, you lessen the disillusionment that will come after the new hire starts. Strive for authenticity. Encourage them to talk to employees who are happy and engaged. Make sure candidates are good culture fits and that they are fully informed about the work they are going to be expected to do.
Working with the hiring managers is key to success, as talent shortages are partly caused by lack of imagination. Jobs can be tailored to fit candidates, job descriptions can be changed, and managers can be flexible. It takes negotiating with them and providing them information about what’s going on. Turnover may happen, but you may be able to lessen its impact or bring in new people better fitted to your culture.
tags: retention
There is going to be an exodus of workers soon from businesses all across the U.S. It seems that for all the work recruiters do at the front end, organizations are undoing it at the backend. Frustrated employees are seeking new opportunities in record numbers, but if you are prepared, your talent shortages may be over.
Earlier this week, Mercer released its What’s Working survey that found that “one in two U.S. employees [are] looking to leave or [have] checked out on the job.” Other surveys support these findings, including ones by Right Management.
Is this simply the grass-is-greener syndrome, or is there something else going on? Even though there are plenty of jobs for certain types of people — Amazon is adding 5,000 people, and McDonald’s, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Apple are just a few others that have announced fairly large hiring plans — we are not actually out of this recession, and changing jobs is a risky business.
While money and benefits are not the primary reason people leave their employers in normal times, these times are very different.
This recession has lingered longer than most and is impacting a generation of workers who have not suffered much from recessions in the past. Their tolerance is different, and so are their expectations.
Today I think there are four primary drivers of these rather frightening statistics. And these same reasons will eventually drive away the new people you recruit as well, unless you are candid and realistic right up front with the candidates.
The first driver is actually pay this time. For many employees it has been a long time since they have gotten much in the way of a pay increase. The recession is often used as a reason for not granting reasonable increases, and managers have been more focused on performance — of lack of performance as a way to hold down these increases.
Yet, employees see their organizations making good profits and in some cases even record profits. Corporate coffers are flush with cash, yet this has not translated into significant pay increases. At the same time, option grants have shrunk due to changes in how they are taxed, giving some employees even less reason to stay.
Employees perceive a unfairness in how they are paid compared to how firms are profiting.
Second, and not completely separated from pay, is the amount of work that is being asked of employees. Many people I speak with are really doing what two or more would have done prior to this recession. Managers have asked for more and gotten it as employees fear there are few other jobs.
Yet the perception about jobs is changing, and many are starting to make a move if for no other reason than to lessen their workload or find a more flexible employer.
A third growing issue is the attitude younger workers, especially those in the Gen Y category, have about work. They feel their personal freedom is threatened by restrictive social media polices. And they are unhappy with the unwillingness of many firms to allow flexible working hours. They are also inclined to want open, authentic cultures and this recession has caused firms to tighten up communications, keep more secrets, and allow much less open discussion. This is all negative to the younger folks who will seek out more open and flexible environments.
A fourth element is lack of development. Many surveys have pointed out that Gen Y in particular, but all of us at some time, want to take on new responsibilities and learn new skills. During the recession organizations cut back on training and limited development opportunities. In some cases when development was available no one could take advantage oif it because of high-demand work requirements that left no time available. This has resulted in frustrated and bored employees who are looking for a change.
In reality, it’s not hard to see why these surveys are showing a potentially devastating amount of turnover about to happen.
I also realize that while there may not be a lot you can do about these things; there are always creative tactics that can help. Here are some thoughts.
First of all, make internal mobility the most important thing you focus on. Helping employees find new positions may be the best and most direct way you can influence them to stay. Yet, most organizations either erect numerous bureaucratic hurdles that make moving around tough, or they simply do not offer any simple way for an employee to learn about possibilities.
The intranet or some other internal website should be designed so that employees can learn about open positions and can apply for those positions. Work with HR to take down barriers and make it as easy to move between positions as it is to move outside the firm. This probably means that many current practices will have to change. Organizations with low turnover generally follow several rules that guide the internal application and transfer process.
1.Employees should be able to interview for new positions without permission from anyone.
2.They should not have to complete any sort of application form, and resumes should be very simple, if used at all.
3.They should be able to leave their current position within a maximum of two weeks after accepting another offer — even if their old position has not been filled.
4.Salaries offered should be similar to those an external hire would receive.
Second, help hiring managers reposition jobs to match the available skills rather than seek out only those who are perfect fits.
Don’t go for the exact match. Encourage hiring managers to be more open to giving internal candidates an opportunity. Exact matching is expensive and pays little in return. No one is good enough at predicting what the exact set of skills are going to be for every project and job. Hiring internal people with basic qualifications is often the better decision as these people not only bring enthusiasm and freshness, but also fit the culture. Recruiters need to encourage managers to experiment and realize that most of us are not doing the exact job we were trained to do or even the work our degrees prepared us for.
And, finally, be open with potential candidates about what’s going on in the company.
When you set realistic expectations up front, you lessen the disillusionment that will come after the new hire starts. Strive for authenticity. Encourage them to talk to employees who are happy and engaged. Make sure candidates are good culture fits and that they are fully informed about the work they are going to be expected to do.
Working with the hiring managers is key to success, as talent shortages are partly caused by lack of imagination. Jobs can be tailored to fit candidates, job descriptions can be changed, and managers can be flexible. It takes negotiating with them and providing them information about what’s going on. Turnover may happen, but you may be able to lessen its impact or bring in new people better fitted to your culture.
tags: retention
Monday, June 13, 2011
Analysis of the BLS Employment Situation Report - Private Industry adds 83,000 Jobs.
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Bank CFOs: Pink Slips At The Ready If Revenues Come Up Short
By Matthew Monks, American Banker
June 9, 2011
PrintE-mailReprintsDiscuss this article Share
In banking, the phrase "expense reduction" is often a euphemism for "layoffs."
The chief financial officers of Comerica Inc. and Huntington Bancshares Inc. avoided the L-word when speaking to investors on Wednesday but said their institutions are prepared to cut workers if revenue stays weak or the economy gets worse.
Both are hoping to avoid layoffs by attracting new customers: Comerica, of Dallas, is in the midst of buying a rival Texas bank. Huntington, of Columbus, Ohio, is keeping branches open longer and spending heavily to advertise its no-new-fees approach to banking.
But mounting pressure to cut costs means both are ready to send out pink slips if growth does not materialize.
Roughly "60% of expenses are people," Beth Acton, the chief financial officer of the $55 billion-asset Comerica, said at a New York investor conference sponsored by Deutsche Bank. "That's the key driver of what you can do to really impact the bottom line."
Donald Kimble, the CFO of the $53 billion-asset Huntington, said new employees represent a substantial proportion of the "incremental investments" that it has flexibility in "adjusting." Payroll costs — like its advertising budget — can be cut swiftly, he said.
"The investments we have been making for the most part have been in variable costs, whether it's traditional marketing dollars or head count," Kimble said. "I think those adjustments can be made within a quarter. So I think it is something that can be managed very efficiently and [be] very timely."
Comerica and Huntington are in similar positions in terms of spending. They are among a class of banks committed to investing to promote expansion, even if in the short term it causes expenses to trend higher than many investors would like.
Last quarter, Comerica was spending about 69 cents for every dollar of revenue; Huntington, about 65 cents per dollar of revenue. Those expense-per-dollar ratios are high compared with other large and midsize banks. Wells Fargo & Co.'s, for instance, is about 63 cents.
Investors pay close attention to expense-to-revenue ratios because they indicate how efficient an institution is at making money. Banks can improve the figure by cutting costs, increasing revenue or both.
"What happens in many large companies, particularly financial services companies, when they just focus on cost … it makes the relationship with the customer worse," said Jim Rowe, investor relations director at Wells Fargo. "It affects their ability to raise revenue, and we're not going to do that," he said.
Wells recently launched a cost-cutting initiative but has not shared many details.
The company did not mention layoffs on Wednesday, though it said last month that it was in the midst of letting go of several thousand mortgage specialists amid the housing downturn. In addition, the $400 million to $500 million Wells is spending per quarter to integrate the former Wachovia Corp. should decline by the first quarter of next year, Rowe said. Wells had 270,200 full- and part-time workers at the end of last quarter, up about 2,800 from a year earlier.
Comerica sees cost-saving and revenue-generating opportunities in its pending acquisition of Sterling Bancshares Inc. of Houston, Acton said.
It will consolidate some back-office functions and gain access to more clients for Comerica's treasury and wealth advisory services, she said.
Comerica's biggest tool for cutting costs has been layoffs, Acton said. A 17% head count reduction in the three years through 2010 enabled the bank to hold expenses steady despite increases in merit pay and rising regulatory costs, she said.
It had 8,955 full-time employees as of last quarter, 260 fewer than a year earlier.
Comerica has found it can earn just as much revenue with fewer people and is not planning to hire as the economy rebounds. Instead, a double-dip could lead to more staff cuts, Acton said.
Huntington had about 11,300 employees at the end of last quarter. That is about 641 more than a year earlier.
June 9, 2011
PrintE-mailReprintsDiscuss this article Share
In banking, the phrase "expense reduction" is often a euphemism for "layoffs."
The chief financial officers of Comerica Inc. and Huntington Bancshares Inc. avoided the L-word when speaking to investors on Wednesday but said their institutions are prepared to cut workers if revenue stays weak or the economy gets worse.
Both are hoping to avoid layoffs by attracting new customers: Comerica, of Dallas, is in the midst of buying a rival Texas bank. Huntington, of Columbus, Ohio, is keeping branches open longer and spending heavily to advertise its no-new-fees approach to banking.
But mounting pressure to cut costs means both are ready to send out pink slips if growth does not materialize.
Roughly "60% of expenses are people," Beth Acton, the chief financial officer of the $55 billion-asset Comerica, said at a New York investor conference sponsored by Deutsche Bank. "That's the key driver of what you can do to really impact the bottom line."
Donald Kimble, the CFO of the $53 billion-asset Huntington, said new employees represent a substantial proportion of the "incremental investments" that it has flexibility in "adjusting." Payroll costs — like its advertising budget — can be cut swiftly, he said.
"The investments we have been making for the most part have been in variable costs, whether it's traditional marketing dollars or head count," Kimble said. "I think those adjustments can be made within a quarter. So I think it is something that can be managed very efficiently and [be] very timely."
Comerica and Huntington are in similar positions in terms of spending. They are among a class of banks committed to investing to promote expansion, even if in the short term it causes expenses to trend higher than many investors would like.
Last quarter, Comerica was spending about 69 cents for every dollar of revenue; Huntington, about 65 cents per dollar of revenue. Those expense-per-dollar ratios are high compared with other large and midsize banks. Wells Fargo & Co.'s, for instance, is about 63 cents.
Investors pay close attention to expense-to-revenue ratios because they indicate how efficient an institution is at making money. Banks can improve the figure by cutting costs, increasing revenue or both.
"What happens in many large companies, particularly financial services companies, when they just focus on cost … it makes the relationship with the customer worse," said Jim Rowe, investor relations director at Wells Fargo. "It affects their ability to raise revenue, and we're not going to do that," he said.
Wells recently launched a cost-cutting initiative but has not shared many details.
The company did not mention layoffs on Wednesday, though it said last month that it was in the midst of letting go of several thousand mortgage specialists amid the housing downturn. In addition, the $400 million to $500 million Wells is spending per quarter to integrate the former Wachovia Corp. should decline by the first quarter of next year, Rowe said. Wells had 270,200 full- and part-time workers at the end of last quarter, up about 2,800 from a year earlier.
Comerica sees cost-saving and revenue-generating opportunities in its pending acquisition of Sterling Bancshares Inc. of Houston, Acton said.
It will consolidate some back-office functions and gain access to more clients for Comerica's treasury and wealth advisory services, she said.
Comerica's biggest tool for cutting costs has been layoffs, Acton said. A 17% head count reduction in the three years through 2010 enabled the bank to hold expenses steady despite increases in merit pay and rising regulatory costs, she said.
It had 8,955 full-time employees as of last quarter, 260 fewer than a year earlier.
Comerica has found it can earn just as much revenue with fewer people and is not planning to hire as the economy rebounds. Instead, a double-dip could lead to more staff cuts, Acton said.
Huntington had about 11,300 employees at the end of last quarter. That is about 641 more than a year earlier.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Actual employment numbers not that bad
Outside the Box
June 3, 2011, 2:48 p.m. EDT
Actual employment numbers not that bad
Commentary: Just take a look at the not-seasonally-adjusted data
By Lee Adler
QUEBEC (MarketWatch) — The market was disappointed with today’s employment data. But actual total employment, as opposed to the widely reported seasonally adjusted numbers, was nowhere near the catastrophe that the market’s reaction made it seem. The problem was that economists’ expectations were misguided, partly as a result of their focus on seasonally adjusted fictitious data, which showed a gain of 54,000 for May.
Actual (not-seasonally-adjusted) payrolls were up 682,000, according to the BLS establishment survey. That’s not gangbusters in relation to other years, but it’s not that bad. Since 2001, the average gain in payrolls in May has been 764,000. 2010 had a very strong gain of 1.10 million. That number was an outlier. The best year before that was 2007 at 942,000.
Today’s reported numbers were worse than non-recession years, however. Only 2008 at 570,000 and 2009 at 269,000 were worse.
In addition to the establishment survey, the BLS also surveys households. The total number of employed persons (actual, not seasonally adjusted) according to the BLS household survey rose by 367,000. The average gain in total employed in May from 2001 to 2010 was 344,000. From this perspective, today’s number was a little better than average.
Employment growth had been slowing early this year. The histrionics surrounding today’s announcement are an artifact of the fact that many economists had assumed without good reason that the numbers would be much better. However, the unadjusted actual numbers in the household survey had shown a decline in growth momentum since the end of last year, and today’s data simply continues that trend. The slowing employment growth momentum this year has been concurrent with the decline in stimulus spending that spurred the employment gains in the first place. In that context, slowing employment growth should have surprised no one.
Employment usually peaks in July of each year. Total employment usually peaks in July. Therefore, we should find out just how weak the employment trend is over the next couple of months. The question is whether last year’s peak employment numbers will be broken, and if so, by how much. The first few months of seasonal decline in the second half could show a shift to negative momentum if the usual second half employment declines are greater than last year’s.
The population has been growing faster than employment. Even if total employment grows slightly year over year, if the growth is less than population growth, the employment-to-population ratio will continue to fall. Even though the economy might grow in nominal terms life will get harder for a growing number of Americans.
But to Wall Street and the markets, that matters not.
Lee Adler is the publisher of The Wall Street Examiner.
see full article: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/actual-employment-numbers-not-that-bad-2011-06-03?link=MW_latest_news
June 3, 2011, 2:48 p.m. EDT
Actual employment numbers not that bad
Commentary: Just take a look at the not-seasonally-adjusted data
By Lee Adler
QUEBEC (MarketWatch) — The market was disappointed with today’s employment data. But actual total employment, as opposed to the widely reported seasonally adjusted numbers, was nowhere near the catastrophe that the market’s reaction made it seem. The problem was that economists’ expectations were misguided, partly as a result of their focus on seasonally adjusted fictitious data, which showed a gain of 54,000 for May.
Actual (not-seasonally-adjusted) payrolls were up 682,000, according to the BLS establishment survey. That’s not gangbusters in relation to other years, but it’s not that bad. Since 2001, the average gain in payrolls in May has been 764,000. 2010 had a very strong gain of 1.10 million. That number was an outlier. The best year before that was 2007 at 942,000.
Today’s reported numbers were worse than non-recession years, however. Only 2008 at 570,000 and 2009 at 269,000 were worse.
In addition to the establishment survey, the BLS also surveys households. The total number of employed persons (actual, not seasonally adjusted) according to the BLS household survey rose by 367,000. The average gain in total employed in May from 2001 to 2010 was 344,000. From this perspective, today’s number was a little better than average.
Employment growth had been slowing early this year. The histrionics surrounding today’s announcement are an artifact of the fact that many economists had assumed without good reason that the numbers would be much better. However, the unadjusted actual numbers in the household survey had shown a decline in growth momentum since the end of last year, and today’s data simply continues that trend. The slowing employment growth momentum this year has been concurrent with the decline in stimulus spending that spurred the employment gains in the first place. In that context, slowing employment growth should have surprised no one.
Employment usually peaks in July of each year. Total employment usually peaks in July. Therefore, we should find out just how weak the employment trend is over the next couple of months. The question is whether last year’s peak employment numbers will be broken, and if so, by how much. The first few months of seasonal decline in the second half could show a shift to negative momentum if the usual second half employment declines are greater than last year’s.
The population has been growing faster than employment. Even if total employment grows slightly year over year, if the growth is less than population growth, the employment-to-population ratio will continue to fall. Even though the economy might grow in nominal terms life will get harder for a growing number of Americans.
But to Wall Street and the markets, that matters not.
Lee Adler is the publisher of The Wall Street Examiner.
see full article: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/actual-employment-numbers-not-that-bad-2011-06-03?link=MW_latest_news
Friday, May 6, 2011
April 2011 Employment summary
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Monday, April 11, 2011
Analysis of the BLS Employment Situation Report
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Friday, April 1, 2011
216,000 Jobs aded in March!
Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Fri, April 01, 2011 -- 8:37 AM ET
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U.S. Added 216,000 Jobs in March; Unemployment Rate at 8.8%
The United States economy added 216,000 jobs in March, as the nation continues a modest recovery.
The unemployment rate last month was 8.8 percent, down slightly from 8.9 percent in February. Overall, the number of jobs created last month was greater than the forecast of 193,000.
Friday's number follows the decline in the weekly unemployment claims, which have fallen steadily, from the mid-400,000s to the neighborhood of 385,000. In almost any other context, the latter would be a grim number indeed. But in this slowest and most sluggish of recoveries, it is a sign of somewhat fewer layoffs.
Still, threats to a more robust recovery remain, including a surge in energy and food prices, with the possibility of disruptions in oil production in the Middle East continuing to weigh on the financial markets. State and local governments have also been shedding jobs as they grapple with budget woes.
Read More:
http://www.nytimes.com?emc=na
The New York Times
Fri, April 01, 2011 -- 8:37 AM ET
-----
U.S. Added 216,000 Jobs in March; Unemployment Rate at 8.8%
The United States economy added 216,000 jobs in March, as the nation continues a modest recovery.
The unemployment rate last month was 8.8 percent, down slightly from 8.9 percent in February. Overall, the number of jobs created last month was greater than the forecast of 193,000.
Friday's number follows the decline in the weekly unemployment claims, which have fallen steadily, from the mid-400,000s to the neighborhood of 385,000. In almost any other context, the latter would be a grim number indeed. But in this slowest and most sluggish of recoveries, it is a sign of somewhat fewer layoffs.
Still, threats to a more robust recovery remain, including a surge in energy and food prices, with the possibility of disruptions in oil production in the Middle East continuing to weigh on the financial markets. State and local governments have also been shedding jobs as they grapple with budget woes.
Read More:
http://www.nytimes.com?emc=na
Friday, March 4, 2011
MRINetwork Analysis of the BLS Employment Situation Report
This is what I find most exciting as this is the category Professinal Bankers fall into: The management, professional and related occupation unemployment rate fell from 4.8 to 4.4 percent year-over-year.
If you ever needed a reason why it is critical that your children and grandchildren get a four year degree, these economic statistics provide powerful validation!
If you ever needed a reason why it is critical that your children and grandchildren get a four year degree, these economic statistics provide powerful validation!
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MRINetwork Analysis of the BLS Employment Situation Report The full report can be seen here: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.htm.February 2011 Employment This morning, the Labor Department reported that the U.S. unemployment rate fell from 9.0 to 8.9 percent in February. The private sector added 222,000 jobs, while the state and local level governments shed 30,000 positions. The gains were in line with economists’ estimates, and combined with positive revisions to the data of previous months, mark a sizable improvement in the rate of recovery to the labor market. This improvement is being strongly driven by those with four-year degrees, a segment of the population in which employment rose by 266,000 positions in February after having added 227,000 in January, a month where there were 63,000 net job gains. The management, professional and related occupation unemployment rate fell from 4.8 to 4.4 percent year-over-year. The unemployment rate for construction and extraction related occupations—traditionally high in the winter—fell from 26.5 percent from a year ago to 22 percent this February. The sales and related occupations unemployment rate also fell from 10.2 to 9.0 percent year-over-year By industry, job growth was well distributed with gains in several industries said to be harbingers of wider economic growth, such as construction, 33,000, durable goods manufacturing, 30,000, transportation and warehousing, 22,000, and accommodations and food service, 15,500. Health care also continued to grow, adding 34,000 jobs during the month and nearly a quarter million jobs in the last year. A sustained growth rate of approximately 200,000 positions per month is what the U.S. needs to make up for population gains to see a gradual, fundamental reduction in the unemployment rate. Revisions show that in three of the last five months we have very nearly approached that level and there is every reason to expect that such growth will continue in the near term. Job growth, however, is only taking place among workers with some college and mostly those with four-year degrees and higher. For workers without any higher education, the employment picture isn’t changing as fast. Among the long-term unemployed, this barrier to entry will continue to be an issue. The average length of unemployment reached 37.1 weeks in February, an increase of 7.3 weeks from a year ago. |
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